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In a way, I am. If I can hold something serious over Timofey’s head, it could be the key to get me and Benjamin out of here.
This is for him.
I turn the corner and glide down another hallway. It feels like wandering through a maze. I’ve never been in a house this big. If Timofey doesn’t give me a proper tour, I’m liable to get lost.
I’m approaching the end of the hallway when I hear Timofey’s voice again. I freeze and press my body flat against the wall.
I can’t see who he’s talking to and they’re whispering so low that it’s hard to make out the words. In small, sliding steps, I sneak closer to the hallway intersection, hoping I’ll get lucky and their voices will carry.
I hear something about a body, and my heart constricts.
Does that have something to do with the blood I saw on Timofey’s neck? Did he kill someone?
My heart is thundering. I blow out a silent breath to try and stay calm. I won’t learn anything if I descend into a panic.
Breathe, girl. Focus. This is for him.
I lean closer with my eyes closed like that might help me pick up their words better. Weirdly, it works.
“I don’t know how you do it,” an unfamiliar voice says. “Kill people.”
I swallow down a gasp, biting my lower lip so hard I expect it to split. Timofey kills people. He’s a killer. I knew it, and yet somehow, I’m still surprised. That might make me dumb. At the very least, it makes me a sucker.
“Probably the same way you look your brothers in blue in the eyes after you doctor up a crime scene to make me look innocent,” Timofey snaps back.
He’s talking to a police officer right now. An officer who is clearly working for him.
That’s corruption. Or bribery. Probably both. Whatever the name, they could both go to prison for a long time if it was reported. It’s exactly the kind of information I need.
I just need to know the man’s name.
The men keep talking. I inch closer and closer to the corner of the wall.
One glimpse. That’s all I need. One peek at the officer’s badge or his face or something that could at least help me identify him in a lineup. I just need one good look and then I’ll run back to Timofey’s office and pretend this never happened.
Their voices are tense, an argument simmering between them, and it seems like the best opportunity I’m going to get.
I poke my head out slowly and take in the scene.
Timofey is standing with his back to me, facing a man in all black. The cop is fit and well-built, though he’s nothing compared to Timofey. He has a hoodie on, zipped up to the neck. If he’s wearing a badge, I can’t see it.
But I can see his face.
I catalog him, imagining describing this exact man to a sketch artist later. Square head. No chin to speak of. Small, dark eyes…
Eyes that land right on me.
“What the fu—who is that?” the man splutters.
My heart leaps into my throat. I pull back as quickly as I can, but it doesn’t matter. I already know it’s too late.
19
PIPER
I start running down the hallway. Maybe a miracle will occur and I can outrun Timofey. I lower my head, ready to give that far-fetched escape plan all I’ve got…when I hear a cry.
Ababy’scry.
