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I climb out of my ruined car with a grunt, shifting through my pockets to pull out my phone. I call Catherina first. The call goes straight to voicemail. I try Aurora’s number next. More of the same. Could it be that Konstantin already has them? How could this have happened? My mother’s address isn’t listed anywhere public, and it’s not like she keeps a particularly vibrant social life.
“Fuck,” I hiss under my breath. “Shit.”
There’s no time to speculate, no time to theorize. I need to get to Aurora and my mother before it’s too late. God forbid—maybe it alreadyis.
A car pulls up behind me, flashing their hazard lights on. An elderly man steps out, looking at the wreckage with concern.
“Good heavens!” he gasps, getting out of her vehicle. “Are you alright, son? I saw the whole thing! Do you need me to call the cops? An ambulance?”
My mind races. This is a mess, but I have no choice but to lean into it.
“No, don’t call anybody,” I say, reaching into my jacket pocket to pull out my wallet. “I need you to give me your car.”
“Excuse me?”
“How much? I’ll pay you for your vehicle and have a private car sent to pick you up.”
The man looks at me like I’ve grown a second head. “Are you out of your mind? You can’t possibly afford—”
I pull out my checkbook, jotting down my signature while leaving the amount line blank. I rip off the top check and hand it to him. “Here. I swear I’m good for it. Look me up if you want to.”
The man takes it with a skeptical look in his eye. I can’t say I blame him, but I really don’t have any other options.
“Seriously?” he asks.
“Write whatever number you want. I don’t care. Just give me your keys. Please. Those men are after some people I care about.”
He stares at me for a good ten seconds—which is honestly five seconds too long. But, after a moment of confused contemplation, the man eventually tosses me his keys. I breathe a sigh of relief and hand him one of my business cards.
“Call the number on the bottom there. Ask for Luka. Tell him Mikhail told you to call and explain what happened. He’ll hook you up with a car as soon as possible.”
“Erm… Right. Okay. I hope you know what you’re doing, son.”
I don’t have time to respond or thank him. I get behind the wheel of his car, jam the key into the ignition, and slam my foot down on the gas. There’s no time to waste.
* * *
The villa is up in smoke.
Fire rages uncontrollably, thick plumes of black billowing up into the sky as orange and red burst forth through the broken windows and collapsing roof. Heavy tire tracks have ripped across the front lawn, but the vehicles in question are no longer here.That’swhat Toyota was doing. Their purpose wasn’t to kill me, only to delay me from reaching the villa in time.
I run, screaming and choking on smoke.
“Aurora! Mother!Where are you?”
The heat is overwhelming, the air so violently hot it burns my face and dries out my eyes instantly. Catherina’s home might be remote, but surely someone must have seen the smoke by now. I’m not counting on emergency services to get here in time, however. If Aurora and my mother are trapped somewhere inside, there’s a good chance they might have already succumbed to the smoke and flames.
Helplessness and rage boil inside my chest. Konstantin has taken things too far. I can’t give up hope. Not yet. If there’s one thing I’m not, it’s a quitter.
My feet carry me forward before my brain even has the chance to think. My body reacts on its own, drawn to the fire with a growing sense of urgency. What is my uncle trying to prove by burning down my mother’s home? That he can get to her, and therefore get to me? Is he trying to show me that nobody in my family is safe?
My phone rings in my pocket. I let it ring. Now isn’t the time for phone calls. But as I desperately try to find a way into the villa, the smell of burning wood and chemicals stinging the insides of my nose, my phonekeepsringing. Exasperated, I look down at the screen.
An unknown number is attempting to FaceTime me.
Konstantin.
“What the fuck have you done?” I hiss the moment I answer.
