Page 65 of Crowned

“City Clinical No. 45.”

The big one to the west. That makes sense, only we’re traveling northeast. “But this isn’t the way to—”

There’s movement out of the corner of my eye and I realize someone’s sat up behind me from the floor of the car. Ropes come around me and bind me to the seat, fast and tight.

I twist around and see it’s Simeon, one of Artem’s friends.

“What the f—”

Simeon uses a bandana to gag me and ties it tight around my head. I really start to struggle and panic now and try to wrench myself free.

Artem just keeps driving. “Calm down, Kirill. This is for your own good. That girl was going to ruin your life.”

I make an angry buzzing noise in the back of my throat. My arms are pinned to my sides, otherwise I’d grab the steering wheel and wrench us off the road.

Simeon pats me on the shoulder. “We’ll split the money with you. You’re not going to miss out.”

Money? Someone is paying Artem to get me out of town, and I can guess who it is. The Lugovskayas. Katya must be having the baby right now, and they want me out of the way so they can force her to sign the adoption papers.

I keep trying to fight myself free but it’s no use. Artem drives us miles and miles away, and then he and Simeon drag me out of the car and tie me to a tree out of view of the road.

Artem checks the ropes binding me and steps back. “If you don’t manage to get yourself free and walk home, we’ll be back for you in…” He waves a vague hand. “Twenty, thirty hours. By that time, everything will be fixed with Katya and the baby. You don’t have to worry anymore, and you can just get on with your life.”

Fuck you, I buzz at him through the gag, but he gets the message.

His face transforms into a glower. “Stay out of it, Kirill. They don’t need you, and you sure as fuck don’t need them.”

I buzz harder and harder and kick my legs.

Artem and Simeon exchange a dark look and shake their heads, like I’m a pathetic waste of space. They rip my shoes from my feet, and then they turn and walk away, heading for the car and disappearing among the trees.

I rub my cheek against my shoulder and manage to spit out the gag.

“Artem.” I scream myself hoarse, but a moment later I hear the car doors slam and the roar of the engine. They drive off, leaving me behind.

I thrash side to side in my bonds, the rope burning my arms and chest. My own fucking brother betraying me. He’s just going to let the Lugovskayas give his kid away and he doesn’t even care who gets it. The baby could end up with some asshole who beats it and tortures it. It could end up with someone like our own father. There are too many monsters out there.

I can’t loosen the ropes, but I can try to edge them down my body and the tree trunk. It takes a long time, but I finally free myself. Without shoes on my feet, I head back to the road and start walking back toward town.

I walk for hours, trying to hitch a lift, but everyone ignores me. Finally, a farmer picks me up in the middle of the night and lets me ride in the back of his truck. I’ll steal Artem’s car and drive to the hospital.

But as I pass the Lugovskayas’ house, something makes me hesitate. I go and check Katya’s bedroom. Just in case they let her out already.

It must be nearly dawn when I limp across the Lugovskayas’ lawn and painfully climb the trellis. When I peer in the window I see Katya, huddled on the bed.

But something’s wrong.

Her belly looks smaller, but she’s not holding the baby. There’s no crib in the room, either. It’s silent and empty.

I wrench open the window and tumble inside.

Katya gazes up at me, her eyes red and hollow. “Where were you?”

Her words are arrows in my chest. I pant at her, “I didn’t—I couldn’t—”

“I had to do it all by myself,” she whispers.

“But you were at the hospital. The doctors and nurses helped you.”

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