Page 63 of Dark Soul

If there was anything to find, it’d be there.

She just knew it.

But if Kvyat found her looking in his briefcase, there would be nothing she could say. Being found in his office would be bad. Being found peeking into his suitcase could be … deadly. She’d be lucky to be fired. This was the man who’d killed her brother. And she knew him now, knew him well enough to know he wouldn’t hesitate to kill again.

But the house is full of people.

The city was full of people, too.

That didn’t save Rob.

A sudden calm filled her. She had to do this. Rob deserved some justice. She could do this one more thing—look in the suitcase. If there was nothing incriminating, she would leave. Go back to her life. Or maybe go back to Dark. She would have done everything she could.

She moved as carefully as she could, wishing she’d thought to take her high heels off. But it was too late now.

Keep going.

It’s now or never.

She was standing in front of the desk, close enough that she could touch the briefcase, when she heard the sound.

Footsteps.

Out in the hallway.

Heading this way.

No.

Please.

She waited for a miracle, for whoever was on the other side of the door to turn away.

A shadow appeared under the door.

Suppressing a cry, Alexia did the only thing she could—she ran to the Japanese screen in the far corner and crouched behind it, making herself into a tight ball.

Her heart beat hard against her chest. Disjointed thoughts flashed through her mind.

Can he hear my heartbeat?

Please, please don’t let him hear my heartbeat.

I want to live.

I want to see Dark again.

There’s so much I didn’t say, because I was afraid.

And a part of her wanted to stand up and run. But it was too late. Kvyat—and she knew it was him now from the sounds he was making as he talked to himself in Russian—closed the door behind him and moved towards his desk.

You’ll never make it out before he catches you.

You have to stay still.

That’s the only way you’re going to survive this.

Making a sound would be the quickest way to get him to find her.