Page 14 of Ghost

Her temper sizzled.

“All right.I don’t care to know your name, but tell me who paid you.”

“You’re really that dumb, aren’t you?”It took effort to keep the shivering out of her voice.

He tsked.Another blast of water rushed over her.

She wanted to scream, to lunge for his face, but she couldn’t do anything but curl into a ball.

It stopped.

She shook, her teeth and bones chattering.Movement shuffled around her.Dread pulled at her bravery as though it were a thread on a poorly knitted sweater.Summoning her grit, she watched him through slits as he set up two industrial-sized fans around her.

He approached again, this time with a towel.Part of her almost moaned at the idea of having the warm, dry material on her skin.Using the corner, he mopped the droplets around her mouth and then a fresh strip of tape was pressed over her lips.

“It’s gonna get chilly in here, honey.I’ll be back to check on you soon.Don’t bother tryin’ to get off the tape to scream.We’re alone on this mountain.”

A second later, he switched on the fans.Wind hit every inch of her body.She pulled her knees into her chest and braced for hypothermia.

***

Nineteen Years Earlier

Mila sprinted throughthe field as the alarm she’d tripped squealed behind her.Tall grass scraped against her arms and legs as she ran over the uneven ground.

Shouts erupted behind her.Alexei’s men who patrolled the property ran after her.She pumped her muscles.

If they caught her, they’d punish her.

Emotion clogged in her throat.It’d been over a year since she was taken.A year of callouses and blisters, intense training, and burning muscles.But her muscles didn’t burn now.

No, they were hungry for freedom.

Mama.Papa.Igor.I’m coming.

She’d never left the property, but she’d learned their approximate whereabouts.She’d overheard Alexei speak to his men about Kaluga, the nearest town.She wasn’t familiar with its location, but she’d committed the name to memory.

One of the many books Alexei had brought her included a map of Russia.She’d spent hours studying it and learned that Irinia and Alexei’s compound was almost three hours from Moscow.

But a road was close.She could hear the whizzing of vehicles.If she could flag someone down, maybe they’d help.

The shouting grew closer, followed by the sound of piercing barks.Alexei’s Dobermans.

Fear swirled up the back of her neck.Part of her wanted to stop running.To give up and promise never to flee again.But her mother’s bright smile shone in her mind.

I have to see them again...before I forget them.

As she darted through the woods to the west, her chest ached but not from exertion.She ran two miles every day.This was nothing.The terror of being caught was what made her heart hammer.

She broke through the trees and reached the road.Headlights splashed across the dark asphalt and relief made her sob.She waved her hands in the air and jumped up and down, not daring to scream and alert the dogs or the guards.

The vehicle slowed and an older man stepped out.“Child, are you hurt?”

“Please,” she cried, running toward them.“I need help.I’ve been kidnapped.”

He blinked and looked bewildered as he glanced inside the car at a woman whose blond hair framed her friendly, worried face.

“Let her in, Alek.We’ll take you—”