My stomach is cramping up, and I don’t think I can move another step. They don’t give me a choice, the one with the scarred face jerking on my bound wrists to drag me forward. I yelp in pain, tears beginning to trail down my cheeks faster. He pulls me down the hall, and I search desperately for a familiar face, any face really that isn’t attached to a body in a black military uniform. The third man disappears down the empty hall.
Did they evacuate the entire building?
We reach the break room, and I’m released by the one with the death grip. Blood is now trailing down my hands and leaving a few bright red drops on the grey tiles.
Nikolai opens the door, pushing me inside. It’s darker in here, but I recoil at a shadow seated at one of the tables.
The shadow turns, exclaiming at the sight of us, “Oh Mylanta! Good heavens, who’s there?”
Becky’s shrill voice is music to my ears, and I’ve never been so happy to see the gossipy HR department head in my entire life. Nikolai curses, walking up to her with his gun raised.
“Is that a—who are you?!” She jumps up from her seat, the chair clattering to the floor.
I notice a rectangle shape in front of her on the table as Nikolai grabs her flailing arms, easily overpowering her.
“It’s okay, Becky! It’s me, Kate.” My voice is shaky, but I want her to know she’s not alone with these men.
Her head swivels in my direction as she continues to kick and struggle against Nikolai. “Get off of me, you psychopathic ruffian! I take self-defense every Monday night!”
He zip-ties her hands in front, like he did mine, but at the same time, she gets a swift kick right between his legs. He doubles over in pain, howling as he clutches his nether regions.
“You bitch!”
I can’t see her expression, but if I had to guess, it’s pretty smug right now.
“What’s going on, Kate? Are you okay?” Her voice reaches me through his grunts.
Nikolai spits, hopefully on the floor, before moving away from Becky to talk to the man still at the door. I nod at her. My eyes are adjusting to the light better now.
“I don’t really know. They want to talk to Lu—Mr. Bradshaw. They said I’m the...bait.” I swallow at the term, hoping it doesn’t mean I’m the one who’ll die for the sake of getting whatthey want. I’m losing hope that I’ll make it out alive with each passing minute.
Becky moves toward me, lowering her voice to a whisper. “Does this have anything to do with...the mission we talked about?”
“The one where his friend died?” I whisper back, glancing to see the Russians still conferring near the door.
“Yes.”
“I think so. That’s...Nikolai. The one I asked you to check up on.”
She gasps, hand reaching out to grip my shoulder where the cut is. I wince in pain.
“Kate—”
“Hey! That’s enough talking. Sit down and be quiet.” I think it’s the one with the scars speaking now.
Nikolai stalks back toward us as we sit at the table Becky was occupying before we got here. I want to ask her why she didn’t evacuate with everyone else, but I’m not exactly sure how far he would go to keep us from talking, so I keep my mouth shut.
My cuts are mostlynumb until I move, and then they sting like someone is pouring lemon juice on a thousand paper cuts. Becky and I are seated at a table in the break room, a half-eaten red velvet cake from a staff member’s birthday decorating the center.
My eyes have adjusted completely to the shadowy room. I can barely make out the expression on Becky’s face. Her brows are pinched in concentration, eyes focused on Nikolai. He’s pacing in front of our table, occasionally going to stick his headout the door. I don’t know what he’s waiting for, but I hope Luke shows up soon. The other men have disappeared.
Where is Luke?
The doubts I felt earlier are threatening to push back through to the forefront of my mind.
What if he won’t give them whatever it is they want?
I’ve got to try and talk to Nikolai. He sort of knows me now. He’s been sleeping with my roommate, crashing in our apartment for weeks. Surely, that counts for something? At the very least, it should make taking my life somewhat more challenging...I hope.
