Where do the lies end? Where does the truth begin?

I drop my head and stifle the sob in my throat. Ironically, I can feel Kolya’s ring prick at my chest where it’s settled in the cup of my bra.

And then I see lights approaching. I hear the subtle roll of tires on gravel.

The man notices it, too. “Looks like your time’s up, darlin’,” he says. “Word of advice: you might survive if you smile more.”

“Word of advice: go fuck yourself.”

He shrugs for what I hope is the last time. “Fair enough. Can’t say I didn’t warn ya.”

The car stops some distance away. My abductor shuffles off towards the main entrance of the barn.

He’s almost at the threshold when the gunshot goes off.

8

JUNE

I gasp and duck my head down low, unable to move, or take cover, or do anything but pray.

The bearded man makes a horrifying gurgling sound as he stumbles back toward me. “F-fuck! Don’t fuckin’ sh—”

Another gunshot screams through the darkness, and then he doesn’t speak anymore.

The silence that follows is almost worse than the chaos. A tense few seconds pass. Five, ten, twenty—

And then a shape materializes at the mouth of the barn. My heart is thumping hard against my chest. I’m trying desperately to come up with a plan of escape, when the shadow gives way to the full form of a man.

“Adrian!” I breathe.

“Jesus, June,” he gasps, tucking his gun in the back of his pants and rushing over to me. “Are you okay?”

“I… I…” Words won’t come, though. They’re all caught up in my throat, refusing to budge.

He palms my cheeks in both hands and stares at me with blue eyes that are so much darker than his brother’s. “Hey,” he says softly. “It’s okay. You’re okay now. You’re safe. I’ve got you.”

I just nod.

He scurries around to release me from my restraints. “Are you hurt?”

“No, I don’t think so… but my face hurts. And so does my arm.”

“Let’s get you home,” he says. “I’ll see to your wounds when—”

“We can’t go back there,” I say urgently. “That’s where he found me. He knew exactly where I was.”

Adrian looks momentarily stumped. “Shit. You’re right. That means the laundromat is no longer safe…” He saws away at the ropes that are tying me to the legs of the chair. “Come on, I’ll help you up. Put your weight on me.”

He hoists me up to my feet, but my legs feel like jelly at this point. “I… I can’t walk, Adrian.”

“I’ll carry you to the car,” he says, heaving me up into his arms. It ought to be comforting, but his chest feels thin, frail, insubstantial. Like he might crumble to ashes if I poke too hard.

He grunts as he hauls me over to the car, my world rocking and swaying with every step.

Once I’m tucked into the passenger seat, he dashes around the car and gets behind the wheel. We drive for the next twenty minutes. I don’t ask where we’re going and he doesn’t volunteer the information.