"Yes. And she's going to kill me if I don't get you out of here in one piece." I pull out my knife and cut through the zip ties. "Can you walk?"
"I can run if I need to." She stands, wobbling slightly. "Where is she? Is she safe?"
Just as I’m about to tell her that Laney is safe in my car, not even a quarter of a mile away, I pull open the door, and she is there she is.
Laney
I know I'm breaking my promise the moment I unlock the car doors.
But sitting there listening to gunshots, knowing Yakov is inside that warehouse fighting god knows how many men, knowing Laurie might be in there. I can't. I just can't.
I grab my phone, open the car door, and run.
The warehouse looms ahead of me, a concrete monster squatting in the desert. The front entrance is dark, but I can see faint light leaking from somewhere in the back. I circle around, staying low, my heart hammering so hard I can barely breathe.
The loading dock door is propped open.
I slip inside. The smell hits me first, gunpowder, sweat, something metallic that might be blood. Then I see the bodies. Three men sprawled across the floor, blood pooling beneath them.
Oh god.
I press my hand over my mouth to keep from making a sound and force myself to keep moving.
I step around the bodies and move to a large metal shipping container with the door hanging open. There are women inside, huddled together, terrified. One of them sees me and gasps.
"It's okay," I whisper. "I'm looking for someone. My sister. Laurie Parker?"
The blonde one points toward the back. "He went to get her. The Bratva guy. He's getting her out."
Bratva?
"Thank you." I'm already moving, running now, not caring about stealth or safety or anything except getting to my sister.
Just as I’m about to reach it, it opens, and I see Yakov half-holding my sister as she finds her balance.
"Laurie!"
She lifts her head, her face a mess of bruises and dried blood, and for a second we just stare at each other. Then we're moving at the same time, crashing together in a hug that could break bones.
"Laney, oh my god, Laney—" She's sobbing into my shoulder, her whole body shaking. "You came. You came—"
"Of course I came." I'm crying too, holding her so tight I'm probably hurting her. "I've been looking everywhere for you. I was so scared—"
"I'm okay. I'm okay now." She pulls back just enough to look at me, her hands cupping my face like she needs to make sure I'm real. "How did you find me? How did you—"
"She was supposed to stay in the car," Yakov says from the doorway, his voice flat.
I turn to look at him. The expression on his face beneath bloodsplatter and sweat is somewhere between fury and relief.
"I heard gunshots," I say, not apologizing. "I wasn't going to sit there while you—"
"We need to move. Now." He's already pulling out his phone, typing something fast. "More of them are coming—"
The sound of engines roaring closer cuts him off.
"Fuck." He grabs my arm. "Both of you, Get into the container. Stay inside with the others and wait for me to come and get you."
"What?" I almost screech. "No—"
