“What was his name again… Jack? Jackie?” “Jackson,” Kenji supplied and I nodded, even though I already knew damn well what the kid was called. “Just imagine for a second what’s going to happen, Vik,” I whispered. “Your wife is going to find out and she’s going to talk to her father.” I tilted my head slightly. “Her father, who happens to be the main investor in your businesses. What do you think will happen then?” he was turning paler by the second. “No…wait, I have a better idea!” I exclaimed suddenly, rising from my chair and circling him slowly. “I could tell her about your mistress living in Sacramento. By the way, gorgeous poses in last night’s photos. I’d really love the reference for that purple nightgown.”
I spoke thoughtfully as I headed toward the door. “W… wait!” he called out.
I stopped, a slow smile stretching across my lips. “Yes, Vik? I’m all ears,” I said, stepping back and stopping behind my chair as he stammered. “Don’t say anything. I…I’ll do it. I’ll do everything,” he said through a grimace and I nodded approvingly. “Perfect then,” I exclaimed, clapping my hands together. “Gentlemen, free our dear friend and escort him to hiscar parked in his mistress’s garage”. I turned back toward the exit with a smirk on my face.
“How do I know you won’t say anything to my wife?” Viktor shouted as the Shadows lifted his chair and I sighed, turning my profile toward him. “Just obey, Viktor, and everything will go wonderfully,” I replied before stepping out, Kenji at my heels, Viktor’s screams echoing behind us. That merger was going to happen, I was ready to do anything to make it happen.
—
“When are you coming home?” Selina asked, seated beside me on the back seat of the SUV as Samy drove out of the shopping center’s underground parking lot. It had been almost a week since I had seen my sister, since I hadn’t returned to the Ivanovs’. Even though my anger toward Sasha had eased slightly, the fear was still very much there. I felt like if he saw me, he would start following me without my being able to stop him, stick a GPS under Kenji’s car, put me under drone surveillance, or even tail me himself. “It’s not my home, Selina,” I replied, my gaze fixed outside the window. We had spent the afternoon together, strolling around, buying last-minute essentials for my niece, eating. “Of course it’s your home, Sienna!” my sister exclaimed, placing her hand on my thigh and I took her hand and smiled softly. “No. It’s your home,miasorella. And I know I’ll always be welcome there, but it’s not my home.” My smile widened when I saw her pout. “At least let us drop you off wherever you’re going,” she sighed and I grimaced. “We insist, Miss Sienna,” Samy said from the driver’s seat, while Marcus nodded at me over his shoulder from the passenger seat.
But I declined again, thanking them. “It’s not a place for… a convoy,” I said after a moment, glancing at the two cars in front of and behind us. Nikolai didn’t take my sister’s and niece’s security lightly, and I could only appreciate that. They were safewith him. “Drop me off by the park. That’ll be fine,” I said, referring to the park along the road leading to the Ivanovs’ villa. The two men nodded as my sister said nothing but continued sulking. “By the way, thank you for the discretion,” I told her, squeezing her hand still resting on my thigh. “Don’t worry. Only Nikolai knew I was meeting you today. There was no way Sasha could know,” she said, her gentle gaze resting on me and like every time, I felt like I was looking at our mother. Selina carried the same energy, softness, warmth. An energy that had only grown stronger since meeting Nikolai, especially since her pregnancy.
“You still don’t want to tell me what he did?” she asked gently, “what did he do that made you run from him like this?” Once again, I chose not to tell her the truth, my sister lived, and would live for a long time with the Ivanovs, with Nikolai and his brothers, with Sasha. I didn’t want tension in the house, especially not when she was so vulnerable during her pregnancy. I had spoken with Nikolai too, he had called me the day after the wedding, explaining that he knew about the CGM, and he had told me about his argument with Sasha.
That was when I decided not to tell my sister anything. Nikolai had promised to keep a closer eye on Sasha and if there was one person I trusted, other than myself, to protect my sister, it was my brother-in-law.
“Nothing worth worrying about,” I replied, and she sighed again, crossing her arms like a sulky little girl, which made me laugh. “It’s not funny,” she snapped, which only made me laugh harder. I loved my sister more than anything in the world, she was one of the few reasons I was still holding on to this life.
The car stopped at a red light, and I realized we were just a few steps away from the park. “I’ll get out here, it’ll save you from stopping in the middle of traffic,” I said as I unbuckled.
My sister was about to protest, but I kissed her cheek as I was already stepping out. “I’ll call you tonight, I promise,” I added before closing the door and stepping onto the sidewalk. I waved at her, even though I couldn’t see her through the tinted windows, as the car pulled away when the light turned green. I watched the three vehicles until they disappeared from sight while the sun slowly sank toward the horizon, then I headed toward the park where the girls were waiting. The first person I spotted was Ava, bouncing on the spot, as excited as ever, while Diane and Esme sat calmly on a bench, chatting, “Sienna!” Ava exclaimed when she saw me coming, and I barely had time to pull my hands out of my jacket pockets before catching her as she threw herself into my arms. She stepped back and scanned me from head to toe. “So what is it, are we going for a run?” she asked, raising an eyebrow and I smiled. She wasn’t wrong. With my running shoes, black leggings, white tank top, and cap, I looked ready for the marathon of the century. And I clearly stood out next to her in her pretty light-blue summer dress and elegant heels. I hadn’t really thought about it, to be honest I rarely did when it came to clothes, unless there was an important event. Comfort usually came first.
Diane and Esme joined us, dressed more comfortably than Ava but no one could rival my level of laziness. “I didn’t realize a cocktail dress was required to go see a movie,” I shot back, arching an eyebrow and Ava rolled her eyes, muttering something about women and taking care of themselves. “Come on, the movie’s about to start,” Esme reminded us as she began walking toward the cinema a few steps away from the park. We tried to do this at least once a month, all of us together, for the past seven years. When I had first arrived at the Vegas club and seen the conditions we were expected to work under, seven days a week, nearly twenty hours a day, I had found it unacceptable,inhuman, even impossible. So I had started a revolt, getting all the other girls on board, even the ones who hated me. We were far too valuable for the Master to punish or kill us all, so he had been forced to give in and allow one day off per week for the Stars and their Shadows. We had set up rotations so the business could keep running while each of us took our turn resting. “How did you get rid of Kenji?” Diane asked, slipping her arm through mine and her question made me smile. We liked having girls’ time during our outings, so we made sure the guys didn’t know our days off, and we always found a way to lose them. “I told him I was spending the whole afternoon and evening with my sister. And you?” “I suggested a Barbie movie marathon to Pao, he ran off without looking back. So I took the emergency exit. He probably thinks I’m on my sixth movie, stuffing myself with candy,” Ava bragged, winking at me as I shook my head.
“Azad and Mason took advantage of Kenji being free this afternoon to train with him,” Diane explained, which made sense. Kenji was more skilled than any other Shadow thanks to Ganesh, so the others always used his presence to improve. My Shadow had redefined what it meant to be one and had decided to train as many of them as possible.
“I’d say in two hours maximum they’ll realize the trick and all four of them will come looking for us,” Esme commented, I nodded. That was guaranteed. The first thing Azad would do after training was look for Esme, he couldn’t go more than three hours without seeing her and he’d alert the rest of the pack.
“That gives us enough time to watch our movie and maybe even grab a drink!” I said encouragingly, quickening my pace and dragging Diane along with me as Ava let out a cheer and Esme laughed.
—
“Thank God we chose the action movie, you’ve seen the faces of people coming out of that comedy?” Esme sighed as we left the theater with the crowd. “They looked more like they were coming out of a funeral,” Ava laughed, and the three of us nodded in agreement. We had been right to listen to Diane. I lifted my face toward the sky as a light breeze brushed against my skin, days in San Francisco were so stifling that nights became a blessing. “Sienna,” Ava called, holding out a cigarette to me, but I shook my head. Kenji was already going to be furious about this little escape, if he smelled nicotine on me too, it would be war. Ava and Diane lit up while I talked with Esme as we headed toward a bar near the cinema. The guys hadn’t called yet, so either they hadn’t realized we were gone or they were already on their way to the theater. We all knew how obsessed Diane was with movies, and she hadn’t stopped going on about this action film. They were going to find us in no time, but until then, one drink wouldn’t hurt. Suddenly I stopped, my eyes locking onto two vans parked across the street.
“The first time is chance, the second is coincidence, but the third time smells like trouble, Sienna,” Ashwin’s voice echoed in my head, one of the many lessons he had taught me.
“Don’t stop at the bar. Keep walking,” I told the girls, shoving my hands into my jacket pockets. Diane and Ava slowed slightly so they could fall in step with us. “What’s going on?” Esme asked with a smile as we passed the crowded terrace of the bar. “The two vans across the street,” I said, keeping my eyes forward and forcing a light smile of my own, “I saw them the first time at noon outside the mall, then near the park when my sister dropped me off and now outside the cinema.” I saw Ava steal a quick glance toward the vehicles before pretending to point at something and laugh. We all nodded, smiling. If there was one thing the institute had taught us, it was how to pretend, how toplay a role. After all, we had learned to satisfy even the worst kinds of clients.
“You think it’s the Master?” Diane asked as we moved toward the industrial district. We were about to leave the vans’ line of sight, then we’d hide and call the guys. I was almost certain there wasn’t gardening equipment sitting in those vans and if I’d learned one thing, it was that unnecessary risk was stupid when safer alternatives existed. “We run on three,” I warned the girls, glancing at Ava’s heels and grimacing. I’d have to keep an eye on her. I started the count as we reached the back of a building, and once we were out of sight, we ran.
We shoved people out of our way, earning complaints and insults, but we didn’t slow down. My instincts screamed at me not to stop, that we were in danger. “There,” I said, pointing toward an alley running alongside an abandoned factory. We rushed into it, and I grabbed Ava when she stumbled. She let out a groan but didn’t stop, we tried doors along the walls. “Here!” Ava called when one finally gave way.
We slipped inside the building, slammed the door shut behind us, and barricaded it with wooden pallets. We moved deeper into the factory until we found a place to hide. “You okay, Ava?” I asked, helping her sit on the ledge of a boarded-up window, “I think I twisted my ankle,” she groaned, pulling off her shoe.
I switched on my flashlight to get a better look and saw how red her ankle was, “I think so too,” I murmured, straightening. “We’ll see if there’s another exit,” Esme said, and Diane nodded. “Be careful,” I told them as they headed in the opposite direction from where we’d entered. At the same moment, my phone rang, Kenji’s name flashing on the screen. Sometimes I wondered if we actually shared some kind of psychic link. “We’re in front of the cinema, get out here,” he snapped, annoyed, as I tried to catch my breath. “Kenji…” I said, pulling off my cap and fixing the loose strands of hair that had escaped. “What’s going on?Where are you?” His voice was worried now, and I could hear the others behind him. “We noticed two vans following us. We ran and hid in an abandoned factory in the industrial area,” I explained quickly. “We’re coming. Stay where you are,” he said before hanging up.
“The guys will be here soon,” I reassured Ava, who was watching me anxiously. I just hoped her ankle wasn’t too badly hurt, maybe a hospital visit would be safer.
Suddenly, both of us flinched as screams echoed through the factory, bouncing off the empty walls. We frowned and moved a little farther down the corridor when Esme and Diane suddenly appeared from the other side, running toward us, screaming and waving their arms.
“What the fu…” my eyes widened when about ten men appeared behind them, chasing them. “Run,” I breathed to Ava, yanking her to her feet as she hastily kicked off her second shoe. “Run!” I ordered, pulling her along the corridor as our footsteps thundered against the walls.
We took a corridor with a sharp turn, and I groaned when my shoulder slammed into the wall because of my speed. We weren’t going to make it, not with Ava injured and Esme and Diane so far behind us, but there was no way I was going to let this happen without a fight.
We burst into the massive warehouse of the factory, and my gaze was immediately drawn to the iron bars stacked against the wall near the entrance. I grabbed Ava’s arm, stopping her and pulling her flat against the wall beside the door we had just come through. I handed her one of the bars and grabbed another for myself before slipping along the adjacent wall. We looked at each other, and I nodded as the girls’ screams and the men’s footsteps drew dangerously closer.
My hands grew slick against the cold metal, but I tightened my grip.
