I probably should have thought this one through. Then again, my father is likely on his way now, Win will sell me for a hay penny, and I can’t look at him again knowing that all I want is for him to touch me and all he wants…
Huffing out a breath, I take my backpack off and draw in a deep breath. There is nothing to do but toss it over the wall. I can’t make the jump with its weight on my back.
I hate to be separated from the money. I need it if I’m going to make my plan a success.
Drawing in a deep breath, I heave it with all of my might. It barely clears the top and lands on the lip, balancing above me.
That’s actually better. I can still see it, and if I can’t get myself over the top, I can at least grab it and pull it down.
I take another running leap and then catch the top of the wall with my fingers. The stones provide some decent toe grip, and I climb my way up, heaving myself high enough to sit on the two-foot wide top.
Who has a two-foot-wide stone wall like this anyway?
I toss the backpack down and then follow, my feet hitting the ground with enough force to radiate through my knees, but I ignore the pain, snatching up the backpack and head for the road.
I’m free.
I’ve thought that before but this time, I think it’s for real.
This time, I feel no elation, no excitement. Just a hollow pain that makes my chest feel like a cave.
I’m not sure when it happened, but I’d started to trust Win, let some of my armor slip away. I could say that he taught mea valuable lesson, but I’d learned long ago, not to trust powerful men.
The fact that I could still hope, still want… A weight settles in my stomach. How, after all this time, could I still be that foolish?
I hate that I let myself fall into that trap.
For that reason and so many others…
I hope I never see Winston Smith again for as long as I live.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Win
From my office window,I watch Katarina cross the lawn.
Part of me wants to stop her. Instead, I radio the guards and tell them to let her pass.
She’s already served her purpose, I no longer require her to stay.
She’s got money, I rationalize. From Dover, she can buy a train ticket, disappear anywhere in Europe she wants.
She’s smart. Savvy. Strong.
She reaches the wall and I pick up phone, none of my thoughts making me feel any better.
Closing my eyes for a moment, I hit a name, the phone dialing Dimitri Ivanov.
It’s odd how much I like the children of the man I despise most in this world.
Katrina called her brother my bestie.
I don’t have friends. I have brothers, and they only like me because they’re required. But Dimitri…
If being my only friend makes him my best friend, then I guess we kind of are. Odd that at nearly forty I have a friend again.
The phone barely rings before his gruff voice answers. “Win.”
