Page 44

The stairwell is dark and cold. I take the steps two at a time, descending toward the ground floor, toward the service entrance, toward freedom. Every shadow could be a guard, every sound could be an alarm, but I don’t stop. I can’t stop.

I make it to the service corridor without incident. The kitchen is dark at this hour, the staff long gone. I move through it quickly, heading for the door that leads outside.

It’s unlocked.

I push it open and step into the night air. It’s cold against my skin, but I barely notice. I’m too focused on the service road ahead, the path that leads away from the mansion.

I start running.

The road is rough under my feet, gravel and dirt that I can barely see in the darkness. But I can see the main road ahead, just beyond the tree line. A hundred meters. Maybe less. If I can make it there, I can flag down a car or call for help.

I’m fifty meters away when I hear the engine.

A car appears from nowhere, cutting across the service road and blocking my path. The headlights blind me momentarily, and I throw my arm up to shield my eyes. By the time my vision clears, the driver’s door is already opening.

Maxim steps out.

Of course it’s him. Of course he’s the one who came after me. Not a guard, not a subordinate, but him. Always him.

He walks toward me with a controlled fury that makes my stomach clench. His jaw is tight, his hands are clenched at his sides, and his eyes are blazing with something I’ve never seen in them before.

“What the hell are you doing?”

His voice cuts through the night air like a blade. I take a step back, but there’s nowhere to go because the car is behind him, the trees are behind me, and he’s standing in the only path to freedom.

“I’m leaving,” I say. “What does it look like?”

“It looks like you’re trying to get yourself killed.”

“I was doing fine until you showed up.”

“Fine?” He laughs, but there’s no humor in it. “You were running through the woods in the dark with no plan, no phone, no way to contact anyone. You wouldn’t have made it to the main road before someone found you.”

“Someone found me anyway.”

“Yes, I did.” He takes another step toward me, and I take another step back. “Do you have any idea what could have happened to you out here? What my enemies would do if they found you alone?”

“I don’t care about your enemies!”

“You should.” His voice drops, low and dangerous. “You should care about a lot of things you’re apparently too stupid to consider.”

The word hits me like a slap. “I’m not stupid.”

“Then what would you call running away in the middle of the night with no plan and no backup? That’s not bravery, Davina. That’s recklessness.”

“I call it surviving!” I’m shouting now, and I don’t care who hears. “I call it getting away from you and your men and your mansion and your… your plans for me!”

“What plans?”

“The ones where you use me until I’m not useful anymore and then get rid of me!”

He stops. Something shifts in his expression, a flicker of understanding that makes my breath catch.

“Is that what this is about?” His voice is quieter now, but no less intense. “The conversation you overheard? I’ve told you before, that plan was abandoned.”

“And I’m supposed to believe you?” The words come out bitter, raw. “I don’t believe a damn word you said, and I never should have to begin with.”

Something flashes in his eyes. “Really, that’s what you think?”