AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“No one is that powerful. She will die, Timofey. It’s just a matter of when.”
“Is that a fucking threat?” I hiss.
“It’s a warning. Without me, you’ll never find her in time.”
Just as Sergey finishes speaking, I hear something. It’s a distant sound. A muffled cry or a scream. I tip my ear towards the doorway. “You said these hallways echoed.”
When I look back at Sergey, his face is pale. “There are hundreds of people in this hotel. It could be anyone.”
“But it’s not, is it?” I ask, studying his pained expression. “It’s her. She’s here in these tunnels.”
His nostrils flare. “You can’t beat Kreshnik on your own. You can’t beat him without me.”
All of the pieces start to fit together. “You brought Piper here so you could… You’re working with Kreshnik to bring me to my knees, just so you can be the one to help me back up. You’re trying to make amends.”
“You don’t know his plan,” he continues, ignoring my accusations. “I can help you defeat him. I have—”
“Nothing,” I finish for him. “You have nothing, Sergey. You chose to work with Kreshnik even though you know as well as I do that he’ll kill you when he’s finished with you. And your only other choice was to appeal to my sense of mercy. Unless you really think I’m a fool, in which case you hoped I would fall into your trap.”
“It’s not a trap. It’s a—”
Another cry echoes down the hallway. It’s Piper. I know it is.
Sergey knows it, too. He just lost his leverage.
His lips are pressed into a tense line. When he looks back at me, his eyes are wide and childlike. “You wouldn’t kill your father.”
“My father died when I was a kid. My mother, too.” I shake my head. “I don’t have any family left. You made sure of that when you killed Rodion and Emily.”
He switches tactics. “You wouldn’t kill me here. There are too many witnesses. Someone saw you come back here with me.”
“I doubt it. Even if they did, they won’t find you when I’m finished.”
He’s sweating. Fat beads of it rolling down his forehead. “I can help you! I can be… I can be useful! Whatever you need, I can—”
“I spent most of my life trying to be useful, Sergey. That’s what you taught me: a person is only worth what they can do for you. But life is about more than that. Relationships are about more than that. They are about love.”
I let go of Sergey just as I hear another muffled cry echoing down the hallway.
Sergey inhales deeply, assuming I’m sparing him. “I love you, son. I—”
Lightning fast, I grab each side of his face and twist with all my strength. His neck cracks in two, and Sergey’s words dissolve into a strangled whimper.
And then there is silence.
50
PIPER
“Put Benjamin down.”
My voice cracks with the plea. I’m scraping myself across the emotional coals, doing anything to apply to the still-beating heart I hope exists beneath Kreshnik’s evil facade.
He stares back at me blankly. His arms are curled around Benjamin, but there’s nothing gentle in his hold. Nothing loving. It’s the careful way someone holds a bomb they’ve rigged to explode.
“He’s fine here. Aren’t you, my little friend?” He smiles down at Benjamin. “He’s a great baby, you know? Hardly cries. Very obedient. It’s a shame what’s going to happen to him.”
The last few days, while we searched for him, I wanted so badly for Benjamin to be alive. Now, I’m not sure that was the right wish. I should have hoped for a peaceful end for him. Wouldn’t that be better than this?
