Page 18 of Barinov

I look away and bury my head into Lex’s chest. His arms tighten around my back, heart thumping in his chest so hard I can feel it pounding against my cheek.

Bella wails as the metal sizzles into her skin. An unbearable, high-pitched, and shattering sound that will for sure give me nightmares for the rest of my life. Lex loses it completely. He’s shaking and shouting things in Russian. Words I can’t even catch through the roar in my head.

I turn back just in time to see Zeke lift the iron away, smoke curling up from her singed flesh. Seared into her forearm in cruel and elegant cursive, is the letter C.

“What the hell is a C for?” I whisper.

Bella sobs as her body violently shakes from the pain.

Zeke doesn’t look at it. He won’t even glance at her. The coward just turns around and walks out of the room like this was nothing. Like she is nothing.

The screen glitches again.

Static.

Black.

Gone.

DING.

@LucaWasHere

So terribly sorry, but this time Miami’s not the code.

You chose the wrong word and took the wrong road.

See what happens when you guess in the dark?

A single bad answer, now she carries my mark.

But don’t worry, boys. For I’m a fair-minded man.

I promised you hours and I’ll stick to the plan.

The rest of that time, I’ll leave in your hand.

Think hard, breathe slow, and follow what you understand.

Last chance, Lexie. No more saving grace.

No second guesses when you miss the right place.

Type it once more. Make it perfect and true.

Because next time she suffers… it’ll all be on you.

01:45:00

“Fuck!”

The word barely leaves Lex’s mouth before he grabs the jar of sand and hurls it across the room. It explodes against the wall. The sound of shattering glass echoes like a gunshot. Ellie and Haley gasp, both of them shrinking back into their seats. For a split second, no one breathes.

Sand sprays across the floor in a wide arc, grains scattering and catching the light as they spill under the table. Something solid skids across the floor, creating a small, dull clink as it comes to rest near the table leg.

My eyes lock onto it. It’s a black USB drive. Unmarked and completely out of place among the shards and sand.

Knox leans down and picks it up.