Page 1 of Lethal Alliance

1

OFELIA

“Ofelia!”

Mama’s voice, thin and full of fear, comes through the smoke and chaos of the ballroom explosion. “Ofelia, is Masha with you?”

The smoke is so thick I can barely see in front of me. I’m pushed up in a corner, in between the stage and the back wall, and somehow, miraculously, I’m not hurt.

Was that a bomb?

“’Felia!” Masha squirms underneath me, and I grip my little sister tightly.

“She’s here, Mama.” I hug her small body close. “Are you hurt, Masha?”

“No.” She shakes her head against my chest. I gulp breaths of air, trying to make order out of the broken stone and chaos. My ears are still ringing from the explosion. I feel weirdly insulated, like there’s an invisible layer cutting me off from the people screaming and crying all around us. Masha clings to me. She’s the only reality in the insanity that, only moments ago, was the best night of my life.

Barely meters away, Matvei is lying face down. He’s not moving.

We were dancing.I can remember it, his arms around me, the way he was looking at me.I thought he was going to kiss me...

Someone grips my arm, not gently. “I’ve got them, Inger,” he says to my mother.

I recognize his voice, although before tonight, I’d never met him.

It’s the same person who pushed me and Masha into the corner, right before the world exploded.

“Wait.” I struggle feebly. “We have to help Matvei—”

“There’s no time.” The man speaks with a thick Russian accent. “You’re in danger.”

“Get them out of here!” Mama sounds terrified.

Is she hurt?

I have to get it together.

“No!” I fight against the hand holding me. “Mama!”

“I’m fine, Ofelia. Uncle Nicky is with me. His friend is going to help you and Masha, okay?”

“Listen to your mother.” The man is trying to make me stand up. “Nikolai will take care of her.”

That’s why I don’t know him. He’s one of Uncle Nicky’s men.

“We need to get you out of here.” The man presses his earpiece. “Roman says you need to come with me. We’re under attack.”

Roman.Just hearing my godfather’s name reassures me.Roman is okay.

I think of him, and Lucia.What would they want me to do?

I need to pull myself together. To be strong for Masha.

“Okay.” I clutch Masha by the hand, trying to steady myself as the man pulls us to our feet. He has his gun out, and he’s looking around warily. I don’t remember his face, but he’s big, and he has an earpiece. He looks just like all of our normal security guards.

“This way.” The man pushes Masha and me through a hole in the wall, and suddenly we are outside. The night air is fresh on my face, and I inhale it gratefully. “Hurry,” the man urges us.

We stumble across the rubble toward a waiting car. The door is open, and another man is standing beside it with a gun in his hand, talking into a radio. “Quickly,” he orders, bundling Masha and me into the back of the car.

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