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“There’s a boy here. Tell me where he is and nobody gets hurt.”
“What do you want with the kid?”
I lick my lips and ignore the dryness in the back of my throat. “He’s coming with me.”
Chapter 41
Natalya
“Nobody move,” I warn. “Nobody do anything stupid. Just tell me what floor he’s on and I’ll—” One of Levitsky’s men shifts his weight, reaching for the radio strapped to his shoulder. I raise my imaginary trigger and glare at him. “What did Ijustsay? Do you want to be blown into smithereens?”
“You’re bluffing,” he says with a snort.
“Are you sure?”
There must be something wild in my eyes because nobody attempts to press me on the issue. If anything, the men seem to grow more agitated and uneasy. When the first of them lowers their weapon and raises their hands in surrender, the rest follow.
“Just be calm,” one of them says to me in a soothing manner. “There’s no need to do anything drastic.”
Holy crap, it’s working!
I steel my nerves and continue, taking a step forward. They all take a collective step back. The key to this whole scam is confidence. If I can keep this up, maybe—just maybe— Simon and I can both get out of this alive.
“The boy,” I repeat harshly, waving the trigger around. “Where is he?”
“One floor down,” someone informs me. “Just… put the trigger down.”
“Can’t. It’s a pressure switch. If my thumb leaves it, this thing is rigged with enough C4 to take out three city blocks.” I’m feeling immensely brave right now, practically drunk off my power. “This is what’s going to happen, boys. I’m going to turn around and head back to the stairwell. If any of you call for backup, I’ll let go of this button. If any of you try to shoot me, I’ll drop dead and let go of this button. If you so much assneeze, I’ll let go of this button. Do you understand me?”
I feel crazy, the broken scrape of my voice only lending to the facade. Imustbe crazy to try a stunt like this, but I don’t care. Edvard has yanked me around for far too long, and now my loved ones are suffering for it. I’m overwhelmed with the need to protect, to save those closest to me. Edvard thought he could manipulate me, using my grief and sorrow as leverage. Now I’m going to make him regret ever messing with me.
None of the men dare move an inch. I take it as a sign that they’ll cooperate, but I’m not going to stick around to find out.
I hastily turn and go back to the apartment complex’s stairwell, making sure to keep the trigger in clear view—a reminder not to fuck with me.
The ninth floor is brightly lit and buzzing with noise; some light chatter and a soft lullaby playing over speakers. Two guards are posted at the door, but they freeze when they see the fake bomb strapped to my body.
“Move,” I hiss. “Or I’ll blow this whole place up.”
Thankfully, I get no push back. They step aside, one of them looking just about ready to wet himself. I’m a woman on a mission and they can tell I mean business.
I kick the door to the apartment in, startling Dahlia from out of her seat in the corner. She was in the middle of knitting a pair of baby socks. She gasps when she sees me, dropping her yarn and needles. Her face loses all color.
“Y-you!” she gasps.
As much as I want to tell her to go to hell, I choose instead to keep Dahlia in my periphery and focus on Simon. He’s standing in his playpen, gripping the side as he beams up at me. His little laugh is music to my ears.
“Mama!”
My eyes water. “Hello, sweetie. God, I’ve missed you so much!”
There’s next to nothing in this apartment. White walls, grey carpet. A playpen and a few toys for Simon, but it isn’t exactly the lap of luxury. There’s no sense of permanence here, which fills me with dread. If Edvard ordered it so, he could have this whole place swept up and cleared in the blink of an eye. It’s obvious they weren’t going to keep Simon here for long. I shudder to think what they would have done to him had I not arrived.
“What are you doing here?” Dahlia snaps. She takes a step forward like she might charge me, but I point at my ‘bomb’ and click my tongue.
“I wouldn’t, if I were you.”
“You’re bluffing. You wouldn’t risk harming him.”
