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But there’s nothing. Just a crater where she once was.
It hits me all at once.
Rose is gone.
The car is gone.
And whatever just happened… it was clearly meant for me.
111
MISHA
A FEW MINUTES EARLIER
I’m studying the list of properties that belong to Petyr Ivanov when Rose calls me back. I answer the phone as images of scurrying rats whisk through my mind’s eye.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Orlov,” she says hurriedly. “I didn’t see your call until just now. Is there something you need?”
I hear a car honk in the background. “Have you already left the office?”
“Yes. Miss Paige wanted some documents before the weekend, so I’m just driving them over to her now. Do you need me to double back?”
“No, no need. It’s not important,” I say. “Are you close to the house?”
“Driving towards the gate now.”
I hear another honk. This one is louder, and I’m guessing she’s just alerted security that she’s outside.
“Have you noticed anything?” I ask. “Anyone following you or keeping tabs on you? Anything in the least bit suspicious?”
Rats in the cellar. Rats in the attic. Rats in the shadows, sharp teeth bared, ready to feast on what’s mine…
“Not that I’ve noticed. Should I—Is something wrong, sir?”
I’m not sure if that’s a good sign or a bad one. “If there’s anything at all, report it directly to me.”
“Of course, Mr. Orlov. I’m pulling up the drive now. I can see Miss Paige in front of the porch. I should—”
BOOM!
I jerk away from the phone as the sound blasts through my skull like a knife. When I put the phone back against my ear, all I hear is static and then dead air.
I drop the phone onto my desk, leap to my feet, and rush towards the balcony.
I don’t know what the fuck just happened, but I know it’s not good. There was an explosion just now. A big one.
And Paige was in the line of fire.
I have to stop at the balcony doors and brace myself against the frame while I dry heave. How is it that I’m experiencing this feeling twice in one lifetime? The dull, sickening gut punch of uncertainty. Of naked terror.
A year and a half ago, I saw that bullet bury itself in my brother, and my viscera did the same nauseating clench, like it was trying to turn my body inside out.
And now…
She can’t be dead. She can’t be.
This is not how it ends with us.
I burst through the door and look down over the front courtyard. It’s chaos outside. Guards swarming, smoke swirling, the stench of blood and soil and gasoline rich in the air.
Through it all, I look down and lock eyes with Konstantin. His face is streaked with soot and his eyes are haunted as he looks up at me.
“Brother…” he says, the word cracked and broken. It’s a whisper, but it floats up to me through the mayhem, clear as day.
“Paige.” That’s all I manage to choke out. That’s all that matters.
He just shakes his head somberly. “You should come down, Misha. There are things you need to see.”
To be continued…
