Page 82 of A Pawn in the Game
There’s no time to react before Marko’s body thumps to the floor, the sound echoing the walls. I gasp as the crimson goo pools around him, waves of memories rushing back to me. My breath is stuck in my throat, while my eyelids flutter with shock.
My gaze lifts to the large figure wiping his gun. He seems familiar. He steps aside to let the other guy in, and I realize where I know him from.
Luka’s uncle enters the room, looking at Marko’s body with disgust. But as his gaze connects to me, the small beady eyes get a certain gleam in them. One that makes chills crawl up my spine.
“Miss Landers. I come bearing good news,” he says in a thick accent, his lips turning up.
“Where’s Luka?” I ask, trying not to look at Marko’s body.He was a guard, yes. But in the two months I’ve been here, I started seeing him as a friend.
Something flashes in his eyes at the mention of Luka’s name. Something like annoyance. “He’s busy at the moment. That’s why he sent me.”
His words make little sense. He just shot one of Luka’s men. But he obviously underestimates my intelligence. And I won’t be the one to tell him otherwise. “Why did he send you?”
“I’m here to set you free.”
My brows furrow. “Set me free?” Hope flutters inside of me, my heart already seeing freedom, but my brain is looking for the catch.
“We made a deal with your father. Luka made it all happen.”
My eyes widen, and he shoots me another unsettling smile. My heart beats a steady rhythm as I try to keep my emotions in check.Could it be?
“W-why would you shoot Marko?” I ask.
“Not everyone would agree with the deal we made. But my nephew was adamant about setting you free.”
He promised to get me out. Could it be that it’s happening now?
Why would he send his uncle? Why not do it himself?
Because of what you said, a voice in my head taunts.
He was freaked out by my little love declaration.And how couldn’t he be?
It’s why he didn’t say it back.
I swallow around the lump in my throat.
This still doesn’t make any sense. But I need to play my part until I know more.
“Are we going now?” I ask, my voice cracking.
Toma glances at the massive guard, who checks his watch. “Not yet. We’re waiting for everything to be ready.” Another smile. His promises of freedom do nothing to calm the hair on my neck that still rises.
I dip my head, sitting back down on the bed.
The old man sits in the armchair next to the table and proposes, “How about a game?”
The stale scent of tobacco permeates my nostrils as he flashes his yellow teeth. My head spins, and I drop into the chair across from him. I hope Luka is okay. He turns the board so that I’m playing white, grossly underestimating my capabilities. The pieces turn blurry while I stare at them. He shifts in his chair, his belly overflowing. “Stupid gun,” he mutters to himself before extracting it from the holster and placing it on the table. The mere presence of it is distracting, sending anxious flickers to my extremities. It also grinds my gears that he regards me so low, so harmless that he doesn’t mind placing a gun within my reach.
You need to let him win; the voice taunts again. He’s a fragile man with a fragile ego and whatever the hell is going on, the last thing you want to do is piss him off.
I don’t fucking want to!I wish to scream right back. I want to checkmate him so fast that he spends the rest of his pitiful life wondering how a weak little girl outsmarted him. But I value my life more than my pride. I take a steadying breath and slide a pawn to E4. Time to stall.
He smacks his lips in victory, making his next move, and I barely resist the urge to roll my eyes. What helps is keeping a part of my attention on his goon disposing of Marko’s body. First, he rips the newly replaced shower curtain, which is obviously a go to for disposing of a body. Then, with a grunt, he rolls the body onto the plastic tarp.
Flicking my eyes back to the board, I realize I’ve been moving in circles. I’ve been so focused on figuring out his game, I forgot to play mine. Shifty eyes land on my face in a way that screams suspicion. Time to step up. I capture his bishop, and he cackles.
His lackey lets out another grunt, dead lifting the body, but Toma stops him from moving with a slight wave of his hand.
