Page 81

Margot

The door to my cell creaks open, but I don’t even lift my head to see who it is. It can’t be good, and I don’t have the energy to care.

I’ve refused every meal they’ve brought me. Partly out of fear of being drugged again, but mostly out of spite. It’s the only thing I can control. The only way I can defy them and fight back.

They don’t care. But still, I rebel.

The only problem? I’m weak. So weak.

I don’t know how long it’s been since I ate at the gala. The days have blurred together. I’m lost to the darkness. With no windows, time doesn’t exist.

At first, I tried to keep track, sleeping in intervals, listening to my body’s circadian rhythm. But now, I can barely stay awake long enough to form coherent thoughts. I sleep most of the time. It’s easier.

I thought I knew what it meant to be kidnapped when Matty took me .

I thought I knew fear.

But now I understand, I was never really his prisoner. And he never truly scared me.

Back then, I was in silks and satins, falling in love in a gilded cage. Now I’m wasting away in a concrete cell.

I’ve been dragged by my hair. Slapped. Kicked. Punched. I’ve been hauled in front of Viktor more times than I care to count.

At first, I fought. Even knowing I couldn’t escape, I still fought.

Even when it ended in bruises.

Even when it left me hurting.

But eventually, I ran out of fight.

Ran out of strength.

Ran out of hope.

Now, I just exist. Succumbed to my captivity. A shell. A shadow.

Every time I faced Viktor, I gave him the same answers. But last time, he said something that struck.

“ If Montclair cares so much, why hasn’t he come for you yet?”

That hit me harder than any punch.

Why hasn’t he come?

Maybe he’s still looking.

Maybe you’re hard to find.

But he knows who took me. Knows what they are.

Could I really be this impossible to track down?

Or did he cut his losses?

No. He loves you. He’s coming. You just have to believe.

A voice I recognize breaks through my spiral. The same man who dragged me upstairs on the first day.

“Tonight, you go to the docks. The Pakhan has no more use of you, but you must be punished for the men we lost. A shipment arrives tonight. You will join it. Be grateful he has shown mercy and spared you.”

I stare at the wall, unmoving. Unwilling to give him the satisfaction of a response.

He waits. Then huffs and storms out, slamming the door behind him.

Silence returns.

But his words linger.

The docks.

I know whatever happens there will be worse than this.

Worse than hunger.

Worse than beatings.

Worse than silence.

I’ve grown numb in this cell, learned how to endure. But where they’re sending me… I know it won’t offer that comfort.

I wonder what hell waits on the other side.

Matty will save you. Just hold on a little longer.

But even as my inner voice echoes through my mind, I don’t believe it anymore.

If he were coming, he’d be here by now.

I’ve lost hope.

Lost hope in him.

And now… it’s too late.

When I get to the docks, everything will change.

I can feel it in my bones.

The nightmare they have waiting for me, I don’t know if I’ll survive it.

Or if I’ll even want to.

***

I jolt awake. My arms give out beneath me as I try to push myself up. I groan, dazed and dizzy. I blink fast, trying to understand what woke me.

There’s no one in my cell .

Then I hear it.

Commotion upstairs.

A loud boom rattles the floor.

Russian shouts. Chaos ensues. And then, gunshots.

Beautiful, blessed gunshots .

For the first time in forever, I feel something close to joy.

My eyes try to form tears, but I’m too dehydrated. My body has nothing left to give. Even the headache that comes doesn’t register.

I try to sit up again, but I can’t. My body won’t cooperate.

That’s okay. He’s strong enough for both of you.

I know it’s him.

I know he’s here.

I can feel him.

Like my heart knows its other half is near.

He’s here.

He kept his promise.

I feel myself slipping, darkness tugging me under.

But I’m not afraid.

Because this time, as I fall asleep, I know he’ll be here when I wake up.