Page 172 of Blood Mosaic

More than that, she didn’t want to kill anyone. The soldiers breaking into her room were one thing—they’d been there to kill her—but a random police officer patrolling the border? They were just doing their job. She didn’t want to be a murderer. She didn’t want to be a monster.

Tatyana turned left as the road twisted, and she saw a black silhouette in the distance, a massive warehouse completelydevoid of light. Beyond that, there was another gravel road and what looked like it might be a bridge.

Yes.

Somehow, on the other side of the river, there was shelter. The mountains were there. She could find isolation. She could be lost.

The lights behind her seemed to speed up.

Tatyana punched the engine, racing toward the river on the other side of the chain-link fence. She braced herself as the truck crashed through the fence, somewhat surprised by how easily the old gate fell over. She gripped the wheel as the road turned into gravel and then into mud.

She could see the river in front of her, gleaming in the moonlight. The water looked shallow, and the truck was built for off-road. It wouldn’t be the first time she’d plowed her way through mud. The key was to pick up enough speed to make it across.

She floored the truck as the vehicle behind her started honking wildly.

Tatyana ignored it, and her heart raced as she crossed the first part of the river. The water splashed up around her, soaking the windows and flowing under the base of the doors.

The truck behind her kept honking. The driver was leaning on the horn, and she could see lights on the other side of the river switching on. Someone had spotted her truck.

Shit!

Whoever was following her was not afraid of attracting attention, which meant it was Oleg or it was the Russian authorities.

Damn it, damn it, damn it.

Not once did she let her foot off the accelerator. Not when the truck jostled her and she nearly hit her head on the roof. Not when it went sliding over the mud and started to fishtail.

She steered into the spin and righted the truck only to gasp when she went over a particularly large boulder in the middle of the river and something caught the axle, bringing her to a cold stop.

Tatyana grabbed for her duffel bag and backpack, forcing the door open as she stepped from the truck into knee-deep, frigid water.

“Tatyana!”

She heard Oleg shouting in the distance. She glanced over her shoulder and saw fire lighting up the far edge of the river.

“Tatyana Vorona, stop!”

She scrambled to an island in the middle of the river, a small outcropping of rock that would probably be submerged when the rainy season came, but for now it was an island in the middle of the rushing water. She slung her backpack over her shoulders, gripped the duffel bag to her chest, and turned to him.

Go back.

Walk across the water.

He’ll be angry. But he’ll forgive you.

The voice whispering in her mind was insidious and tempting.

Oleg was pacing on the far bank of the river, his Land Cruiser parked on the edge of the water, the front wheels barely dipping in.

“Tatyana.” He walked to the edge of the river and held out his hand. “Come back. I promise I will not harm you.”

The only person with him was Mika, who slowly got out of the Land Cruiser, his eyes fixed on Tatyana.

She couldn’t read Mika. And she couldn’t read Oleg either.

Tatyana was standing in the middle of a river, and she had no idea what to do.

“Come back now, while you can.” Oleg held out his hand. “You’re crossing into the Fire King’s territory, volchitsa.” He shook his head. “And even for you I will not start a war.”

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