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“Charlotte…”
Tap.
Something solid hits the glass of my bedroom window. Charlotte and I turn toward the noise, confused when we see nothing. It’s dark out, well past ten. Could it have been a bird or an insect?
Tap, tap.
“What the hell?” Charlotte mumbles.
“Stay here,” I say, throwing my covers off and swinging my feet over the edge of my bed. I stride over slowly, squinting out into the darkness, hoping I might discover what’s making the noise. My view is of the backyard. There’s no one in sight, so I lift the window open to take a better look.
A man shoves his way in quickly, clad in all black. He’d been hiding in my blind spot, balanced on the shingled roof. I’m just about to scream bloody murder when he removes his hood—
And I come face to face with Andrei.
“Hey, princess,” he says, breathless.
Charlotte flails, practically tripping over herself to shove Andrei out the way he came. “Oh my God, someonehel—”
I come up from behind her and clap my hand over her mouth to keep her from screaming. My body moves on its own, my reaction completely automatic. I know my sister means well, but if the rest of the family is alerted of Andrei’s presence, we’re looking at the possibility of a bloodbath.
“Quiet!” I hush her quickly. “Quiet, Charlotte. Just calm down.”
Andrei puts his hands up, showing her he means no harm. “I’m not here to hurt you. I just want to talk.”
I give him a hard look. EvenIdon’t believe that. “What the hell are you doing here? How did you even find this place?”
“Tracked your aunt’s car.”
“Youwhat?”
“Dr. Natalya Chekov. I had to get a message to you, and the only lead I could find was your aunt. I had a tracker placed on her vehicle so I could—”
Charlotte rips my hand off her face. “So you could murder us?” she seethes. “Get the hell out, whoever you are!”
“Lower your voice, Cee,” I warn.
“But—”
“Wow, you two really do look alike.”
Charlotte glares at him. “Tell me who you are, or I’ll scream.”
I exhale heavily. “Cee, this is Andrei Nicolaevich. Andrei, my sister, Charlotte.”
My twin’s jaw drops to the floor. “You— But he’s—”
“You’ve got a lot of balls coming here,” I snap at him. “Have you come to finish the job?”
“Like I said. I’m not here to hurt you.”
“I don’t trust a fucking word out of your mouth.”
“Fine,” he grumbles as he pulls his gun from his holster. Charlotte is just about to scream again when he steps forward and quickly places his weapon inmyhand. Andrei’s grip on my wrist is firm but not painful as he holds the tip of the gun against his chest.
“What are you doing?” I stutter, trying to pull away. He won’t let me move.
“You don’t trust me. That’s fine. If you think I’m going to do something, pull the trigger.”
