Page 148 of SINS & Riley
I can’t let Sabine come down on Mila for this.
I rap hard on the bookstore window where Boris is camped. “I’ll be right back.”
“Wait!” His holler rattles the glass.
“It’s fine. Three minutes, tops.”
I dart across the street to the laundromat and catch sight of Elena just as she slips out the back.
My pulse spikes.
Dammit. She’s probably terrified someone’s chasing her. Not just me, but the four-hundred-pound tank thundering after us both.
I sprint harder, Boris’s boots pounding the pavement like gunfire.
“Hang on,” he barks, eyes already on the back door I'm headed to. “That alley isn’t secure yet.”
“It’s fine,” I snap, breath tearing out of me. “Just give me a minute. You’re scaring her.”
“Scaring who?”
I completely ignore him and bolt out the back door.
“Elena!” The name rips out of me as I sprint into the alley.
I dive after her?—
But the second I hit open air, arms like steel bands rip me sideways. A van screeches up, cutting off the door.
What the hell?—
I hear Boris pounding from the other side, shouting my name.
But it’s too late. Two men clamp down, yanking me back.
I thrash hard, adrenaline surging, but my fight’s no match for their weight and strength as they drag me toward another van.
Zip ties bite into my wrists, my ankles. By the time I register what’s happening, I’m already tossed inside.
The doors slam, and the van screeches off.
And right beside me—Elena.
Shit. Not only am I trapped—so is she.
“Elena, I’m so sorry, I?—”
But then I notice her. I take a long look, stunned.
She’s not zip-tied. Not restrained at all.
Elena peels off her sunglasses. Her eyes glitter, and her mouth stretches into a wide, gleeful grin.
She digs into her purse, pulls out a tube of blood red lipstick, and smears it across her mouth before leaning closer, trying to paint it on me.
“And here I thought you’d be harder to catch. God, you were easy.” Her voice drips with venom. “You need to look your best, hunny. Somebody wants to see you.”
I wrench away, throat tight. “What are you talking about?”
