Page 47 of Luka

She got away.

What?

Despite the panic taking hold, I calmly stand and cross my arms over my chest while Arseni yanks at his hair, his eyes wide with anxiety.

“I’m sorry,” he says, emotion filling his voice. “I’m so sorry, I?—”

I hold up a hand to stop him. “When?”

“Thirty minutes ago. I sped straight here as soon as I could get a car.” Arseni comes closer, as if there’s anyone else out here to hear us. “Luka, it’sbad. She has this fucking cartel brand on her hip. I think we took one of their whores. If she got to a phone and told them our names…”

A cartel brand.

My eyes close as Leo’s warning comes into my mind, along with my own intuition telling me something wasn’t right. I didn’t listen.

Fear prickles my arms, the back of my neck, my shoulders, but I fight the urge to shudder for Arseni’s sake.

It’s even worse than he thinks it is. He doesn’t realize she was a virgin when she came to us. That we defiled her. That she offered me her father’s money, painted him as some rich businessman in Mexico. She didn’t even technically lie. “He owns many different establishments, including a few high-end resorts, a horse ranch, and a chain of pharmacies…”Pharmacies equals drug operations. How the fuck did I not see that before?

No, it’s much worse than he believes. We didn’t kidnap one of their whores. We kidnapped theirprincess.

“Relax,” I say, my voice deceptively calm. “She was running away from the cartel when she bumped into us. She isn’t going to call them. And I have an idea of where she’s going.”

“You do?” His eyes bug. “Where?”

“Her boyfriend she told us about has friends in Boise, so I bet she thinks he’s there… We need to split up, so I’ll search Las Vegas, and you start toward Idaho. If you can’t find her in the next twenty-four hours, ditch your phone and keep going north. I’ll meet you in Vancouver next Sunday.”

“Shit.” Arseni brings his hands to his hair, hope draining from his face along with the color.

“It’snotgoing to come to that,” I lie. They could be on their way right now. We need to get north as soon as possible, but considering I’m the one who deflowered her, it’s better for Arseni if he isn’t found with me. Plus, I do know where she’s going. My fucking brother told her where to go. It just seems unlikely that we aren’t too late.

Fuckingcartels. What fucking luck.

“Could Vitaly do something?” Arseni asks, his voice low like he’s hesitant. My brother-in-law. Head of the Bratva.

If he knew what we’d done, he’d kill us himself. Andthatwould be out of mercy.

“We should go,” I say, jutting my chin toward the cars.

After only a moment’s hesitation, he swallows, his Adam's apple bobbing, and nods in agreement. We make our way to the cars, our steps picking up into a run. When I get in my car, I hurry to start it and peel away from the cliff, my destination the bar Leo told me about.

I hope like hell I’m not too late.

14

LUCIA

It feels like it’s taking too long to find the motel.

My eyes keep darting to the rearview mirror of Arseni’s car like he’ll appear behind me, still naked and running to catch up. Which would only be half surprising considering how slowly I creep the vehicle along, paranoid of wrecking or being pulled over by an officer.

My driving experience is limited at best. On my sixteenth birthday, my father was away on business, and one of the guards who’d taken a liking to me seemed to feel pity that I didn’t have much of a celebration. So, out of kindness, he taught me how to drive around our estate. It was fun, and to this day, I still look back on it as one of my favorite birthdays. Even though I never saw that man again and knew even at the time that whatever happened to him was my fault.

I do still occasionally sneak one of the SUVs away when my father is gone, but I’ve only driven at low speeds, and only SUVs. Arseni’s car feels too small, too jumpy, and every tap of the brake makes my body jolt. My nerves help nothing.

But I’ve done it. I’ve escaped my captors.

I keep reminding myself of this, over and over, keep reminding myself that my father is in this city looking for me.Arseni and Luka are no longer the source of danger to be most concerned about, and while I seek out the street the stranger at the gas station told me about, I practice in my head what I’ll say him.

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