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The four of us keep moving, taking sharp turns whenever we hear someone approaching. There must be at least a hundred different rooms in this place. This is taking too long. If we don’t find Luka soon, there’s a really good chance someone’s going to realize we’re not who we’re pretending to be.
Only after we’ve popped into the twentieth room do I happen to stumble upon a red fire alarm mounted to the wall. I must stare at it a little too long because Dimitri nudges me in the arm with his elbow.
“Come on,” he whispers.
I swallow hard. “What if we flush him out?”
Mikhail frowns, casting a cautious glance over his shoulder. Voices down the hall. Someone’s coming. We need to hurry. “What are you talking about?”
“Luka’s a high priority asset to them,” I point out. “If they think there’s a fire, they’re not going to leave him behind and risk letting him burn. Besides, they don’t know we’re here yet. Everyone will be more concerned about evacuating, thinking it’s a real fire. We won’t have to fight The Trinity’s mercenaries head on. If we cover the exits…”
“Then we might see him,” Pyotr realizes aloud.
“We need to split up,” Mikhail says. “Each of us will take a door. I’ll go north. Dima, go east. Pytor, west. And Dani—”
“I’ll set off the alarm and cover the south exit,” I say hastily.
“Give us two minutes to get into position, then pull it.”
“Right.”
“And try not to get caught. Keep your face hidden as much as possible.”
I nod, my heart thundering behind my ribcage. “You got it.”
Chapter 36
Luka
Time doesn’t mean much to me anymore. I’ve lost track of the days. Have I been here for a week? A month? A year? It doesn’t matter. The point is, my uncle has me working non-stop, and I’m pretty sure my brain isthisclose to frying. If I get out of this alive, I never want to see another wire transfer request form ever again.
Levitksy sits right beside me, drinking his vodka. Given the man’s age, it’s frankly a wonder he’s able to drink so much. Isn’t he worried about the state of his liver? Whatever. If he wants to drink himself to death, it suits me just fine.
Salkov has taken up her spot next to Konstantin. She’s been getting overly comfortable with him, her flirtatious looks and flowery language not lost on me. I think my comments the other day about what happens after scared her into taking action. She’s playing defensively, preparing for the moment things may or may not turn against her. It’s fine by me. I’d much rather she waste her attention on my uncle than constantly breathe down my neck while I work.
“Have you ever been to Germany in the summertime?” Salkov asks Konstantin with a sultry smile. It makes my skin crawl.
“I can’t say that I have,” my uncle confesses, his tone smooth and charming.Gross.
“We should go on a trip,” Salkov continues. “Enjoy the sights, the food… the company.”
“Kill me now,” I grumble under my breath.
“What was that, dear nephew?”
“Nothi—”
An alarm suddenly blares, shattering the stillness of the compound. A loud screeching comes in pulses over the building’s speaker system, accompanied by the frantic flash of warning lights.
“A fire?” Salkov gasps. “What the—”
I’ve been waiting for an opportunity to strike. If this isn’t it, I don’t know what is.
In the blink of an eye, I jump out of my seat and lunge for Levitsky, shoving him hard. So hard, in fact, the old man tips over backward in his chair and lands on his back. I yank the cup from his hands and fling it at Salkov. The vodka gets in her eyes. She screeches.
Next, I have to deal with Konstantin.
He isn’t the strong young man he used to be. Even though I’m on the tail end of recovery from my lung infection, I’m still a third of his age and twice as determined to cave his skull in. I rush him with speed I didn’t know I was capable of, rapidly grabbing my uncle by the collar of his shirt.
