2. Chapter Two
Chapter Two
Sasha
I don’t listen to Ana as she tries to talk me out of escaping.
“Sasha, you could get hurt. You could die.”
I crack open my window. The only good thing about having my room on the second floor is that Denis never thought to lock it. Why would he? Dropping from this height could potentially kill a person.
“I’m not going to die,” I tell her. “Now I’m leaving.”
“Sasha, wait. What if Denis catches you? He’ll hurt you. He’ll make it worse for you.”
“You want to get out of here, don’t you? This is the way. Me escaping is the only way I can save us. Aren’t you tired of Denis thinking he can abuse us?”
Ana is quiet on the other side of the wall. I wish I knew what she was thinking. She’s always been an open book but since I can’t see her face, I can’t make out how she’s feeling.
“Just be safe,” she finally says.
“I will be.” I sound more confident than I feel.
Looking out my window, I see multiple guards down below.
The tree is a few feet away – not that far – but far enough that it could be easy enough to miss.
But I can’t be jumping out my window and into a tree, even in the middle of the night, with guards right below me.
They’ll just hear me and shoot me in the leg so I’m crippled and forced to go to the wedding.
And Nico might hate having a crippled wife. What would he do to me then?
Nico may be a handsome devil but he’s still a devil. I saw him kill Cillian Kennedy right before my own eyes. I know he has darkness in him.
I don’t want to be married to a man like that.
I turn off the light in my room so the guards can’t easily see me and duck down. Now it’s time to wait.
It takes around an hour before they start to rotate around the house. Now’s my chance to jump to the tree.
Taking a deep breath, I ease myself over the side of the window and onto the ledge of the roof. A large tree branch is sticking out. I just have to hope it’s strong enough to hold my weight.
When there’s briefly no guards in the backyard, I take that moment to jump. My body slams into the tree and my hands scramble to find something to hold onto.
I start to fall. My stomach drops right to my toes.
In my adrenaline, I manage to grab onto the branch but my feet are dangling down. The guards will easily see. There’s a light on in the backyard. I need to climb up now .
Gritting my teeth so I can’t make any noise, I force my arms to work and pull myself upright. I get my whole body on the branch right before one of the guards comes back into the yard. He stands still for a moment, like he can sense something is off.
I stick as close to the tree as I can. He looks all around the backyard but fortunately, he doesn’t think to look up.
Now I have to wait for the guards to rotate again.
My back starts to hurt being stuck in the tree, crouched like I am. The guard lights a cigarette. The smoke fills my nostrils, making me gag. I clamp my hand over my mouth so he can’t hear me. I’m just going to have to get used to the smell while I wait.
The guard plays on his phone. So much for being on guard.
I guess there’s really nothing else to do while he stands in the empty backyard.
Most people wouldn’t dare to attack this place with how many guards there are.
It’s why Mikhail hasn’t tried. I think he could easily kill the guards if he wanted to but he doesn’t want to put me and my sisters into danger.
That comes from Natalya, I’m sure. She would sacrifice herself to save our lives. But so would I.
That day, when I saw Nico kill Cillian Kennedy, my sister was being forced to marry him, thinking Mikhail was dead. But after Nico killed him and him and Mikhail turned their guns on Denis, my uncle forced me and my sisters to stand in front of him. All except Natalya.
Nico was going to shoot. He was going to easily kill us all if it meant killing Denis.
Until Natalya threw herself in front of us, getting him to stop. Mikahil would never endanger his wife so he told Nico not to shoot.
That was when I made the decision to leave with Denis. Return home with him. I knew it was the only way to keep myself safe. To keep my entire family safe.
I saw the pain on Natalya’s eyes as her entire family were forced to leave with the man who ruined us. Who put us in these situations in the first place.
That was the last time I saw my big sister. I’m sure she’s fighting to get us back but it’s been a little less than a year since that day and nothing. I’m starting to lose faith in her.
The guard finally leaves after about an hour. That’s my small window of chance.
I lower my body over the branch, clinging to it before I drop to the ground. My feet smack into the earth, making me fall over. It makes a loud thud sound. I want to hold still but if a guard heard that, I’m screwed.
My eyes are locked onto the back gate and I run to it with all of my might. Since Denis has a ton of guards around the place, he probably never figured me or my sisters would get out of here so it’s easy to unlock the back gate. I hurry out of it right as a guard comes around the house.
I close the gate as quietly as I can. It’s unlocked from the inside. Someone will eventually notice. But I plan on being long gone by then.
With no money or phone on me, I have no way to get to my sister. No way to pay for a cab or pay for a ticket for the subway.
It’s dangerous being outside at night, especially in New York.
I run with everything I have in case any of the guards have realized something is amiss.
I see a bodega in the distance – still on – even this late at night. The sign on their door says they’re open all day and night. Bursting inside, I startle the cashier.
“I need to use your phone,” I gasp out, trying to catch my breath. He stares at me, not amused. “Your phone.”
“Why can’t you use your own phone?”
“Please. Someone took it from me. I’m in danger. I need to use your phone to call for help. Please.”
He seems to realize this is a serious situation and slowly hands over his phone. But before he puts it in my hand, he rips it away. “How do I know you’re not trying to steal it?”
“Do I look like I’m trying to steal it?” Damn New Yorkers. They never trust anybody. “Please. I need help. You have my camera. You can easily call the police on me if I steal your phone. But I’m not going to do that. I just need help.”
He sighs. “Fine.”
The moment the phone is in my hands, I call Natalya’s number.
My mom always made us remember each other’s numbers in case of an emergency.
You never know when you’ll be without your cell phone, she would say.
Ana would look horrified at the thought.
She used to be obsessed with her phone but ever since Denis took them from us, she’s had to find different ways to pass the time.
It was a struggle for her at first but she’s really come around to drawing.
I hear Natalya’s phone ring and ring. “Please pick up,” I mutter, bouncing on my feet. The cashier continues to look at me.
I walk over to the side, putting some space between us.
After four rings, Natalya finally picks up. “Hello?”
“It’s Sasha.”
She’s quiet for a second before she gasps. “Sasha?”
“I need help.” I rattle off the address of the bodega. “Can you come get me?”
“Of course. What happened?”
“I escaped but I don’t know how long before Denis finds out. He’s going to marry me to… Nico Bernardi.”
“… truly?”
“Yes. Why would I lie about that?” I can’t help but roll my eyes. Natalya always struggled to understand that her younger sisters could be just as smart and capable as her.
“I’m sorry. I’m just surprised. When’s the wedding supposed to take place?”
“A month from now. But if I’m caught, there’s a good chance they’ll speed it up.”
“You’re right. We’re on our way. We’ll be around forty minutes. Stay safe.”
I hang up and hand the phone back to the cashier. “See? No interest in stealing it.”
“Are you ok?” he asks. “Do you need me to call the police?”
I was taught to never involve police in mafia business.
“Is it ok if I wait here? My sister is going to come pick me up.”
“Yeah. Sure. Just don’t steal anything.”
“I’m not going to steal anything,” I snap.
“And while you’re waiting, you can pay for something.”
My mouth drops open. I can’t believe this guy. “I don’t have any money on me. I have nothing. That’s why I needed to borrow your phone. I’m in danger.”
“Then you need to wait outside.”
“I could get hurt out there!”
He shrugs and turns back to the cash register. “Not my problem.”
“I seriously can’t stay?”
“Not if you don’t buy anything. I’ll have to call the cops on you for loitering.”
“Unbelievable,” I mutter. “You’re unbelievable.”
“I’m just trying to keep my business afloat. Now, do I need to call the police or not?”
“Fine. I’ll wait outside. But if I get kidnapped, that’s on you.
” All I have on is a light long sleeved shirt and pajama bottoms and my slippers.
My shoes are by the front door so I couldn’t get to them – not with my door locked.
I never even wear my slippers – my grandma got them for me when she was still alive - but I figured they would be better than running around in bare feet.
I shiver in the cool night air. It’s summertime but that doesn’t mean the nights still don’t get a little chilly.
The road is covered in shadows. Every sound in the distance makes me turn my head with a gasp. I have to wait forty minutes for my sister to get here. I just hope she’ll make it in time.
I can’t leave. Natalya is coming to this address. I have no choice but to wait.
I force my body to lean against the building. Maybe if I have something solid behind me, I’ll feel better. Except it’s only cold on my back, making me feel worse.
My eyes keep seeing things in the shadows. People? Dogs or cats? Maybe even rats? New York has huge rats.
God I hope it’s rats and not any of Denis’s men.