She’s so small, so vulnerable, walking alone toward that building full of armed men who want to hurt her.
Every instinct screams at me to go after her, to pull her back, to find another way.
But I force myself to stay in the vehicle, to trust the plan, to trust her.
Marco’s voice crackles through my earpiece. “We’re in position. Waiting for your signal.”
I watch Sophia reach the factory entrance.
She pauses, calling out, then steps into the building, out of my sight.
My hands grip the steering wheel hard enough to make it creak.
The men push Sophia through the entrance, and she disappears inside.
I’m forced to listen to the men as they pat her down, but then there’s nothing but static from her wire until I hear Adrian’s voice, smooth and mocking.
“Well, well. Mrs. Artyomov. So good of you to join us.”
I close my eyes, forcing myself to breathe. To think. To wait for the right moment.
“Now,” I say into my earpiece.
The plan is in motion.
Sophia is inside.
God help us all, there’s no turning back now.
15
SOPHIA
The warehouse looms before me like a tomb, its broken windows staring down like hollow eyes.
My heart hammers against my ribs as I step out of the SUV.
The wire taped between my breasts feels like it’s burning through my skin.
The small pistol tucked into the waistband at the small of my back is a cold comfort, hidden beneath the loose sweater Mikhail insisted I wear.
I force my legs to move, each step toward the warehouse entrance feeling like I’m walking through quicksand.
The afternoon sun beats down on my shoulders, but I’m cold all over.
Whenthings go wrong, not if. We all know Adrian has no intention of letting any of us walk out of here alive.
The warehouse door stands open, a rectangle of darkness that seems to swallow all light.
I pause at the threshold, my hand instinctively moving toward the gun at my back before I force it down to my side.
They’ll search me.
They have to know I’d come armed.
“Hello?” My voice echoes in the cavernous space. “I’m here. Let Melinda go.”
Footsteps emerge from the shadows, and three men materialize, their weapons trained on me.
