Page 5 of Midnight Sanctuary
“He cracked immediately. Which is no surprise. That piece of shit is not Bratva. He’s a low-rent, smash-and-grab moron whom Boris decided to exploit in order to get the job done. He was after Polina and Alyssa this entire time. Lev was just meant to be bait.”
Nikolai’s jaw tightens and his blue eyes flick past me to glance at Alan. “I know you want to kill him—”
“Insightful observation, brother.”
“—but he’s given you good information and he might cough up more. Does he know that the girls have been taken?”
“He claims to have been in charge of Lev only. If he’s telling the truth, then I don’t see how he could know about the girls. They were taken seconds after we attacked him and his men.”
Nikolai nods. “We’ll keep him down here. He could come in handy later.”
I consider that for a few seconds. The bloodlust is coursing through my body right now. For everything he’s put Lev through, for what he’s cost me, thismudakdeserves to die. But Nikolai’s solemn scowl is reminding me that I have to play the long game here. I have to think five steps ahead of Sobakin, not just lash out blindly.
“Fine. I’ll let him live. For now.”
Nikolai sighs and mounts the stairs, disappearing overhead. I face Alan again. “Your honesty has earned you your life,” I tell him. “Remember that in the future.”
He raises his blood-smeared chin from his chest. “Y-you’re gonna leave me here?”
“My mercy doesn’t extend as far as giving you back your freedom,” I snarl. “You’re lucky you’re still drawing breath at all.”
And if I’m lucky… Alyssa and Polly are still breathing, too.
3
ALYSSA
The days have started blending together. I thought the darkness was bad, but the constant semi-light might be worse. The buzzing of fluorescents has taken up permanent residence inside my skull.
When I do sleep, I wake up suddenly in cold sweats. Sometimes with nightmares that feel like they’re bleeding into real life. Sometimes with thoughts that feel like nightmares.
I try not to show Polly my panic. I’m not sure she’d notice even if I did, because she withdraws into herself more and more with each passing hour. The more silent she becomes, the more I worry.
She hasn’t said anything in a long time now. Her eyes mostly stay closed but they flutter open every now and again. I wish I could say something, but it’s as hard to speak as it is to do anything else. I’m so dehydrated that I want to swallow my own tongue at this point.
The worst part has been watching the rats come out of the woodwork. Polly and I were forced to watch as they ate through the thin cellophane wrappings of our sandwiches first before devouring the sandwiches themselves. The only thing they left were the two bottles of water lying on the floor.
The two Russians haven’t come back. If it weren’t for the tiny cameras I’d spotted in the far corner of the room, I’d say we were completely forgotten.
“Polly?”
The rasp of my own voice hurts, but when Polly twitches and cringes at the sound of it, I realize I should’ve spoken up sooner. How can I expect a fourteen-year-old to withstand this kind of trauma if I can’t?
Be strong, Alyssa. Be strong for Polly and your baby.
“Polly,” I try again when she doesn’t respond.
Her head lolls to the side and she peels her eyelids open like it hurts her to make the effort. I take one look at those big hazel eyes and offer her a half-smile. “I know this might seem like a stupid question but… how are you?”
Polly gives me an incremental shrug. “I don’t know anymore. You?”
My head is pounding but I speak through the ache.I wish they’d just turn off the fucking lights.“I’m fine. It’s not like I haven’t been locked in a basement against my will before.”
That actually earns me a smile. “True. This is nothing for you.” But as quick as it came, the little sliver of brightness in Polly’s eyes vanishes. “I’m sorry, by the way.”
“Why are you sorry?”
“For everything you’ve been through because of my family. None of this would have happened if Uri hadn’t locked you down there.”