I don’t know what’s going on with her yet. But once I find out, I’m going to fix it.
Whatever it takes.
SLOANE
The second they’re out the door, whatever composure I’ve been faking snaps. I rush to the back, push through the swinging door, and head straight for the locker room.
As soon as I’m alone, the sound rips out of me. A raw, broken cry I can’t swallow down this time. I grab the edge of the metal bench and bend over, shoulders shaking, trying to survive the guilt ripping through me.
Facing him, knowing what I might have to do to him, to Lev… I don’t know how I’m supposed to live with myself.
I’m a fraud. A failure.
It’s like I’m trapped between two doors and both lead straight to hell. If I tell him what’s happening, if I confess everything, Eli might go after Milo, and then what? How do I wake up every day knowing I put my son in the line of fire? How do I go on if something happens to him because of me?
But if I stay quiet and do what Eli wants, I’m handing Kirill and his son over to danger too.
No matter which way I turn, someone I love gets hurt.
I drag myself to the sink and splash cold water on my face, trying to wash off the panic, the shame, the way his voice sounded when he told me he wanted to give me the world. My reflection looks pale and wild-eyed. I don’t even recognize myself.
Before I can even reach for a paper towel, my phone buzzes in my apron pocket. I don’t have to look at the screen to know who it is.
Eli
Did you apply?
My thumb hovers. Every instinct in me wants to lie, but there’s no point.
Sloane
No.
A few seconds crawl by, heavy and thick, and my heart pounds harder with each one. Then another text pops up, and my pulse drops straight through the floor.
Eli
I figured you’d say that. So I made sure to have a little leverage. Just so you understand how serious I am.
The next message is a picture.
Milo.
He’s at the park near my sister’s place, standing by the swings with a ball in his hands, head thrown back mid-laugh. I recognize the shirt he’s wearing, the one with the faded dinosaur on it that I bought him. There’s no mistaking that this is recent.
A sick, rolling wave hits me so hard I grab the edge of the sink.
Eli
That’s how easily I can get to him. Anytime I want. Your deadline is tonight. If you haven’t submitted your application by then, he’s dead.
The words blur. The picture doubles. I can’t breathe.
Milo’s little face stares up at me from the screen.
The room tilts as I squeeze my eyes shut and press my fingers to the bridge of my nose. There’s no way out. Not one that doesn’t risk my baby boy.
Sloane
