Page 11 of The Enemy's Defector
This was no time to even think about her. But I couldn’t help it as I tried to be patient during this captivity.
She’d branded herself in my mind, my soul, and it was only with fleeting, wistful thoughts ofherthat I could obey my mantra.
Just a little longer.
Endure it.
A little longer.
If only I could know that she would be there for me when I was out of here.
5
KATERINA
All night, I suffered from nightmares about killing Dmitri and that other guard. It wasn’t guilt that kept me up and so frantic even in my sleep. No regrets would bring me down about saving myself from being raped. Or for saving Joann from a similar fate. Even if I could, I wouldn’t take back those actions.
Fear was ever-present in my heart now since I’d turned that gun on them, though.
It was a stark milestone of my defiance.
Of defecting and choosing notto stand with the Kozlov name. It didn’t feel like I was turning my back on my “family”. Anton and his overzealous guards never felt like the family I used to know, love, and respect when my father was alive and in charge.
In my subconscious, though, I struggled with this deep anxiety over what could happen next.
I was as good as dead. If I hadn’t been as good as dead for not going to the Ivanovs to marry into their family as a spy for Anton, I certainly was now for killing one of the top leaders Anton praised.
I would be hunted down.
I’d be a wanted woman and always on the run.
I’d have no chance of a possibly normal future, no home to depend on and no family to care for.
By refusing that marriage arrangement, sneaking to find the proof of Anton killing my father, then shooting Dmitri, I hadnofuture to look forward to.
Snuggling into the thin sheet that I’d found in this small building at the back of the property, I huddled into a tight ball for comfort. It wasn’t overly chilly today, but fall would be coming quickly. I couldn’t hide in any of these abandoned guest homes on the land for long.
Joann and I had dragged the bodies to the closet, and then she likely had Malcolm dispose of them while she cleaned the blood. I’d taken my one backpack and ran, sticking to the shadows until I reached this empty house.
According to the sounds of my uncle’s men stomping around downstairs, though, I realized too late that it wasn’t as empty as I’d hoped.
These smaller houses used to be available for guests of honor—dignitaries and other members of the elite side of society who’d come here to vacation and relax, as though it were a fancy resort. Back when my father was alive, he offered these several guesthouses for that purpose. He understood the value of making and keeping allies and buttering up others he might want to take advantage of. Anton’s mode of business was just to screw over everyone, as quickly and thoroughly as he could.
The guesthouses had stood mostly empty for years now. When I’d snuck out at night to go through them and search for those stored video files, I’d checked all these buildings since Anton never paid them much attention. So long as I stayed on the property, he didn’t hover over me much.
Unfortunately, someone else planned to hang out in here to escape the rain pelting down on the roof this morning.
Shivering from the weird chill in the air and that more Kozlov guards were nearby, I steadied my breath while I waited for them to come and go. The room I’d chosen was a small one with a locked door. Even if these guys were searching for a killer on the property after last night, they wouldn’t likely stumble upon me. I wasn’t hiding in plain sight up here.
“I really don’t give a shit who killed Dmitri,” one guard said.
“Me neither,” another said, chuckling. “No one but Anton’s going to miss that ugly motherfucker.”
They’ve found the bodies.That confirmed it. They were here to search for a trespasser or killer. Slipping my hand out from under the sheet, I grabbed my laptop and turned it on to check the camera’s footage of the first floor. I’d hacked into the camera for this one night of hiding out before taking off.
Sure enough, two soldiers were downstairs. They sat at the dining room table in the bare kitchen. But they hadn’t come emptyhanded. A bottle of vodka sat on the surface between them. One poured them drinks, clearly settling in to slack off and kick back.
“But when Anton’s here, he’s going to be fucking pissed,” the taller guard, named Igor, said. He was a new one.
