“Stop lying,” I interrupt. I watch his body, the tension across his shoulders, and think back to my earlier suspicions. “It was you, wasn’t it?” He glares at me as I continue.
“I looked in to it,” I tell him, my voice more even than I expected, “Knowing what I do now, the chances of me being picked up by those two assholes is practically non-existent. And we weren’t anywhere near Shakhty when you found me. So, Krystof. Tell me about a brother who leaves his sister to traffickers.”
A dark cloud seems to descend on his face, giving me the answer I need. I take a step back, clutching my chest as though struck.
“Why?” I gasp.
“You needed a lesson in gratitude,” he shrugs, his voice emotionless. “And I made sure the right men to give it to you showed up.”
Despite my suspicions, I never actually thought….
“You should have come with me,” he continues. “We could have been great. But instead, you had to fucking leave me. I had to find a place to keep you while I found a place for us. And I did, didn’t I? Didn’t I put in place the kills we needed to take over CASH-ULTY? I didn’t know what those assholes would do, I only hired them to keep you safe. Took me a year to find you again, but that wasn’t my fault. You never should have left. It could have been different, Galina. We could have been different.”
A ball of nausea sits in my throat.
Trust no one but yourself.
“I think you should leave.”
My voice shakes, and Kris actually throws back his head and laughs, taking a step toward me. It’s then I realize my pistol isn’t on my desk where I left it.
“No, little sister. I think you’ve fucked things up enough now. Time to let your big brother take things from here.”
Chapter 36
Sin
Escape has always been possible,just not something that was necessary. With their major contracts having failed, all it will take is a small push for CASH-ULTY to come toppling over.
And that push’s name is Ginger.
Using the skills I’ve learned over the years, I work my way through the fortress, careful to remain unseen as I head toward the special area Ginger once showed me. If not for the skills I’ve obtained over the years, a fortress like this would have been impossible to break out of. As it was, I could never have broken in without allowing myself to be taken. Security is one thing, but mere chains and steel doors are no match for me. I have no clothes, but I’ll fix that soon enough. The coolness coming from the stones beneath my feet centers me.
When I get to the research area, it’s as stark and white as I remember. I step in, and the two researchers there freeze, terror filling their vision as they take in the sight of me. I suppose getting pants on the way may have helped, but fuck it. A slow smile spreads across my face, and I twist my neck to crack it.
“So which one of you assholes is going to get this thing out of me?”
One of the researchers, a wormy looking little man, tries to make a run for the door. I reach to the table beside me and grab some kind of heavy, glass container and throw it. It shatters against the doorframe, and the man freezes in place, his shaking limbs visible from across the room.
“Don’t fucking try it,” I warn as I stride the rest of the way into the room. I hear a low hissing and realize the man has pissed himself. I have no patience, suppressing an eye roll before taking two giant steps toward the man and twisting his neck with ease. A loud crack sounds before he falls to the floor.
Straightening my spine, I turn to the other person, a woman who is looking at me with wide eyes.
“You,” I point at the woman who is now wringing her hands. “Get what you need to get this fucking tracker out of me, and make it fast.”
It takesno more than fifteen minutes for the little bitch to get the thing out of my neck, but each minute feels like an hour. It won’t take long for that fucker Krystof to figure out I’ve gotten out, so I don’t need him looking up my tracker too soon.
My fingers tap against my leg as she uses some fancy metal tweezers to dig into my flesh. I grunt but otherwise don’t react. She drops the small device onto the tray beside us, a few spatters of blood marring the otherwise shining metal, then takes a step back from me.
“I did what you wanted,” her voice shakes. “Please don’t kill me.”
I nod toward the closet.
“Get in there, shut up, and I won’t have to.”
Of course, she complies.
Though I knowI don’t have too long, I do need to try to figure out how to work the trackers before I leave here. This place is big enough that I don’t want to be wandering around trying to find Ginger or risk getting caught again.