The door to the women’s restroom squeaked open as the hinges moved. I’d just stepped out of the stall. As I lifted my head, I found Linda-Lisa frowning at me. She pressed her hand over her stomach. She was barely showing, but since she hadn’t lost the pregnancy belly from her first baby, she probably looked further along. Having her hand over where her new baby grew was a protective gesture. The tension on her face as she cringed showed how uneasy she was.
Clearly, she felt threatened.
“Um… Elena?”
I drew in a shaky breath.
“Some… men are out there looking for you.”
Shivers rippled through me.
Be strong.
Just keep cool.
Breathe.
You will survive.
“They have your purse and said that, um, you need to be escorted off the property.” She trailed into a quieter whisper as she spoke, like she was waning with the urge to be heard at all.
“Now,” she mouthed, looking like she was scared out of her mind.
I didn’t reply. There was nothing I could say to her. A goodbye wouldn’t make a difference now, and the fact that my usual need to be polite and kind had disappeared.
I didn’t need to be a people pleaser for her. Or care about what my father wanted.
The Volkov men had arrived. And they expected me to go with them.
Breathe.
Don’t pass out.
Just… breathe.
Zoning out as I walked out of the bathroom, I woodenly moved forward. There was no hope in avoiding attention now as I exited like this was a walk to my execution, and for all I knew, it would be. These Mafia men could kill me for this situation that hadn’t ended the way my father thought it would. They could take me out into the desert and rape and torture and abuse me.
More shivers raced through me as I focused on putting one step in front of the other. I didn’t need to raise my head to look at the suited men in the receptionist area. The blurs of dark forms clued me in enough. Their presence was noticeable enough.
Only when I reached them did they move.
They flanked me. Another bodyguard thug showed up to point at the door.
This is it.
The end.
The conclusion to my sad, sorry life.
The walk out of the building passed in a hazy blur of seconds. Outside, the unrelenting sunshine seared my skin. Keeping my face lowered, I almost shielded my eyes from the harsh light, but I was too shellshocked to even flinch or squint.
Black SUVs stood in the parking lot, the cracked slab of blacktop I doubted I’d ever see again. I’d never park and sit in a depressed rut in my car as I stared and dreaded another day of working for my father.
This is it.
The last time anything would be normal again.
One man opened the door to the backseat, and without a word, only tripping over my feet once, I moved to enter the car.
