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Fresh air floods my lungs.
Dani climbs out first, dropping onto the tall green grass. It’s the middle of the night, the silver glow of the moon above our only source of light. Dani has to help drag me out of the hole, but then we’re free.
“No time to celebrate,” she says hastily, throwing my arm over her shoulder to support my weight. “Jerome said there was a main road.”
“Yeah, and it’s really far away.”
“Still, we might be able to flag down help.”
I nod, weary and broken. I savor the feeling of finally being able to stretch my legs. My pants almost slip off my hips because I’ve lost so much weight. I decide to deal with one problem at a time. Right now, survival takes precedence.
“Let’s go,” I murmur.
Dani leads the way.
Chapter 28
Dani
Itake in the topography, the flora and fauna. Tiny lakes are everywhere, which explains why the ground was always so wet and muddy. Something tells me we’re not even in the United States anymore.
Call it a hunch, but I’m pretty sure we’re somewhere in Ontario, Canada. My parents used to love taking Tabitha and me on camping trips, and the landscape is almost identical to my memories. I suppose knowing where I am isn’t as important as finding the main road, though. Right now, getting to somewhere with civilization is my top priority—and Luka’s only hope.
He’s barely hanging on. Breathing ragged, his fever higher than ever. He drags his feet as we walk, trampling over ferns and tree roots. I don’t hear anyone pursuing us, but I’m sure that’ll change if we don’t hurry. Judging the position of the sun and factoring in the time of year, Jerome and Calvin will be showing up at our cell soon. Once they realize we’ve escaped…
“Come on, baby,” I murmur, trying to keep Luka’s eyes open. “We’re so close.”
“Dani, I—”
“Just keep going. One foot in front of the other. That’s it.”
Luka coughs. It’s such a violent sound it shakes his body. He keels over, hinging at the hips, grasping at his knees. It hurts me to see him like this. “Dani, I don’t know if I can…”
“Stop it, Luka. We’re in the home stretch, you can’t give up—”
The angry bark of distant dogs sends a chill screeching down my spine. They’re hunting us.
I secure my hold on Luka and all but drag him with me, picking up our pace as we trudge forward. The underbrush is thick and the ground uneven. We trip and we tumble, our path forward suddenly impossible.
The dogs grow louder, closing in.
I hear angry men yelling in Russian.
We’re running out of time.
Luka takes me by surprise when he grabs me by the shoulders and throws us both behind the trunk of a tall tree. His face is grey and clammy. “Dani, listen to me. We don’t have a lot of time.”
“Luka—”
He clasps his hand over my mouth. “Listen. You need to run. Get out of here. Don’t worry about me. I’ll try to hold them off for as long as I can.”
Tears sting my eyes. My heart breaks in two. I angrily shove his hand away. “No, Luka.No, we can still—”
Luka cups my face in his hand and kisses me roughly. I can’t help but whimper. This hurts too much. Why does it feel like he’s saying goodbye? “Get the fuck out of here, Dani. Find the main road and get help.”
“They’ll kill you,” I say around a pathetic sob. “Please don’t do this. We’ve come so far. There has to be a way!”
“Dani Harper, I love you. That’s why you have to live.”
