This could save him. If Drago finds him in time. If there’s still time.
They’re both safe.
That’s what I keep telling myself. That’s what I have to believe.
“Lily,” Mom calls from behind me, her tone light. Curious. Like we’re on some twisted family walk. “Where are we going?”
I don’t slow down. I don’t look back.
“We can’t go out the exit that has armed guards,” I say, forcing my voice to shake in the right places. “We have to find a break in the fence. Somewhere that isn’t guarded.”
A beat of silence.
Then she hums, pleased.
“Where are your warriors positioned, Mom?” I ask, and it feels wrong in my mouth. Like the sentence shouldn’t exist. Like, my mother shouldn’t be a fucking warlord.
But she is.
“Everywhere,” she says easily. “Up in the skies. On the ground.”
I swallow, pushing down nausea. “How do you have so many?” I ask, making it sound like awe. Like admiration. “That’s like an army.”
She laughs softly, delighted with herself.
“I have some help with my contacts in Russia,” she says. “She’s actually a very good friend of your boyfriend. Tatiana, I think you two will be good friends. She said she saw you two in Monaco together.”
My stomach twists so violently I almost stumble.
She.
Tatiana. The bitch who kissed my man.
My throat closes. I force my feet to keep moving.
“You can’t trust him, Lily,” Mom adds, voice sweet again. Poison wrapped in sugar.
I can. I know I can. I trust him with my damn life.
But I’m walking aimlessly now, slowing down deliberately. Not because I’m lost, but because I need to keep her talking.
Keep her distracted. Keep her believing I’m into this.
“What do you mean you have people in the skies? Like in heaven?” I ask, sounding as dumb as possible to trick her.
She cackles. “No, sweetie. We will have to train you for war. Drone strikes. That’s why we have to get out of here. I’ve got a team in a van just near the hospital that is ready to strike.”
Jesus Christ.
The gun is heavy under my sweater, pressed against my stomach. Cold metal against skin. My fingers brush it once, twice, like I’m reminding myself it’s real.
“Where exactly is this sanctuary? Ohio?” I ask carefully.
“Yes, sweetheart. We have an entire complex where we all live. It has everything we need. I’ve already set up your access to the gates.”
I nod. “Does it have a password or something?”
“Salvation is the code.”
