Ilose track of the days the longer I’m stuck inside this safehouse.
The walls all around are the color of weak milk tea. The carpet smells faintly like old cleaner and mildew that has never been able to be lifted from the old, worn fibers. The curtains are always closed, and the air conditioner rattles no matter how many times I smack it with my palm to shut it up when I’m trying to go to bed.
I pace the bedroom until my legs ache, but that only drives me deeper into myself, because the situation I’m in doesn’t change. I’m still trapped, still on the verge of completely dismantling my life at a moment’s notice, and no one aside from me knows it.
I don’t know when, or how, Mikhail will get me the information about when he wants Maksim lured to the restaurant. It’s been three days since our initial call and ever since then, I haven’t been able to get ahold of anyone’s phone.
They’ve all been guarded, swiping them to shove away into their pockets quickly whenever I arrive in the room. Not even Maksim keeps his phone out anymore after we crawl into bed together. It’s always handed over to Matvey at the end of the night and returned once the coffee is brewing and everyone is up for the day.
Even Katya refuses to allow me to use the burner phone she bought for me to call my sister. She calls my bluff one afternoon when I ask to borrow it again, dangling it in front of me while telling me to sit down next to her while I make the call.
All of it is incredibly frustrating.
If I try to steal a phone behind someone’s back, Matvey will notice. He already doesn’t trust me—I could see it in his eyes when I came out of the bathroom that night. Since then, he’s been wary of me. He doesn’t say anything, but silence is its own kind of accusation. I don’t know if he’s told Maksim about what happened but so far, all signs are pointing to yes.
Which makes this situation all the more dire.
I need to find another way to get in contact with Mikhail before he decides he’s had enough of my fucking around. I need to get out onto the streets somewhere Mikhail’s men can find me and pick me up. I know they’re out there roaming the streets.
If Maksim has his soldiers out there, Mikhail will too.
The opportunity finally comes when Roman checks in on me mid-morning, balancing a coffee in one hand and fiddling with a set of keys in his other. Most days, I’ve beenleft alone with only one of Maksim’s inner circle. All of them have been rotation shifts, patrolling the streets and babysitting me.
“Still hanging in there?” he asks, watching me from the table.
“I guess…” I mumble, sinking further into the couch.
A talk show plays on in the background that I’ve barely been paying attention to. For the past twenty minutes, I’ve been eyeing Matvey’s tech setup, the fancy monitors and keyboard tempting me so badly that my teeth have started to grind together.
Ten minutes would be all I needed to log on to a web-to-text site and send Mikhail a message.
Roman sips his coffee softly. “Good. Saves me from having to explain to ourPakhanwhy you wasted away while watching some boring talk show.”
I huff, half amused, half exasperated. Strangely, he’s been the one volunteering the most to babysit me. I’m not exactly sure what that implies, but I can’t lie and say I hate his company. Underneath the rough exterior and the biting sarcasm that spills out of his mouth on a daily basis, he’s a pretty nice guy. “Roman.”
“What.”
I shove the blanket off my legs and swing my feet to the floor, standing from the cocoon I’ve built for myself in the corner of the couch. My joints ache from too many hours spent curled up on it.
I know it’s not ideal timing—considering they’re knee-deep in trying to locate Emily—but the walls of this palace are closing in on me and if I don’t do something to get word to Mikhail soon, it might be too late. “Can you… take me outside for a little bit?”
Roman’s brows pinch together in suspicion.
“It doesn’t have to be long,” I add quickly. “I just need air. And to stretch my legs out in the sun. Please?”
His eyes narrow. “That’s not my call to make.”
“Then ask him. I promise I won’t get into any trouble. I just… I can’t stay trapped in here. I’m slowly losing my mind.”
For a long moment, he just stares at me. His eyes scan my face, trying to find cracks in my plea to see if I’m lying. Despite the hidden agenda, it is actually a half-truth. As much as I want to contact Mikhail, I am in desperate need of some fresh air.
Finally, he sighs. “Fine. But if he says no, you need to accept it. I don’t want to hear any begging.”
I nod again, relief rushing through me.
To both of our surprise, Maksim agrees. He doesn’t ask questions, doesn’t demand an explanation as to my sudden need for a different view, doesn’t even hesitate before telling Roman to take good care of me before ending the call.
While I’m half tempted to ask himwhy, I decide not to question my blessings. It wouldn’t do me any good, anyway. Bringing more attention to myself than I already have is a disaster waiting to happen. Besides, I don’t need Maksim, orthe rest of his inner circle, for that matter, to question my surprise. I’ve already risked enough by reacting so strongly to Emily’s photo in that file.
