Page 2 of Lethal Alliance

“What happened?” Masha stares up at me, blood trickling down her face from a cut on her forehead. “What happened, ’Felia?”

“I don’t know,myshka.” I hold her close, trying not to think of Matvei’s still body, of the horrible blast that seemed to shake the air itself. “I think somebody set off a bomb.”

The doors on either side of us lock automatically, and the car takes off. We’re alone in the back seat, with a window in between us and the driver.

“Hey.” I knock on the glass window. “Where are you taking us? Where’s my brother, Mickey? Are Lucia and Roman okay?”

There’s no answer. I press the button on the intercom and ask again.

“Everyone is fine,” the driver answers. It isn’t Bryce or Dimitry or any of our usual drivers, and like the man who took us out of the ballroom, he speaks with a thick Russian accent. “I’m taking you to a safe house. Roman and...Luciawill meet you there.” The smart-ass way he says Lucia’s name tells me he knows it’s not her real one.

Something isn’t right.

I hear Roman’s voice in my head:“I want you to always be thinking for yourselves, to be smart and accountable for your own safety...”

I press the button again. “Can I use your telephone, please? I want to call Roman.”

The first security guard answers this time. “Roman’s busy. You can talk to him when we get to the safe house.”

My unease increases. I don’t have a phone with me; mine was in my purse, which I left on the table when I was dancing with Matvei. I shudder when I think of his inert body lying in the rubble.

I don’t think Matvei is okay.

I have no idea where Luce and Roman are.

And nothing about this feels normal.

“’Felia.” Masha looks up at me, her lip quivering. “Where are we going?”

“I’m not sure,myshka.” I hug her close, trying to reassure her with my touch.

“Will Mickey be there?”

“I hope so.”

I stare out of the window, trying to work out where we are.

Somewhere near the airport. I can see planes coming in to land.

The car turns off onto a side road and then passes through a security gate. The driver flashes some kind of pass, and the man waves our car through without looking in the back. The area around us is dark except for the colored ground lights that guide planes in. We’re not at the main airport. This is smaller, and there’s no big terminal, only a small hanger lit by fluorescent lights.

The car comes to a halt beside a private plane with the stairs down. Our car door is pulled open. The driver and security guard stand on either side of it, automatic weapons hanging from their hands.

Why are their guns out?

Our guards normally keep their guns hidden.

Then again,I try to tell myself,there’s nothing normal about tonight.

One of them holds out a phone. I snatch it out of his hand. “Hello?”

“Ofelia.” Mama’s voice is shaking but clear. I grip the phone, closing my eyes in relief.

“Mama! What’s happening? Where’s Roman?”

“There was an attack, darling. Some of Roman’s men have been hurt, and we’re worried there are people looking for you and your sister.”

Okay.I nod.That makes sense.

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