“Someone is the apartment,” I hiss into the phone. “Can you see them on the cameras?”
“Sera, stop. Calm down?—”
I dash to the bed, grab his gun from where I stashed it beneath my pillow. Moving as far from the room’s entrance as I can get, I aim the weapon at the door. “It’s what’s left of my family, isn’t it? How did they find me? I thought they couldn’t find me here?—”
“Sera. Marya, stop! Stop!” His command cuts through theblood rushing through my ears. “Your family didn’t find you. You’re okay. You’re safe.” He curses in Russian, sounding more irritated than worried, and somehow my tension starts to drain.
“Whois in the apartment, Alik? Tell me what the fuck is going on.”
“My men are there.” From the tone of his voice, I’d bet he’s squeezing the life out of the back of his neck.
Wait. “You have men?”
Alik ignores me. “You need to pack your things. You’re moving. This morning. Put everything you want to take on the bed then unlock the door. One of my men will make sure it gets to your new room.”
“What are you talking about? What new room?” A dull ache has set up shop behind my eyes. “What do you mean, I’m moving?”
“Exactly what it sounds like. Dimitri is waiting, ready to drive you. He’s the bald one; you won’t be able to miss him. You have five minutes to set aside whatever you want to bring, so get moving. And put on actual clothes this time, not just a bra and tiny shorts. It’s cold outside.” With that, he hangs up.
Dumbfounded, I stare at the floor, vaguely aware of footsteps on the other side. I near jump out of my skin when there’s a knock.
“Five minutes, Miss Sera,” a thickly accented voice says. “Starting now.”
Che cazzo?! I have no clue what’s happening and apparently don’t have time to figure it out. Cracking open the door, gun concealed behind me, I count three—no four—giant men stalking through the apartment. They’re dressed generically enough, dark clothes, dark glasses, dark gloves on their enormous hands, but I’ve grown up surrounded by men like these. It only takes seconds to spot the various weapons concealed on their bodies, to estimate how much force they’d have to exert to tackle me to the ground if I tried to run. Answer: not enough tostop two of them from blocking the door before I even get there.
No matter what kind of bizarre sexual power struggle Alik and I are engaged in, his authority still rules over this apartment and these men. The largest of the bunch locks eyes with me. The overhead lights glint off a head so smooth it shines like a bowling ball. The man looks down at a subtly, ridiculously expensive watch before looking back at me. “Chetyre minuty. Four minutes, Miss Sera.”
So that’s Dimitri.
Thoughts akimbo, I retreat into my room and hastily grab the small number of belongings I’ve ordered since arriving. Books, laptop, headphones, toiletries. I dump them on the bed, throwing in all the clothes too, minus the jeans and sweater I’m now wearing. Hair up in a rough ponytail, I shove my feet into my sneakers—the only pair of shoes I bothered buying—and barely have a chance to jam my phone into my back pocket before Dimitri swings open the door. In his hand is a long puffy coat, the insignia on the upper arm telling me just how much Alik spent on it.
“For you.” He holds it out.
I take it, point at pile of stuff the bed. “For you. To move.”
He nods, shouts something to the other men in Russian, then says, “And the gun, Miss Sera.”
“Hmmm?”
“The gun the boss gave you. I’ll hold onto it until we get to our destination. After we arrive, it’s yours again.”
Arguing with him is futile. I pass the weapon over, making note of where he stashes it beneath his coat. That done, he heads for the front door. I’m on Dimitri’s heels. I don’t want to be left alone in the apartment with the remaining three. Not that I think they’d hurt me, but everything about staying in a relatively small space with a group of men flips my fight or flight switch.
I have one foot in the hall when I stop, frozen. Between this place and Rocco’s basement, I’ve been in some sort of confinement for almost three months. Before that, my family kept me isolated for three years, cut off from everything but the Pagano clan’s dark, dank corner of the city.
I don’t know where Alik is moving me or how long it will take Dimitri to get us there, but I’m suddenly edgy, faced with a fear I never expected. Being locked away is torture, but standing on the brink of the unknown is a different kind of terrifying. A black hole I can’t see the bottom of. Don’t know how much it will hurt when I hit ground.
Dimitri realizes I’m not behind him, his shadow falling over me when he finds me in the doorway. “We leave now Miss Sera.”
I stare at him, eyes wide. “But where are we going?”
“You’ll see when we get there,” he says gruffly. “The move doesn’t make sense to me either, but the boss said he picked it out for you.”
14
ALIK
Islam my fist into Rocco’s side, rolling my eyes in disgust when he starts to blubber. Spit and tears make a mess of his swollen face.