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CHAPTERFOUR
I awaken to the smell of gasoline permeating in the air. It’s everywhere, suffocating me to the point where it's almost impossible to breathe.What the hell is happening?
I force my eyes open, but the fumes are so strong that I only manage to blink a few times before the stinging sensation slams them shut again.
“There she is.” A muffled voice murmurs from somewhere close by. It takes a second for me to place his voice, but once I do, the fine hairs on the back of my neck stand straight up.Dimitri.
He brushes a few stray hairs from my face, and the panic within me heightens.He’s come to finish what he started.
I knew this was coming. I sat in the darkness for hours, imagining this moment. Trying to prepare myself as best as I could for what he was going to do. But thinking about it and actually experiencing it are two very different things.I’m not ready to die.
“Shhh.” He whispers, grazing his rough fingers down the side of my face. “There’s no need to cry.”
Am I?I can feel a lump in my throat and a slight tremble in my body, so I must be.
I take in a few slow breaths, doing what I can to calm myself down, but with him this close to me and the sharp scent of gasoline lingering in the air, it’s almost impossible to relax.
All my mind can seem to focus on is the fear of what's going to happen next.
“Poor, Kroshka.” He says as he brushes his fingers through my tangled hair. “You had so much potential, but you couldn’t see beyond your loyalty. It’s a shame I have to do this.”
I snap my eyes open and glare up at him. “Then don’t.” I choke out, wincing as the fumes make my eyes water even more.
I can’t see his full expression through the gas-mask he’s wearing, but I can see the amusement in his eyes clear as day. He didn’t expect that.
Taking advantage of the window, I continue. “Let me go and we can pretend like this never happened. I’ll disappear and the effect will still be the same. No harm, no foul.”
“No harm, no foul, huh?” He asks, holding my gaze. “What about The Reapers?”
“What about them?” I ask, shaking my head as I clench my jaw. “I had time to think about it last night, and you’re right. They don’t want me. Everything they’ve done until now proves that. It would be stupid of me to go back to them and honestly, all I really want is to start over and put all of this shit behind me.”
Dimitri studies my face as if he’s searching for some kind of sign of deception. He won’t find one. I told the truth.Mostly.Itwouldbe stupid of me to go back to them and I do want to start over. He just doesn’t know that I've never had a problem with doing stupid shit for the people I love and that the only people I’d ever want to start over with are them.
“It’s a tempting offer.” He muses as he paces back and forth. “It would save me a lot of trouble, and I have always had this strange fondness for you. It would be a shame for you to die so young.”
Yup. Such a shame. So, let’s not do it.
“Then again,” He says, cocking his head at me. “Your plan has one fatal flaw.”
I furrow my brow.What flaw?I told him everything he wanted to hear.
He watches me as he lets the words slowly tumble from his lips. “I wouldn’t get the satisfaction of watching you burn.”
Dimitri grabs a red canister and douses me in gasoline. I gasp in horror as the icy cold liquid splashes across my skin and soaks my stained white dress, making the thin cotton fabric cling to my body.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I scream, feeling the panic inside of me explode out. “Don’t do this Dimitri. Please, please don’t fucking do this.” I’m sobbing now. Hiccuping between shuddering cries as the terror takes hold of me.
“You feel it, don’t you?” Dimitri asks, studying me. “That your death is near. I wonder if she felt it too?”
I blink my tears back and stare at him. "Who?”
Dimitri scoffs, as if it’s the most ridiculous question he’s ever heard. “Your sister, of course. I couldn’t be there when my men killed her, but I wonder if her cries sounded just like your’s.”
His words jar me so violently that it takes a few seconds to recover.He didn’t kill Alex. He couldn’t have.I vehemently shake my head, as if doing so will make my thoughts more concrete. “You’re lying.” I hiss, glaring up at him. “You didn’t even know my sister.”
I tilt my chin up indignantly to mask just how much his words affect me.He’s a liar.It’s what he’s good at. Why should this time be any different?
Dimitri glares at me, and it’s obvious he’s enjoying every second of this. “I understand the confusion. All the evidence I planted pointed to Ezra, but I did worry that you wouldn’t buy it. You were so much smarter than I expected, but I suppose, in the end, you weren’t smart enough.”
