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I couldn’t stop thanking Zoey; I was so grateful to have found such a goodhearted friend. She continued to blow off my gratitude, completely unconcerned with her own safety, even though she needed to be. How much she needed to be remained to be seen, because I was still hopeful she could get out of this without Dima knowing she was involved. That seemed impossible but I only had hope to go on, for both Zoey and me.

She flipped on her headlights as night started to close in on us, and I looked up to see a group of signs. We’d been driving for a while now and I suddenly realized we were heading north instead of south. I was so wrapped up in getting as far away as possible that we never discussed where to go. She must have just headed toward the US border on autopilot.

I took a long breath and pointed to my straw bag. “There’s nothing in there that’s useful,” I admitted. “Dima smuggled me in when he brought me here. I don’t have my passport or even my driver’s license.”

“It’ll be okay,” she said.

Before she could assure me we could find refuge with the border patrol and work everything out somehow, I told her that California was the last place we wanted to be.

“He’s most certainly got people in immigration,” I said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the first person we saw was in his pocket, and he has to know I’m missing by now, so he’ll have alerted them to keep a lookout. We should head south.”

I tried to convince her to drop me off again, desperate that she didn’t get caught up by my furious husband when he inevitably stopped my flight for freedom.

“No, it’s really going to be okay,” she interrupted. “I messaged my brother when we stopped for gas. He has a special place in his heart for people like you, who’ve been wronged by powerful men. He’s going to meet us, and he’ll know what to do.”

There was no rush of relief, only a crushing weight that had me nearly breaking down. Now, another innocent person was getting involved with my mess, another person whose life would be in danger because of me. They had no idea what they were up against. How could they?

And the worst of it was, I couldn’t get past the fact that Zoey was here with me because I’d built Dima up to be the worst kind of man imaginable, a truly evil and cruel monster. He’d never once laid a hand on me unless it was in a way I craved. What would she say if she knew about that? Maybe then she’d shove me out of the car and be on her merry way without me. Dima wasn’t cruel and evil.

But he had stolen the life I wanted from me, bought me like I was a new watch he had his eye on, and was in control of the places I went and the people I got to talk to. None of this would be happening if he’d just let me go.

He’d never let me go, because I was his. As much as it tore me in two with conflicting emotions, this was the only way.

I strained my eyes to see through the darkness, but nothing but a few random headlights were coming toward us on the other side of the road. The only vehicles that passed us were trucks, and I hadn’t seen a sign in a while, so had no idea if we were close to a town.

Zoey looked tense, which was understandable, and she had passed the last few miles in silence, leaning over the steering wheel while her eyes darted left and right.

“Can I help you look for something?” I asked. “What’s the name of the exit?”

She shook her head. “I think we’re almost there. I wish we had stayed on the highway.” She looked at me in despair. “I wish a lot of things right now.”

“Zoey,” I said forcefully. “I’m not letting you do this. Let’s just stop. I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t,” she said. “And look, there. That’s the turn off.”

“I’m so sorry for getting you into this,” I told her.

“Don’t be sorry.”

She lapsed into silence again, the stress taking its toll on her. A mile up ahead, she turned onto a broken-down road, slowing down to dodge potholes and keep from ending up in the ditch. We passed a grocery store that looked like it might have been permanently closed, and after a few more minutes, we pulled into a seedy motel. The place had a listing awning and a flickering sign announcing vacancies.

“Good thing it’s not booked up,” I said, trying to make a joke and hide my distaste.

Despite the worn-down appearance, I looked forward to getting out of the car and collapsing on the bed, no matter how lumpy the mattress was. Zoey stopped in a parking space next to a dying palm tree and put her head on the steering wheel, as worn out as I was.

Running was exhausting, and this was just the beginning. This was my life now.

“Let’s see if there’s anything to eat,” she said, straightening up and plastering on a brave face. “We can rest and wait for my brother.”

I nodded, even though the thought of eating anything made my stomach turn inside out. It was important to keep up my strength for whatever tomorrow brought. The smart thing to do was move on as soon as her brother arrived, so there might not even be a full night’s sleep waiting for me.

As if I could sleep with my insides tied up in knots. Was I already missing the bed I shared with Dima, or was I missing the feel of his arms around me? It had to be stress and the fear of the unknown making me go haywire and be so unsure of myself.

“I want my freedom,” I whispered, for my own benefit.

“I know,” Zoey said miserably. “Just wait here.”

She went into the office, and I watched her speak to the person manning the front desk through the dusty glass. Everything about the place was dusty and grimy and was way out in the middle of nowhere. I couldn’t imagine it got many customers. The owners probably just gave up caring, if they ever cared at all.

I didn’t want anything in my life to ever be as futile as this awful little motel. I had a future worth fighting for, and no matter how hard it was, it would be mine and mine alone.

Alone. That hit hard, and Dima’s smile flashed in my memory. If I ever saw him again, I could damn well be sure he wouldn’t smile at me. Which meant I better never see him again, another thought that didn’t sit right. What in the hell was wrong with me?

I was tired, scared, and uncertain; that was all. Of course, I was excited and happy to be away, but I wouldn’t be able to feel those emotions until I was a little more secure.

So, maybe never.

“I have the key,” Zoey said, waving an old-fashioned, plastic keychain as she walked toward me.

She looked pale in the sickly yellow light from the motel sign, and her hand shook. I hurried closer, to take her arm in case she went down.

“I’m fine,” she said. “You need to save your energy to worry about yourself.”

The fresh burst of guilt at her selflessness was almost welcome after all the mixed-up emotions bouncing around in my head. In the two minutes she had been getting the key, I almost had myself convinced this was all a big mistake.

She opened the door and let me go in ahead of her, pulling the door shut behind us and snapping on the light. I had expected a musty bed, a chipped dresser, and maybe a sad painting of the scenery.

I didn’t expect someone to be waiting in there, smiling at me with such a cruel look in his eyes that I jolted backward, slamming into Zoey, who grabbed me by the arms to keep us from toppling.

This had to be a nightmare; I couldn’t be awake. This just wasn’t happening, because how was it possible? Leering at me with sick glee from two feet away was the real monster who’d been at the root of all my troubles.

“Zoey, run,” I hissed, trying to shove her back. She must have been in shock, rooted to the floor like a statue.

Rurik Kuzmin’s smile grew more menacing as he stepped toward us.