Page 158 of Beautiful Cruelty

I follow her toward the back door into the rain. My heart pounds so hard I can barely hear anything else. This is really happening. I'm really doing this.

"Where are we going?" I whisper.

"Somewhere far away." Olga opens an umbrella over both of us. “A place where he can never find you."

The sleek blackcar glides through Seattle's empty streets, streetlights casting intermittent shadows across my lap while rain pitter-patters against the roof of the car. Olga sits beside me, her hands neatly folded in her lap.

I expected to head east, toward the mountains, but we're moving deeper into the city instead.

My stomach lurches as we take another turn. "This isn't the way out of the city."

"Patience,devushka." Olga's blood-red nails tap against her knee. "We need to make a brief stop first."

The familiar outline of shipping containers looms ahead, stacked like Lego blocks against the night sky. Salt air mingles with diesel fumes among the rain as we approach the docks.

"Why are we here?" My voice sounds small, even to my own ears.

"Insurance." Olga's smile doesn't reach her eyes. "Did you think leaving would be as simple as driving away?"

The car slows, gravel crunching under the tires. Through the tinted windows, I spot several dark figures emerging from between the containers. My pulse quickens as I look at them.

"What kind of insurance?"

"The kind that ensures cooperation." Olga's hand closes around my wrist, her grip surprisingly strong. "Kirsan will be very pleased."

My blood runs cold. The name hits me like a physical blow.

Kirsan?!

And that's when realization dawns.

"You weren't helping me…" Panic seizes my throat. "You were working forhim. ForKirsan!"

"You should've listened to me more carefully,devushka." Olga's perfectly painted lips curve upward. "I told you that unlike Polina, you still have a chance to change how your story ends. And unfortunately for you,thisis the ending you chose.”

The car door opens and cold air rushes in. I try to pull away but Olga's grip is unrelenting.

"Welcome to your new life, Lacey McKinney. I'm sure you'll fetch quite the price."

My heart hammers against my ribs as reality crashes in. "No, no, this can't be happening." I yank my arm free from Olga's grip. "HELP! Somebody?—"

The words freeze in my throat when I see Olga reach into her purse with her free hand and pull out a sleek black pistol. The gun's barrel gleams in the dim light as she points it at my chest.

"Stop screaming." Her voice is hard as ice, and utterly devoid of emotion.

She slides gracefully out of the car, never lowering the weapon even as she opens her umbrella again. The rain, driven by the wind, whips at her perfectly styled hair but she doesn't seem to notice.

"Out," she orders.

I stay frozen in place, mind racing. If I run, she'll shoot. If I scream, no one will care. The reality of my situation is starting to set in.

I walked right into this trap.

Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

"I won't ask again,devushka." Olga gestures with the gun. "Don't make me have my associates drag you out. And you better believe that I won't do a damn thing if they decide to do more than drag."

Dark figures lurking by the containers shift closer. Terror claws up my throat when I realize that these are all Kirsan's men.

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