Page 27 of Maxim

No. No. No. This has to work.

Again, I draw back the hammer and swing even harder than I did before. As the spiderweb crawls through the glass, I can’t help but smile. With the next hit, the glass falls to the ground, and I laugh with excitement.

I did it. I really did it.

I drop the hammer and crawl out the window. Glass bites into my palms, but I don’t care. I’m free. With that thought in mind, I head toward the only place I want to go. Home to my siblings. Once I make it to the street, I start walking toward my right and I keep straight until I recognize where I’m at.

I don’t know how long I’ve been walking by the time I make it to the backside of my father’s estate, but my legs are tired and I’m so thirsty I could drink an entire pitcher of water in one go. As I wipe sweat from my forehead, I study the fence.

Now that I’m here, how do I get in?

Shit, Olena, this is why you don’t do things spontaneously. You need to have a plan.

As I berate myself for not thinking before reacting, I miss someone approaching until a hand comes down on my shoulder. I screech and try to pull away, but the man won’t let me.

“Well, well, well, look who came home,” Artem, one of my father’s soldiers, says. “And here I thought we would never see you again.”

“I was just leaving,” I say quietly.

Artem chuckles and squeezes my shoulder. “You aren’t going anywhere, sweetheart, but inside. I can’t wait for your father and Szymon to hear about this.”

For a moment I try to resist as he pushes me, but my attempts are futile.

I’m going to die. Father said that if I ever tried to come back, he would kill me. I should have known that this wasn’t going to be easy.

Then again, death would be better than sitting in that lonely home all by myself, a little voice in the back of my head tells me.

Death.

Why is it my life revolves around death? Why do I constantly fear that I’m one foot in the ground and the next step forward will be my last? Do most people feel this way?

When we cross the threshold into the house, I start scanning the place for any sign of my siblings. I just need to know they are okay.

Father and Szymon look up when we step into the office. Szymon’s eyes narrow as my father’s shine with something I can’t quite name. Giddiness maybe?

“Well, look at what we have here,” Father muses as he sits back in his chair.

“Found this one on the back side of the property, eyeing the fence,” Artem tells him as he shoves me to the floor.

Instinct takes over, and I obediently look down at the ground. My hands twitch as they rest on the tops of my thighs as my heart races.

“I warned you, Olena,” Father scolds. “Does Mr. Boyko know you’re here?”

“No, Father,” I whisper.

He tsks his tongue, making me flinch.

“Get the boy,” Father says.

His words don’t register until Artem lets go of me.

The boy. He’s going to get Alek!

Relief that I’ll be setting eyes on my brother in a matter of moments rushes through me. For some reason, I assumed he would rush me out of here without giving me the one thing I want. Maybe I misjudged Father, and he realized that he made a mistake when he sold me.

I’m so lost in my thoughts of seeing my brother that I missed the fact Father picked up his phone until he starts speaking.

“Maxim, good to talk to you again.” He pauses. “Do you know where your merchandise is right now?”