Total pages in book: 66
Estimated words: 63638 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 63638 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 318(@200wpm)___ 255(@250wpm)___ 212(@300wpm)
“Thank you,” I murmur. “For everything.”
She shifts slightly, sighing in her sleep, but doesn’t wake. I swallow the lump in my throat and back away, careful not to let the door creak as I pull it closed behind me.
Then I’m moving. I slip swiftly, silently, down the main hall, carrying my suitcase by the handle so the wheels don’t betray me. I cut through the kitchen and head straight for the garage.
In the massive garage, my car keys dangle on a hook beside dozens of others. I snatch them down and heave my suitcase into the trunk. I quickly disable the alarm like Sergei showed me how to only a week ago in case I needed to get out. I open the garage door, praying the sound doesn’t wake anyone. Hopefully, if it does, I’ll be long gone by the time they get up to check.
I get in the car and turn the key in the ignition, but I don’t turn on the headlights just yet. I ease the car out of the garage and onto the road, glancing back at the mansion one last time in the rearview mirror. The house is dark. Still asleep.
And just like that, I’m gone. I don’t look back again; instead, I wind through back roads toward the highway. Then I realize I can’t go back to the city. I decide to head upstate for a few days while I figure out my next move. Sometime tomorrow I’ll get cash and ditch the car, but for tonight I just need to get somewhere safe. I turn onto a narrow back road, desperate to put as much distance between me and the mansion as possible.
The SUVs come out of nowhere, sleek and black, headlights off. I don’t even see them until one cuts me off at the next intersection, tires squealing, while the other pulls up fast behind me and blocks my exit.
Panic explodes in my chest.
No. No, no, no.
I slam my foot on the brake and try to reverse, but there’s nowhere to go. I’m boxed in. Trapped. My fingers scramble to lock the doors, to grab my phone, but before I can so much as dial, a figure steps out from the lead SUV.
I scream and fumble for the door, but it’s too late. The window shatters with a loud crack, sending shards across my lap. A hand grabs me, rough and gloved, yanking me out of the car and into the cold night air. I fight back, kicking and screaming, but no one hears me.
The last thing I see before the world goes dark is the red taillight of my car still blinking in the street.
26
SERGEI
Iwake up to a quiet house and an empty bed. I reach for Nicole but meet only cool sheets. Fog clings to my thoughts as I try to recall whether she ever slipped into bed last night, but nothing solid surfaces.
I sit up slowly, rubbing a hand across my face as unease flickers in my gut. It’s earlier than I usually wake up. Weak sunlight barely stretches across the windows, and only a handful of birds chirp.
I pull on a shirt and check the bathroom. She isn’t there either. In fact, there’s no trace of her at all. I’m shocked at how quickly I’ve grown accustomed to her presence. I used to relish an empty bed, but now her absence presses against me like a bruise. And this morning, more than ever, my gut insists something is wrong.
I go to her room to knock on the door, but there’s no answer. I walk the garden paths in case she went for a stroll, but they’re empty. None of the staff have seen her this morning, and the kitchen shows no trace of brewed coffee or a hastily made breakfast.
Finally, I head to Mom’s suite. If Nicole were anywhere on the property, she’d be at Mom’s bedside. But when I poke my head in, my mother is still sleeping soundly and there’s no sign that Nicole’s been here either.
Panic finally sinks its claws into me. I hurry back to her room and don’t bother knocking. I shove the door wide and find the bed unmade—and every trace of Nicole gone. She left. What the hell?
I go to my office and shut the door, my pulse hammering with equal parts worry and disbelief. Why would she just leave without saying anything to me? We’d finally reached a good place, I thought. We were in here just last night, defiling my desk. What changed between then and now that could cause her to leave?
I pull out my phone and dial her number, but it rings twice before going straight to voicemail. I call again, and hit the same dead end.
I pace, trying to think. I left her in here alone. Shit. Did she see something that scared her? Did she finally glimpse the truth about me? I have to find her, to explain who I am and why I didn’t tell her sooner. I call Sasha and tell him she’s missing, ask what the hell to do next. He tells me to get the grounds’ security footage and he’ll take care of the rest.