Total pages in book: 113
Estimated words: 106541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106541 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 533(@200wpm)___ 426(@250wpm)___ 355(@300wpm)
When he pushes on an empty bookshelf next to the door, my mouth falls open. There’s a secret passage. “Where does it lead?”
“To the kitchen.” Suddenly uneased, Alek steps into my path. “This isn’t an escape route, Kate. If you run, it will cost more than your life. Do you understand?” His tone isn’t threatening, but what other way can I take his warning?
“I understand.”
My reply must not come out as confident as I was aiming for.
“Kate…” He drags out my name as if it has more letters than it does.
I lift my eyes to his. “I won’t run.” I made a pledge to Lera, and I plan to keep it, even if I have to do it without Ghost. “Thanks for checking on me.”
“You’re welcome.” He bumps me with his shoulder, flashes me a quick grin, then exits the normal way.
I last an hour before my inquisitiveness gets the best of me.
After the festivities tonight and the multiple shots of vodka, the house is quiet. I doubt anyone will notice my feeble footsteps
The secret corridor is lit, so within minutes, I enter a massive walk-in pantry. As Alek advised, Lera is sitting at the island bench, scoffing down a handful of marshmallows. She isn’t alone, so I am cautious to approach her, but she leaves me no choice when she spots me. “Katie!” My name sounds adorable in her Russian accent.
“Hello, Lera.” As I walk out of the pantry, I smile at Sofia. “Should you be eating so much sugar this late at night? The bears might roar in your stomach.” I speak my last sentence in Russian, making her giggle. I learned it from a nursery rhyme I recited at Master Rudd’s. Her response makes me wonder if she has read the story.
She replies something in Russian that I don’t understand before peering behind my shoulder. “дядя?”
“He’s not here,” I reply, my tone dropping. “But I bet he will come see you soon.”
When she peers up at her mother to translate, her brows knitted, Sofia smiles before saying, “It is time to wash up. We have a big trip in the morning.”
She realizes she said too much when I ask, “Are you going somewhere?”
Lera returns her eyes to me. They’re gleaming with excitement. “Хороший. Мы едем на большой самолет.”
This time, Sofia translates. “She said we’re going on a big boat.”
I balk at the end of her reply. My Russian is average, but I know what самолет means. Jace refused to bathe without his гидросамолет. Finding his favorite toy seaplane was the only way I could get him into the bathroom. I also had to pretend he was a plane to get him out of the dirt-stained tub.
Acting daft has kept me alive for the past eight and a half years, so I give it another whirl. “That’ll be fun. I hope I can come with you.”
Sofia interprets my reply for Lera before she clutches her hand and tells her it is time for bed.
“Goodnight, Katie,” Lera whispers faintly as she is carried toward the exit. When I wave, she once again looks over my shoulder and farewells, “Goodnight, дядя.”
Aware his hidey spot has been given away, Ghost replies, “Goodnight, Lera.”
When I spin on a wobbly pair of knees, I discover Ghost in the walk-in pantry I only exited minutes ago. His eyes are wild, his clothes are disheveled, and I’m suspicious not all the white powder on his fingertips is the powdered sugar coating the marshmallows he’s holding.
Despite the hope in my heart, I know he isn’t here for me.
If Lera goes anywhere, Ghost is not far behind her.
I hate that I have to skirt by him to return to my room, but with multiple deadlocks on my door and just as many guards manning the hallway, I have no choice. I must return to my room before check-in or more than my life will be at stake.
It seems more than cocaine was on Ghost’s hit list when I attempt to slip past him. He reeks of alcohol and perfume.
I take it his engagement party was a raving success.
I’m almost in the clear when Ghost’s hand darts out to seize my elbow. His grip isn’t painful, but I’d have to rip my arm out of its socket to get away from him, so I do nothing but freeze.
The hairs on the back of my neck prickle when he leans across to suck in my recently washed hair. It is the fight of my life not to sway into him. I’m hurt and confused, but my body craves his touch. I want it no matter the cost and would rather give up my freedom than lose it again for months on end.
“Ghost…”
He drags in a big breath that whistles through his teeth before pushing me toward the hidden stairwell. “Go, маленький ягненок, before I destroy you more than I already am.”