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“‘Run’” Clemmons says.

“Excellent advice,” the Hunter says and hangs up. A part of me expects him to shatter her phone, but I guess he knows better.

Alana tosses her attention to a man in the corner, filming everything. “Does anyone have any questions?”

The man in a green Jersey of a team I don’t recognize says, “Um, one of the Yakuza factions has a question. Hold on. He’swriting in the chat. Oh, wait, the note said to run. Yeah. And there’s another question: from start to finish, how long would you say this whole thing took you, Ms. King?”

“Best guess, an hour?” She shrugs.

Green Jersey says, “Yeah, the message is loud and clear. There are no further questions. I’m going to end the Zoom call. Have a great day doing crimes.”

Alana blinks at him for a few seconds, and he shrugs. “I never know how to end those calls.”

One of The Deviant’s men raises his hand. “Um, should we prove our loyalty to you by dealing with that creepy-ass motherfucker none of us liked?” He motions to the man moaning on the floor.

Alana pauses. “Do whatever you think is best. He won’t be a problem much longer, whether you do something or not. Safe money is he won’t be making it out of prison anyway.” She turns to Marshall. “Congratulations on your big promotion. Yet another example of an unqualified middle-aged white man getting the credit for what a woman did. Cool, I love that for you. The Hunters will help you with the arrests.”

She pushes her hair out of her face, but it only makes the blood spread. “Come on,” she says to me. “There’s a surprise for you, and I need to take a shower.”

Chapter

Forty-Four

Katya

“Are you asking me to take a shower with you?”

“No.” Alana exhales, and I can see the exhaustion of the day start to kick in as she leads me out of the room.

Down the hallway, plastic is being wrapped around a body, and Donny cries, “What happened to their faces?”

Alana doesn’t break stride as she heads for the elevator. “I don’t think Donny’s really cut out for this whole life,” she says, waiting for the door to open. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done over the past few years. My life has been forever changed in a good way for once.” The door opens, and she steps in. I follow. “As a thank you, I’d like to offer you a job here at Mastodon. Starting pay is two hundred thousand with nine weeks of vacation, plus there are other benefits too.” She presses the button for floor number four. “Katie can be wiped from all public records, and you could be Katya forever, if that’s what you want.”

“Um, I’ll take the job, but I need to think about the other part.”

“That’s fair. In addition, Waverly has a room for you at her hotel so you and Dimitri can reconnect.”

I blush. “Thank you.”

The doors open. “Ok, I’m heading to my office, but why don’t you go meet your new asset? I’m pretty sure the conference call is any second now.” She steps out of the elevator and points down the hall. “Second door on the left. You’re taking mandatory excused PTO for two weeks until you can be onboarded.” Alana’s shoes squeak as she heads into her office.

I follow the voices in the opposite direction. The kids are all standing in a line in the center of the room, very excited, while their parents watch from the perimeter. A giant screen shows an Incoming Call message.

But the screen isn’t nearly as exciting as seeing Dimitri leaning against the wall, smiling with pride and a sense of peace. I take the empty spot next to him. He uncrosses his arms, and his hand interlocks with mine.

“Hi, Katya.”

“Hi.” I rest my head on his shoulder. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too, but I’m pretty sure I’m not about to be the highlight of your day.”

“That’s impossible,” I say as the screen flashes and the face of a blonde woman fills the space. My heart stops and maybe explodes at the same time. I don’t know what to do. It isn’t until I hear Dimitri whisper ‘ouch’ that I realize how hard I’m squeezing his hand.

She’s almost unrecognizable, barely any makeup on, wearing just a T-shirt and leggings. Oh my god! I have those same leggings. I’m twinning with Amanda Chase.

The kids scream—or maybe it’s me. I can’t tell.

“Hi!” she says, and she sounds just like her interviews. It’s her. It’s really her.