Page 74

Margot

Matty’s only been gone about a minute when the need to pee hits me. I know he told me to stay put, but surely going to the bathroom is fine, right? No one’s going to hurt me here.

Still, he did seem serious.

It’s fine. I’ll be back before he’s even off the phone. He’ll never know.

I scan the ballroom and spot a hallway on the far side. That must be where the bathrooms are. I head down it and turn the corner, only to find this stretch of hallway dark and quiet. There isn’t a bathroom. Just an exit door.

I turn around to head back to the main area and nearly scream when a figure appears behind me.

“God, I’m sorry. You scared me.” I let out a nervous laugh.

“Margot Peterson. How odd to see you here. How odd to see you at all.”

The voice slithers through the dark like smoke, and my blood runs cold.

My old boss steps into the faint red glow of the EXIT sign .

“Hi, Ronald. It’s been a while,” I say, relief flooding me that it’s someone I know, but it doesn’t last long. There’s something off about his eyes. They’re too hard. Too cold.

“It has,” he replies. “What have you been up to?” His casual tone contrasts his hard eyes.

“Oh, you know… this and that. Nothing to write home about.” I keep it vague, not wanting to remind him that what I have not been up to is working for the company.

“We agreed to meet up for coffee, and then you disappeared without a trace. I almost filed a missing person’s report.” His voice remains friendly.

He says it like a joke, but it doesn’t feel like one.

“Right… I’m really sorry about that. Something came up.” I laugh awkwardly. I don’t have a good excuse for ghosting him and my job.

“But you’re not the only one who’s gone missing, I hear.” He tilts his head, still smiling.

What?

My skin prickles. Something’s wrong.

I glance around. My back is to the exit door, and he’s blocking my only way out. Trapping me in this dark hallway.

“Um… I should get back. My boyfriend’s probably looking for me.”

It’s not a lie. Matty could be done with his call by now. I should’ve stayed where I was. I should’ve listened.

“You’re not going anywhere, Margot,” he says calmly. “Some important people are looking for you. They’re offering a high finder’s fee. I saw you when you walked in and called them. They want answers.”

His smile warps into something vicious. It sends a bolt of ice down my spine.

And then it clicks.

The Bratva.

He was the inside man. The coffee meeting wasn’t casual. It was a setup. He must’ve told them I figured it out. That’s why they’re after me.

Fuck. I have to get out of here.

I lunge forward and try to shove past him, but he grabs me. I struggle, but he’s stronger than he looks, and I’m just a short, plump girl with zero self-defense training.

For the second time since this nightmare started, I’m overpowered by a man with evil intentions in his eyes.

“Let me through,” I growl through gritted teeth.

I claw at his face and manage to scratch him. He howls, then a fist soars at me.

Pain explodes across my cheek and stars burst in my vision.

“I’m sorry, Margot,” he sneers. “But you knew too much. Then men started going missing. You made this too easy when you left your date.”

He lets out a full, deranged, gleeful laugh.

There’s a ringing in my ears. I barely register the sound of the exit door opening.

Heavy footsteps echo down the hall. Then, a rough voice, thick with a Russian accent asks, “Is this Margot Peterson?”

“Matty will kill you for this!” I gasp out, continuing to struggle.

“Yes. Grab her. I can’t hold her much longer,” Ronald pants like the weak bitch he is.

I feel a sharp prick at the base of my neck. My limbs become heavy. My knees buckle. My vision dims.

My last thought before the darkness swallows me is,

I’m sorry, Matty.

I never should have left.