Viktor(9)

And when I find a note on the table next to the door, I know exactly where she is.





Chapter 3





Alexis





I pay the cab driver and turn to face the mansion once again.

Last time I came here, I told myself I wouldn’t ever return … Well, that didn’t last long. I sure have a way with breaking promises, but it doesn’t matter as long as I get Alisha back home.

As the cab drives off, I walk over to the fence and stare up at it. It’s not that high. And when I look through the bars, I can clearly see footprints in the dirt, about the same size as Alisha’s foot. Gotcha.

I grab the bars, take a deep breath, and lift myself up. It takes all my strength to push myself over the edge, but I manage to make the leap. I jump onto the grass and look ahead to see if anyone’s watching me. It’s been a long time since I last did this, and I’ve gotten a little rusty. I can tell from my muscles, which hurt like hell after that jump, but I’m not about to give up. Ain’t no way in hell I’m going to let her get away with this.

She’s up there in that house stealing whatever shit she can get her hands on just so she can give my client the payback she thinks he deserves and because she wants to help. She’s probably so angry she doesn’t realize this could get her put in jail, and I’m not about to let that happen.

I run toward the house, keeping a low profile as I slip under the window. A light is shining in a room just up ahead, so I slowly raise my head and look over the rim of the frame to see if anyone’s there. Once the coast is clear, I fiddle with the window. Luckily, it isn’t locked, so I push it open and peek in. No one is in sight, so I climb inside, but the window falls shut behind me, locking into place.

Nowhere to run now. After one big breath, I go farther in.

I follow the walls, making sure I don’t touch anything except the wooden floor, which creaks like hell as I try to tiptoe. My heart beats in my throat as I make my way to the door, every step reminding me of what I’m doing. The closer I get to the light, the more I realize that what I’m doing is insane. I just hope I can find Alisha quickly and drag her out of here before it’s too late.

I whisper-yell her name, looking for her in the hallway, but I don’t see her anywhere. After going back and forth about it in my head, I finally decide to just slip out and slide along the side of the wall to the next room. It’s not exactly a great idea to be looking around in someone else’s house, but I don’t really have any other choice when it comes to this. Besides, I can’t just run from room to room like a headless monkey, so I opt for slow and cautious instead.

As I enter the room, my eyes fall to a figure sitting on a chair in the darkness. A piece of tape wrapped over the mouth. Hands tied behind the back. My jaw drops.

She got caught.

“Alisha!” I whisper. As I move toward her, she shakes her head, tears falling down her cheeks. “Oh God, what happened to you?” I murmur as I peel the tape off her lips.

But the first thing she says is, “Run!”

Her eyes flash to something over my shoulder.

In shock, I turn around.

Someone closes the door. A figure stands behind it.

“Too late to run.”

It’s him.

I’d recognize his dark, raspy voice anywhere. It’s ingrained my fucking brain.

My hand immediately clenches into a fist. “You have no right to tie her up like that.” I grind my teeth.

“My house,” he growls.

I can’t see anything in the dark except him crossing his arms. He’s big, like … a giant.

But I don’t care if he wants to threaten me. I’m taking her.

So I turn around and start fiddling with her ropes.

“Don’t,” he says.

“I’ll do whatever the fuck I want. You can’t take someone as a prisoner. What the hell are you thinking?” I glance over my shoulder at him, but he remains standing there in the corner.

“Thief.”

“She made a mistake,” I say, turning my head as I can’t seem to untie the damn knot. “And she’s sorry about it.” I turn my head back to Alisha. “You’re sorry, right? Tell him you’re sorry.”

“I’m sorry, all right? I don’t steal because I want to.”

“See?” I snarl. “Now, let her go.”

No response.

“You think this is funny? This is all one big joke to you, isn’t it?”

“A kid sniffing through my stuff. Very funny.”

“Hey! I’m not a kid,” Alisha says, wobbling the chair.

“Thief.”

“This is bullshit,” I say. “This isn’t a fucking prison, and you’re not a cop.”