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Twenty Nine
Dani awoke with a jolt.
The floor was cold and hard beneath her, and in the dark it was difficult to make sense of her surroundings.
The back of her head throbbed with pain. She winced at the sore, damp spot on her head when she touched it, and blood came away at her fingertips.
The sound of a gunshot echoed in her mind, and with it the flashback of Alexei bleeding on the ground. Dani sat up, eyes stinging with fresh tears at the reminder. No, no, no. All of this had to be one bad dream. Alexei couldn’t possibly be dead—
A thin sliver of moonlight entered the window in a far corner of the room. Dani’s vision adjusted, where she found herself in an empty bedroom. It ha
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Despite the gun aimed at his face, Andrei Nikolin laughed. If there was anything Alexei remotely admired about his father, it was that the man never seemed to fear his own mortality. “You come back from the dead only to face me in the dark like a coward?” Andrei cast a sideways glance at the other man standing at the foot of his bed. “What a shame, Viktor, but I’m not surprised.” Viktor used the tip of his pistol to scratch his head. “It was either my boss or my best mate, and the answer’s obvious. No hard feelings, Mr. Nikolin.” Andrei scoffed. “I hold out this long and for what? For you two idiots to burn everything I’ve worked so hard for to the ground?” “It was us ‘idiots’ who’ve been keeping everything afloat.” Alexei shook his head. “You bark incoherent orders
The Russian Epilogue
“Don’t forget: Paper on Rousseau’s Social Contract is due Friday. At least five hundred words, okay people? The appendix doesn’t count—and yes, Mr. Morello—I’m looking at you!” Laughter and the shuffling of books filled the room. Students rose from their seats on their way out of the auditorium, while Dani picked up her things and headed for the door with everyone else. Something in her pocket vibrated, and she pulled out her phone from her jeans at the new text. Lunch at Central in 20? She replied with a smile before slipping her books inside her sling bag. She squeezed into a crowded elevator and headed seven floors down to the main exit doors of the SIPA building, where she was met with the full throng of Columbia’s students scattered across camp
The Russian One
Everything was dark and cold when Dani opened her eyes.Pitch black darkness. It was useless thrashing her head about, for only nothingness stared back at her from every corner of this frigid space. Had she gone blind? Everything felt dull and hazy when she tried to recollect her thoughts. Think, Dani. Think. Right, she’d been partying with friends in a club in Melbourne. It had been a warm summer night, far from this dark freezer she was in right now.Unless she was in some kind of freezer. That was ridiculous of course, because that would mean she was either dead, or soon to be.Her next instinct was to wrap her arms around herself. Except she couldn’t.Her hands were bound behind her back, and her fingertips could feel the cable tie around her wrists. Only then did she become fully aware of her position, of how she was seated on some chair—heavy, wooden—and tied down to her ankles.“What the fuck…?” The words left her cracked lips and grated in her dry throat. At least she wasn’t g
The Russian Two
Moscow.Dani felt the breath knocked out from her.She’d never set foot in Russia, nor knew anyone she could run to even if she managed to escape. Alexei had a build that could easily take her down, if one of his god-knows-how-many lackeys didn’t get to her first.Her mind continued to draw a blank. “How the hell did I end up in Moscow?”Alexei rose to his full height once more. He had to be at least six feet tall. “Too easily, actually. You and your friends were already quite inebriated. I mean, you were more than eager to take your sixth shot of tequila from a complete stranger.”“You slipped a roofie in my drink?” Her jaw dropped as her bound hands curled into fists. “What else have you done to me?”Alexei picked the fur off his parka. “I prefer my partners conscious and completely willing, if that’s what you’re implying. You were knocked out for the entire flight. Very cooperative for live cargo, really.”Dani bit back a curse and closed her eyes. “I can’t believe this is fucking
The Russian Three
Dani was given a drab grey dress and black tights for her to wear. She looked like a convent nun but it surprisingly fit her well, and it unnerved her that her abduction may have been planned well ahead of time. Elena brought her a tray of biscuits and tea, but despite not remembering when she had last eaten, Dani left it untouched. She restlessly paced in her bedroom, tempted to find Alexei, but what would she say to him?Ten million dollars in ten days. There was no way her father would be able to cough up that much money so quickly. Dani chose to be oblivious to many things where the family business was concerned, but she knew enough to know her father had to be in dire straits to start dealing with the Russians.Dani chewed on her thumb. She had to come up with a game plan. Perhaps steal a car and drive far enough to get in contact with her father? She didn’t know a single word of Russian, but it was the largest country in the world, wasn’t it? Surely there were plenty of places to
The Russian Four
Everything was white and bright when Dani opened her eyes.Pale sunlight from the windows kissed her face, but its warmth did not seep through in the cold room.She’d desperately wanted everything to be a dream.The thick sheets kept her in a warm cocoon, keeping her drowsy and almost lulling her back to sleep. Still, no matter how many times she woke up, she would not be escaping this nightmare.Groggily, Dani sat up. The reality of her surroundings was like a cold slap in the face. She was stuck in this godforsaken tundra until—if her father managed to conjure ten million dollars in the next nine days. Her father would move mountains for her, but even meeting Alexei’s demand was stretching it.The faint sound of keys jangling reached her ears. Within seconds, a light knock rapped on her door. Elena entered her room, her black dress a stark contrast to the whiteness of everything else around Dani.“Good morning, Miss De Luca.” Elena’s steely grey eyes mirrored the hardness of her tone
The Russian Five
Dani’s eyelids were heavy when she awoke on a cold Tuesday morning. The room felt chillier than usual, until she noticed snow falling outside her window.She was still in her clothes from last night after crying herself to sleep. The reminder of her possible fate loomed over her like a cloud more dismal than the one outside, but there were no more tears left for her to cry. Perhaps it was the grogginess that lingered in her body, but she found herself staring at the window for a long time until the snow grew thick on her windowsill.The sound of a car pulling over drifted from the outside. There were male voices speaking Russian. A dog barked.Dani walked over to the window. A big black dog was running through the snow. Nearby, Alexei was speaking to one of his guards. He looked up and caught her eye.Her impulse was to shirk away from the window, but she held his gaze as he gave her a nod. When she left the room and headed downstairs to the foyer, the main entrance doors were wide ope
The Russian Six
As soon as they returned inside the house, Maksim walked ahead of her and with purpose, as if heading somewhere. Curious and with nothing left to do, Dani followed the dog as he led her down the long hallway past the foyer and to one of the rooms on the ground floor.Maksim squeezed past a slightly open door. Dani was about to follow when she spotted Alexei inside the room, standing by the window with his back facing hers. He had a phone to his ear.Past Alexei’s tall, suited stature, the window’s curtains were parted to show a view of the garden where she had just come from. She crept closer to the door, finding a handsomely decorated office inside. She hadn’t been inside this room before. How could she have missed it?“You have five days left, Mr. De Luca.”Dani’s spine went rigid.“Now it’s not my style to be persistent, but I figured a little reminder can go a long way.” Alexei slipped a hand in his pocket. “Last I checked, there’s only a little over three million dollars that’s be
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