Page 131 of Immaculate Deception (Romanoff Bratva)

But it was all built on a lie.

We fly around cars on the highway, swerving in and out of traffic. I can still see the two cars following behind us, but they’re growing further and further behind.

“I think we’re losing them,” I growl, peeking back to check. “We need to get off the highway and find a place to hide out.”

The longer we spend speeding down the highway, the more likely it is someone will call the cops. I don’t need police out looking for me on top of everything else.

The exit coming up is advertised with a big lit-up sign. I can see the glow of a town just beyond it. It’s as good a place as any to blend in.

I whip around two more cars, merge into the exit lane, and then take the forty mile-per-hour exit at a cool seventy-five.

Arya screams as I fly through a red light, turn onto the main road, and then slam on the brakes as I pass a gas station.

Cars are honking all around us, but I’m gone before they even have the chance to register what’s going on.

I drive a few more blocks, turn down a residential road, drive parallel to the main road for a while, and then pull into the driveway of a house with darkened windows and no porch light.

I kill the engine.

And we wait.

In the sudden quiet, our breathing seems loud. I can hear Arya tapping her nails on the door. My leg is bouncing with adrenaline and nerves.

“How long do we need to wait?” she asks, looking over at me nervously.

“The longer, the better.”

She nods, pushing out a breath between her lips. The car is dark, but I can see her eyelashes brush against her cheeks. And I can see the tears beginning to well.

“It will be fine. We aren’t getting shot tonight.”

She swipes at her eyes. “It’s not that. I just don’t know where June and Ernestine went.”

“They got away.”

“I know,” she breathes. “But I don’t know where they went.”

My attention snaps to her. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I mean I don’t know!” she yells, her patience finally snapping. “We didn’t have a plan. I just told her to run because I didn’t want you to hurt them.”

“You thought I’d shoot an innocent little girl and an old woman?”

We stare at each other, our chests heaving, the anger palpable between us.

I grit my teeth and pound my fist against the car door to relieve some of my frustration, and a sharp pain shoots down to my elbow. I wince.

“Are you okay?” Despite the way she was looking at me a second ago, Arya sounds genuinely concerned.

“Fine.” But I still lift up my sleeve to check my arm.

That’s when I notice the blood. A lot of it.

“Fuck.”

“What?” Arya leans over, grabbing my arm, trying to turn me towards her so she can see better. “What happened?”

I pull up my sleeve more. When I do, I can see a bullet graze. I don’t know how deep it is, but now that I’ve seen it, the pain sets in.

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