Page 52 of Escaping the Bratva

“What day did you see my photo in the paper?” I ask, trying to put a timeline together.

“Nearly a week ago.”

A week? Holy shit. After I went to the gallery, I counted how many times the sun went down. I thought it had only been four days, unless I’d slept for two full days.

“Seriously, Sasha, what the fuck is going on?”

I use two fingers to rub the bridge of my nose.

“V got into some trouble, and I kind of got trapped in the middle of it.”

“That son of a bitch. Is that why you went out with another guy? Did you dump him?”

It would be easy for me to let Alyssa believe that, but I can’t lie to my best friend.

“Not exactly. That guy I was with at the gallery was not a good guy.”

“I’m coming over because I need answers faster than you are giving them to me. Are you home?”

“Yeah, but—" She hangs up before I can finish.

Minutes later, after I’ve taken Teddy outside, my doorbell rings. I make sure to check the peephole, and as expected, on the other side is Alyssa, looking pissed. I open the door and she rushes past me. She throws her purse down on the couch and crosses her arms over her chest. Her red hair is in a neat bun on top of her head, and she’s dressed in tight skinny jeans, complete with high heels, as if she’s been running around all day.

“Spill,” she says.

I take a seat on the armchair. “So you know how V went to prison right?”

“Yes?”

“An old enemy came back because I guess he owed the guy money.” Alyssa’s eyes widen, but I continue. “He trashed my condo, so I was staying at V’s, but one night, V left and this guy broke in and kidnapped me.”

“Holy shit!”

It feels like I’m telling the storyline of a blockbuster action movie instead of my actual life.

“He didn’t hurt me…not really. He kept me in this bedroom and made me go to the gallery with him, I guess, so he could…I don’t know.”

I leave out the part where a man was murdered right in front of me. I’m still processing it, and from the look on Alyssa’s pale face, I don’t think I should say anymore.

“I think I need to sit down.” She plops down on the couch and leans her head back. “I don’t even know how to respond. How are you here?”

“V…I think…”

Her head snaps back up. “You think?”

“I remember seeing him before I passed out. Some big body-builder guy came in and got me out of there. Once I was outside, I remember seeing V, but I was so tired, my memory is fuzzy.”

Tears fill my eyes, and I clear my throat, trying to pull myself together. Alyssa stands and squeezes next to me in the oversized chair. The tears fall down my cheek, and Alyssa swipes them away.

“Where is he?” she asks.

“Who?”

“Who do you think? The man that got you into all of this?”

“That’s a good question.” Where the fuck was V? Why wasn’t he here wiping my tears? My sadness quickly turns into anger.

“I’ll fucking kill him,” Alyssa says, standing to her feet, but I’m already ahead of her.

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