I don't see any other marks in the sand and I wonder what the hell happened. Then something wet drops onto my cheek, and somehow I know what it is without touching it.
Above me hangs a body. A man around forty, brown haired, wearing a white shirt soaked with blood across his entire abdomen.
I think I found the contractor.
A sound comes from the right, and I spin my whole body toward it.
"Drop the gun, Luna." A distorted voice echoes throughout the factory and I have to suppress a shiver.
My eyes scan the concrete walls and rusted windows, trying to find the source of the voice.
Then the factory door creaks loudly and I turn, coming face to face with a white mask. A tall man in a black coat stands before me, and without hesitation, I lift my gun. My finger squeezes thetrigger, but he lunges toward me and the bullet misses, hitting the wall behind him.
I squeeze the trigger again, but he's already moving, dodging like he can predict exactly where I'll aim.
"I like it when they don't give in. I like it when they don't follow orders. It's more satisfying to cut into skin that fights back." And before the last word leaves his mouth, he jumps on me.
My knee connects with his ribs, and using every trick I learned from Sergey, I try to break free, but in the process my gun slips away.Fuck.
I know Roman's on his way. I know half the Russian mafia will be here any second, so for a moment, I try to regain control of myself.
I feel panic squeezing my chest like a fist, but I try to focus on details. His coat looks expensive, maybe wool, he's easily six feet tall...
His voice isn't altered. And it sounds…young? Maybe twenty? Thirty?
When I see his fist rise, I duck, and using all my weight, I shove him off me, but then I feel a cut on my leg.
"I see why you're friends with her. I wonder if Roxy will fight as hard as you?" he asks and laughs.
"ENOUGH!" the distorted voice sounds from somewhere above us.
There are two people. Two men.
"Where's Sergey?"
I watch the younger man study me, and I know if I could see his eyes, I'd find a predator.
"TELL ROXY TO CALL OFF THE WEDDING TO THAT BASTARD. THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I'LL ASK NICELY,” the distorted voice says with a shriek.
So that's what this is about. Roxy's wedding to Damien.
"Where's Sergey?" I ask again.
The man before me takes a few steps toward me, and with the blade stained with my blood pointed at me, he says, "DON'T INTERRUPT HIM!"
"Luna, the only reason you're not bleeding on this floor is because I know Roxy wouldn't forgive me easily if I hurt you. BUT SHE SHOULDN'T TEST ME!"
The last words come out like a roar, but my eyes are still on the guy in front of me, who seems transfixed on me.
When he takes two more steps toward me, I take two back, searching for the gun, only to see it several yards away, closer to him.
"Don't even think about it," he tuts at me, but I can sense his smile beneath the mask.
He wants me to do this. He wants me to go for the gun so he has an excuse to attack me again.
"IF SHE GOES THROUGH WITH THAT WEDDING, TELL HER I WON'T BE RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL THE VICTIMS WHO FOLLOW. AND TO MAKE SURE SHE UNDERSTANDS, YOU'LL BE THE LAST ONE, LUNA. EVEN IF THEY LOCK YOU IN A MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON, I'LL GET TO YOU."
"I'd love to see you try," I tell him with my head held high because I won't be intimidated by these psychopaths who murdered so many women in their own homes.
