Page 72 of VII (Seven) (War of Roses 2)

Chapter 24

The next morning, I visit the girl. Mouse. One night and she already looks better. Color paints her cheeks, and her eyes are open when I enter her room, tracking my every movement.

“Good morning,” I say tentatively.

She blinks, but I notice her hands twitch over the surface of her blanket. She’s alert, at least.

“I’ve brought you something to eat,” I add, nodding to the tray I’m holding. Everything on it is courtesy of Vanya: cold porridge, bread, and ice water. “I’ll leave it here.”

I place the tray on the nightstand beside her bed. As I back away, she sits up and snatches the bread, breaking it in half. Watching her devour each morsel, I can’t help but guess just how young she is. Ten maybe? Older?

Her frail, slight frame proclaims stunted growth, but her eyes are too bright for a younger child. Only God knows what she saw before the day Nicolai offered her up as a drug mule.

“Don’t eat so fast,” someone scolds from the doorway, making me jump. Dressed in gray fatigues, Mischa storms into the room, his arms crossed. “You’ll make yourself choke. Are you a girl or a pig?”

He advances toward the bed and snatches the second half of bread from the girl’s hand—but rather than flinch from him, she flashes a wicked grin and shoves the remaining bread into her mouth.

“Pig, then,” Mischa says in disgust. He reaches out, ruffling the girl’s ratty hair. His large palm covers nearly her entire skull, but she doesn’t cringe at the contact. “Shame. Pigs can’t learn to fight with knives. Not that you’ll be getting any more lessons for a while—”

He breaks off and his entire body goes rigid. I must have made a sound. Shock flits across his expression as he spots me in the corner before a cold frown smothers all emotion. His hand leaves Mouse, curling into a fist as he turns for the door.

“Don’t.” I start after him. Almost against my will, my hand brushes his shoulder. “Stay. I’ll go—”

Alarm steals my voice as he snatches my wrist, dragging me into the hall. Shadows obscure the corner he shoves me into. I can only make out the line of his jaw, stern and clenched. Without even seeing his face, I know he’s angry. The man radiates rage the way some do their natural scent.

“I want to show you something,” he says gruffly. “Tonight.”

My mind goes blank. I’d been anticipating a scathing insult. Not a request. “W-what?”

He doesn’t answer. Instead, he continues down the hall, leaving me to stare after him. Before descending the steps, he cocks his head, eyeing me from over his shoulder.

“You claimed before that you wanted answers. If you think you can stomach them, then be ready.”

* * *

He comes for me at midnight, when the rest of the safe house has fallen silent. Dressed in black, he appears at the mouth of my room. Without glancing in my direction, he inclines his head. “Are you ready?”

“Yes.” I lurch to my feet and enter the hall.

Without waiting for me to catch up, Mischa descends the stairs. In silence, we exit the house, entering the chill of night.

“Where are we going?” I whisper. Maybe I already know he won’t answer—it’s the act of defiance that matters. He can’t order me around. I’m here because I want to be.

I half expect him to take me to the van—and predictably another far-off location where he makes a shady deal with a strange, imposing man.

My heart skips when he leads me off the path instead.

Amongst looming trees and the scuttling of night creatures, I find myself inching closer to him. Every footfall and sharp sound have me jumping, spotting specters in the dark.

“Here.” Suddenly, he comes to a stop in a small clearing. Through gnarled branches, the moon looms above, casting barely enough light to see by. It doesn’t help any that Mischa towers like a giant, drenching anything near him in shadow. “You have your questions? Ask them now.”

“Why here?” I warily lick my lips. It’s the perfect place for him to kill me once and for all, leaving my body where Robert could never find it.

He shrugs. “It’s safe. Unless you’ve changed your mind—”

“Fine.” I rack my brain for another question and come up with one easily. “Did I see Briar that night?”

He looks away. “And if you did?”

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