“Shit,” she whispered.
Andrew pushed up to one knee. “Give me this.” He took the phone. “Go lie in the bed like you’re still tied up. I’ll lie in the bathroom like you did knock me out.”
“Then what?” she whispered.
“Andrew! The key isn’t working. Open the door.”
His gaze was heavy. “Do what you have to do.”
Addison bit her lower lip and nodded.
Tsarevna banged on the door. “Andrew!”
“Go. Now. She’ll figure it out in a second.”
He took the phone and lunged into the bathroom, partially closing the door. Addison raced to the bed and gathered the end of the rope in her palms. Raising her arms over her head, she dropped the excess between the mattress and the wall, just as the lock beeped. The tumbler rolled, and the door slammed open.
Her heart pounded in her chest, and she affected what she hoped was a bored expression.
Tsarevna stopped in the doorway and stared at her. “Where is Andrew?”
“Either jacking off or taking a shit.”
“What?”
“Bath. Room.”
Her nostrils flared, and she slammed the door, throwing the key card on the dresser. “Andrew!”
Addison rolled off the bed as soon as Tsarevna passed the end and reached the corner that led to the bathroom.
“Andrew, so help me….” She pushed the door open. “What—?”
Before she could turn, Addison looped her bound wrists over her head and pulled back, choking her. Tsarevna had at least three inches of height over Addison, more with her heels on, so all Addison had to do was pull her arms in close to her body and let her weight do all the work.
Tsarevna’s nails scratched and clawed at Addison’s forearms, and blood welled from more than one gouge.
She raised a knee and pushed it into Tsarevna’s back. Her knees buckled, and she fell back, taking Addison down with her.
The breath was forced out of her between the hard ground and the weight of Tsarevna on top of her. For one timeless moment, her hold slipped, but Addison twisted her arms again and wrapped her legs around the woman’s torso, hooking her feet together.
Tsarevna stopped struggling, and her arms fell limp to her sides.
Addison considered it. God help her, she did. All it would take was one hard twist, and she could break her neck. No one would blame her. She’d been kidnapped. Her brother had been kidnapped and almost trafficked. The woman was the scum of the earth, and she’d be doing the world a favor by killing her.
Just…one…twist.
Glass shattered, and something thudded on the floor.
“Shit!” She pushed Tsarevna off and rolled to her side, curling into a fetal position, pressing one ear into her shoulder and clapping a hand over the other. It had little effect against the percussive blast of the flashbang.
The door bursting open and shouts to get down were muffled by the ringing in her ears. Forcibly hauled up from the ground, she coughed as the cloud from the smoke grenade hit her. Whoever held her dragged her outside and shoved her against the brick wall, pressing on her shoulder to get her to sit.
Addison slid down the wall and rested her head against it, too stunned to do more than sit and watch the tactical team mill about now that the imminent threat had been subdued.
The sound from the activity was muted by the tinnitus caused by the blast. Shaking her head, she stuck a finger in her ear and wiggled it around. Her ears were going to ring for hours.
Connie squatted in front of her. “Sorry we couldn’t get here sooner.” Her voice was muffled, as if she was speaking to her underwater.
