AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I want to argue, but I don’t. She’s right.
“And besides, he hardly gave me any time to plan. If I hadn’t intervened,” she snaps, clearly thinking this through, “he wouldn’t have just gotten hurt. He would have died. It was all I could do. When he told me about his ‘deal,’ I knew he would end up dying to save you. If, and that’s a big if, the plans went off without a hitch, I still would have blown that fucking house to the ground. There was no way I would allow those animals to use my brother that way while you rode off into the sunset, forgetting everything he sacrificed for your freedom.”
There is much distaste to her tone.
“I would haveneverleft him,” I spit, not appreciating her take on this situation. “I would have come back. Even if my freedom was granted, it means nothing, nothing without him.”
Zoey seems unmoved. “Say what you want, but if it wasn’t for me, you’d all be dead.”
There were a million other things she could have done, but truth be told, she did what I couldn’t—she saved him. Or she had hoped to because what she says next has a gasp leaving me.
“But when we got to the den, he was gone.”
The world tilts on its axis. “Gone?”
“Yes. At first, I thought he had escaped, but I knew if he had, he wouldn’t have left you behind.”
The fact has me frowning because she’s right.
“And besides, with the shot he took to the chest, he wouldn’t have gotten far. I saw Borya’s body. He was definitely dead. But…”
Her pause has the hair at the back of my neck stand on end. And when Zoey drops yet another bombshell, I know this is where the real story begins.
“But Astra and Oscar…they were both gone.”
I blink once, robbed of breath.
“Impossible.” Alek breaks the silence. “If that were true, then we would have heard.”
“Heard from who?” Zoey challenges. “What alliances do you have left, Alek? None. No one will dare help you after everything you’ve done.”
When the grass rustles behind me and Alek marches forward, I expect Zoey to drop to her knees and beg for forgiveness as I’ve seen her do countless times before. But that was the old Zoey, and just like Borya, that person is dead.
She stands her ground as he lunges for her, gripping her bicep and shaking her violently. “You blew up my fucking house! You destroyed my life. And all for what? For revenge? Is that it?”
Alek shakes her harder, but she only laughs in response. “You destroyed your own life the day you threw me out like I was nothing!” She rips her arm from his hold. “And the house? That place was a prison to everyone who was trapped within those walls.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Zoey rubs her arm as she continues her story. “Pavel and I escaped back to the mountains where he and his mother were finally reunited. But it was here where the real plan was hatched. Unlike you, Alek, Pavel has people who respect him. It took us a while, but we found Saint.”
My legs threaten to give way. “Where?”
She inhales heavily, which hints that wherever he is can’t be good. “Oscar has him. He’s holding him prisoner.”
And just like that, my worst fears have come to light.
“No,” I cry, shaking my head because there has to be some mistake. But there isn’t.
“Pavel has tried his hardest to infiltrate his house, but it’s like a fort. Especially because of what happened. So without a plan, we’re screwed.”
I remember the picture; the evidence Zoey has. It was of a man who looked like Saint being shoved into the back seat of a car. The quality wasn’t great, and now I know that’s because Pavel’s informant was attempting to remain hidden and not rouse any suspicion.
But there is a reason Pavel’s snitch was able to get a photo of Saint in the first place. Oscar isn’t careless, and now more than ever, you’d think he would be more careful to conceal his crimes. But he’s not, and the reason for that is…Oscar is using Saint as bait. He’s using Saint to lure us out of hiding.
They know Alek and I are not dead.
Oh, my god. I’m going to be sick.
