Page 71 of The One Who Won’t Get Away
Fuck it.I knew who I needed to help settle all these nerves.
I rose and crept down the hall to the spare room.The door stood ajar, dull light from the window pooling on the carpet in a narrow strip.Inside, Nick lay in nothing but boxers, one arm over his eyes.Just looking at him calmed me.
I slipped into bed, and he shifted to give me more room, then spooned me, his protective arm comforting me.
“Hey,” he whispered, voice low and steady.
“Can’t sleep,” I croaked.
“You okay?”he asked softly.
I nodded even though I wasn’t.He didn’t prod, though, and honestly, there was nothing to prod about.He knew exactly what kept me up at night, so he just let me stay with him.
My eyes closed, and the monsters in the dark quieted.That night, I slept peacefully, my mind finally quiet.
Chapter 30
Nick
RENAT AND I SAT INthe farthest back corner of the diner.The place was empty except for a line cook reading the sports page and a waitress in purple Crocs who carried herself with the air of a woman who had seen every type of loser Long Island had to offer.
“The window is two weeks,” Renat said, hands flat on the table, gaze never leaving my face.“After that, she disappears.”
“The girl?”I knew the answer but needed to hear him say it, like reading the charges to a convict before the needle.
“Woman,” he corrected because in our line of work, we had to make a distinction.“Twenty-six years old.No family.Keeps to herself.The perfect target for these scumbags.Hidden cameras in the apartment with paid access for interested buyers.It’s all part of the pre-sale.Bidders pay to watch before the auction.”
He pushed a printout across the table.On it was a pretty girl sitting on the couch reading a book.Wavy blond hair women would pay the big buck to get, but I guessed hers was all natural.She didn’t look like the kind of person who’d spend a fortune at a beauty salon.Just wasn’t the right vibe.Her eyes must’ve been hazel, but they looked almost yellow in the lighting.
“She doesn’t know yet?”I asked.If this was a part of the footage, then it looked like she was living her life oblivious to what was about to happen to her.
“No.Not yet.”He tapped the corner of the printout.“In two weeks, she’ll be kidnapped and sold.Some buyers enjoy the process of breaking their slaves, so she should be left relatively unharmed.”
That didn’t sound so bad, but...
Nadya’s face came unbidden to my mind.Having her apartment broken into was enough to rattle her.Granted, she’d already had plenty of trauma; nevertheless, being kidnapped and then finding out a bunch of creeps had been watching you for weeks, would do a number on this girl.
