Page 111 of Take the Sub and Run

That got a reaction, a flare of anger in the old man's eyes. “God will know?—”

“I hope he does. If there is a God, you’ll burn in hell for what you’ve done to her.”

“My soul is clean.”

“If that’s true, then so is mine.” Andrei stalked toward the other man, done with this conversation. He needed to find Sofie. He knew they’d hurt her, but didn’t know how badly, and it was killing him.

Andrei stopped in front of the old priest.

“I think death is too good for you.” He backhanded the old man—he wasn’t ageist so didn’t feel bad about it. Bending, he rummaged through the man’s pockets. The father moaned in what Andrei thought was Dutch and clutched his side. Broke a hip maybe.

Andrei took the man’s phone, wallet, and cane, then straightened.

“Goodbye, Father. If this is what sends me to hell, it’s a just price to protect Sofie.”

Leaving the old man on the ground, probably immobile and with no way to call for help, Andrei walked away.

She flinched at the sound of the key in the door. Sitting here with nothing to do had been worse than trying to sketch, so she managed to get herself up on her left leg and lean over just enough to reach the cup of pencils on the long counter under the window.

She was nauseous with pain by the time she sat down. Some small part of her wanted to simply give up. It would be so easy. Those windows may be new, but they weren't bulletproof. She could shatter them and then… A fall from this high would hopefully kill her.

Those thoughts had occupied her in the time immediately after her father had left.

But now… Without them looming behind her, and now that she was holding perfectly still and not exacerbating her injury, a ribbon of hope was coiling behind her heart.

Andrei.

Andrei would come. Maybe not right away. But he would wonder what had happened to her. He would go looking.

Colette. Colette wouldn't need forgeries anymore, but they were friends, weren't they?

Colette would realize she was missing before Andrei tried to look for her. A week or two maybe. Hopefully Colette called Andrei to tell him she was gone, and he’d tell her about the file of information. They would come to look for her. All she had to do was survive.

Yet as the lock clicked, terror swamped her, blotting out that fragile curl of hope. And with the rise of terror, the calm, rational thoughts that had been saving her sanity were sucked down beneath the surface.

Sofie gripped the edge of the canvas, bracing her right hand and touching the canvas with the pencil lead, though she couldn't draw even a line. Instead, what appeared was a squiggly dot created not with intention but because of how badly she was shaking.

“Sofie.”

The sound of his voice was a cruel trick. She closed her eyes. Andrei wasn't here. Not yet. She had to suffer more before she could be rescued.

“Sofie, Angel…” He inhaled. “Sofie, what the fuck did they do to your leg?”

Footsteps thudded across the floor, but she refused to look. This was some cruel yet wonderful hallucination.

“Angel.” His voice broke. “Angel, can you look at me? I'm going to take you out of here. I’m… Fuck, I should have come in earlier.”

Now his voice was starting to shake as badly as her hand.

“I can't leave,” she breathed. “This is home and I have to stay at home.”

“This is not your home.”

“I'm safe if I stay home. I left. I went to other places and now I-I-I…” She stuttered to a stop.

“Home,” he said. “Okay. Home. You don't have to leave home.”

At that, she opened her eyes. Andrei, her beautiful Andrei was here.

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