Page 54 of Cruel Honor

“That’s what I’ve been saying, but Dimitri thinks?—”

“Who cares what that man thinks. He kidnapped you himself. He forced you into a marriage. Come on. If we leave now, we can go to the police. We can end this.”

She sounds so convincing, and I’ve only ever wanted Juno to like me. It’s irrational, but when I lost my father as a teenager and she was the only mom I had, I developed a desire for her to accept me.

Maybe all it took for her to care for me was to lose me.

“Do you really want to help me?” I ask.

When she takes my hand in hers, it feels so warm and comforting. “Honey, I do. Come back home with me. We can go to the police together. Come on.”

I hesitate then nod. It’s the right thing to do. Dimitri wants to put itoff, but the police need to be involved. “Just let me say goodbye to Katya.”

“No,” she says harshly, and I pause. “You talk to her all the time. You can say goodbye later. We should go now. She might try and convince you to stay. You know I’m right.”

I glance behind me toward the hallway where I know Katya is in her room. She knew I was heading to the library. She won’t think it’s strange that I’m gone. Besides, I can just text her later.

“Ok,” I finally say and follow Juno out of Dimitri’s house. “To the police station.”

“Of course.” Juno stays true to her word and takes me to the nearest police station. Walking inside, it’s like something out of a movie. Officers walking by in a hurry. A person eating a doughnut. The sound of incoming calls.

A large front desk is before me and behind it sits an officer. A young man with curly hair. He reminds me of the boys back at my boarding school rather than a police officer. His name tag says Deacon.

“How can I help you?” he asks when I slowly approach the desk. Juno remains right beside me. I find myself needing her strength.

It’s time to tell the police about Dima, but I’m scared. Will Dima find me here? Will going to the police somehow make things worse?

“My daughter has news on the serial killer you cops are looking for.”

“All right. Just fill out this form, and a detective will come by and talk to you.”

The form asks me to fill out my statement, but I don’t even know how to put into words what I went through. I try my best though and describe the event, from Dima kidnapping me to him almost killing me to Dimitri saving me. I don’t mention my marriage to Dimitri or who he is exactly. That’s not important. I want Dima caught. Not Dimitri.

Deacon takes the report back and raises his eyebrows as he reads it. It seems to hurry him along as he calls for a Detective Johnson.

After a few minutes, a man comes out of a side room. He’s short and plain and unmemorable. “Evelyn Anderson?”

“Yes.”

“Follow me.” He takes Juno and me into a room filled with different desks. His name, Detective Johnson, is on a nameplate. “So, you have news about the serial killer we’ve been searching for.”

“Yes. His name is Dima. He kidnapped me and brought me to his house. I can show you where it is. He took me down into his basement and tried to kill me.”

Instead of looking interested or scribbling all of this down, Johnson leans back in his seat and studies me with curiosity. “When did all of this happen?”

“A few days ago.”

“And you’re just reporting this now?”

“Yes.” Sweat begins to break out on my body.

“How did you escape?”

“A man saved me.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “A man?”

“Uh … just some man. I don’t know him. He happened to show up at the house and saved me. I escaped.”

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