Chapter 12
CHAPTER 12
MARINA
A fter several agonizing minutes, the train pulled away from the station.
I took a seat near the back entrance of the car, my back against the wall so I could observe anyone who got on or off. The woman sitting next to me had her hood up, a sleeping mask over her eyes.
I couldn’t have asked for a better seat.
It should have been enough to make me feel safe. Relief should have been coursing through my veins, but my shoulders were still tense.
I still flinched at every loud sound, sweat still dripping down my spine.
I wanted to relax, but I just couldn’t.
Something was off.
I would swear I could feel him. There was an energy in the air that told me he was close.
Maybe it was the gravity of the situation pressing down on me, the adrenaline needing time to wear off. Or maybe it was just my paranoia refusing to let me rest .
But I couldn’t shake the feeling. A primal awareness. I could feel eyes on me, examining me, studying me. A predator watching its prey from under the cover of darkness.
I stared at my reflection in the train window as the dark shadows of trees and fields flitted by, the city lights already in the distance, half expecting to see a pair of glowing yellow wolf’s eyes over my shoulder.
I shivered and wrapped my arms tighter around my middle, focusing on the click-clacking hum of the train’s metal wheels whirring over the tracks, taking me further and further away from danger…from him.
So what was causing my jumpiness?
It wasn’t the douchebags joking and catcalling women as I passed them on the platform. They gave me the creeps in a different way, but they were in another car, harassing someone else.
This was something different. Something far more...sinister.
I sat against the window while I scanned the faces around me. Everyone in the train car seemed lost in their own world—either staring at their phones or huddled down in their seats, their necks at awkward angles as they tried to get some sleep.
I shook my head. I was being paranoid. An unavoidable consequence of constantly looking over my shoulder.
If you chased after monsters long enough, you’d find one.
Not a single person was watching me or waiting for me.
Everything was as it should have been .
Still, I couldn’t relax.
My heart still raced.
My skin was too tight. Sounds were too loud, the lights too bright.
Something was definitely off.
Staying in my seat, I looked around the cabin as best I could, searching for anything that seemed out of place, anyone who didn’t quite fit.
As far as I could tell, I was the only crazy one.
Still, Kostya was not the only one after me. Although I was pretty sure Solovyov sent him, that didn’t mean Solovyov wouldn’t have sent others, or even have come himself.
Or what if Solovyov didn’t send him? What if he came to kill me himself because he blamed me for Veronika’s cheating? I didn’t cause it, but I knew about it, and I didn’t stop it. Would that be enough for him to see me as culpable? As responsible?
Was adultery a crime that could have an accessory?
Veronika had made a fool out of him. If he’d expected her to be a true wife and she slept with someone else, that was an insult that would have to be answered.
Pushing my hair forward over my shoulders, I covered my face and lowered my head, determined not to draw any attention to myself.
The swoosh of the door opening at the front of my carriage was barely audible.
Icy air pushed through the cabin.
The cold blast froze in my lungs as my body stilled.
I didn’t… couldn’t… look up to see who had just entered the train car .
Because I knew…I knew…
The air sparked to life with a caustic energy.
He was here.
I was in the back of the carriage, so I hoped against hope that he hadn’t seen me yet. I ducked further down in my seat and watched Kostya make his way down the aisle.
Men shifted in their seats at his intimidating presence, while more than one woman gave him an appreciative once-over. If he noticed their looks, he didn’t show it. His piercing gaze searched each face as he methodically prowled down the center aisle.
My heart pumped blood to my ears in a sickening rush, my head becoming dizzy.
Maybe I could hide. Maybe he wouldn’t notice me. Maybe a wizard would come down to rescue me. The wizard seemed as likely an option as the other two.
Fuck.
I was trapped.
My chest ached, my breath coming out in quick gasps. I stared at him, my muscles tensed. My mouth went dry, and adrenaline flooded my system.
With each step closer he took, my mind raced, trying to assess potential outcomes…but they all led to the same conclusion.
I was well and truly fucked.
Would he put a bullet in my brain in front of these witnesses?
Drag me to the terrifying junction between the train cars and just toss me off, assuming I’d die in the fall?
Or worse.
Fuck. I was really screwed when taking a bullet to the head or being thrown off a moving train weren’t the worst-case scenarios.
The worst-case scenario was that he returned me to Solovyov in Russia. Russians had a natural talent for torture. The man could keep me alive and begging for death for months before finally putting me out of my misery. That was if he didn’t decide to get his money back the “old-fashioned” way, by forcing me to work in one of his notorious brothels. A living death.
My thoughts swarmed as my heart pounded, and Kostya got another step closer.
What if I screamed?
Would someone here save me?
I had no idea.
No, that wasn’t an option. If someone helped me all they would do was earn a bullet for their trouble, and then I would have their blood on my hands. My conscience was already heavy enough because I lusted after my murderous brother-in-law. I didn’t need another person’s death piling on.
Kostya was another row closer.
Only six rows between us.
My shirt felt damp against my back, sticking to me.
A larger man stood, blocking Kostya’s way as he tried to get something from a bag he had stored on the overhead rack.
This was my chance.
Now or never.
My fight-or-flight kicked in.
I bolted out of my seat and over the woman beside me, a rabbit scared out of its warren. Pumping my arms and legs as hard as I could, I slammed my hand on the button to jump between carriages.
His footsteps thundered behind me.
The rush of cold air between the train carriages took my breath away, but I pushed through.
In the next carriage, people were still settling in and stowing their baggage.
Thank God I was small and could maneuver around them far easier than Kostya’s bulk.
Even if people jumped out of his way, it would still slow him down.
The rush of wind hit me in the face as I opened the next door, at the far end of the carriage, my cheeks stinging from the cold air.
The doors closed behind me just as I risked a look over my shoulder.
I would run out of carriages soon.
Maybe I could alert the train official?
No. I didn’t know who he worked for. Or if he was equipped to deal with someone like Kostya.
I kept moving through the carriages one at a time, slowing just enough so it looked to the casual observer as if I were rushing to the bathroom instead of running from a Russian killer.
What happened when I got to the end of the train? Should I jump off the back like they did in the movies? Did people actually do that in real life and survive?
And then…disaster.
A woman trying to control her toddler who was running amok, and a stroller with an infant, blocked my way. There was no way to push past them .
“Ma’am, I’m sorry. Can I get through?” I asked, trying to mask the panic in my voice.
“I’m doing the best I can,” the woman snapped at me.
I saw the instant regret on her face, and normally I would assure her it was fine, but I could feel him getting closer.
Time was running out.
Then…the door whooshed open behind me.
My back stiffened; the hair on my neck rose.
My voice was barely more than a squeak trying to escape my throat, which was closing in panic. “Ma’am, please, I really need to?—”
“Wait,” she bit out again before muttering something under her breath as she took the infant out of the stroller.
Just as I stepped forward, trying to push around her, Kostya’s arm wrapped painfully around my waist from behind, squeezing tight enough to steal my breath and make my ribs ache.
“There you are, darling.” His grip tightened, pressing me back against his solid chest. His voice a dark promise, low and smooth in my ear. “Time to finish what we started.”