“I don’t think I can.”
There’s a whimper in her voice and I’m reminded again that she’s only fourteen years old. All I want to do is draw her into my arms and hold her until she starts feeling better. But since I can’t comfort her the way I want to, I decide to give her the one thing in my possession that I think might make a difference.
“You have to. You have to believe we can survive this. You have to believe we’re going to be okay. My baby’s going to need their cool aunt around, after all.”
Her eyes snap to mine. “W-what did you say?”
I give her a small smile. “You’re the first person I’ve told.”
“You’re pregnant,” she whispers. She glances at my belly. “You’re pregnant.”
I glance at the cameras, mostly to remind her to be quiet. “Yes, I am,” I whisper back. “I have been for a while now.”
“How long is a while?”
“Ten weeks, give or take.”
There it is—the little flicker of life I was hoping for. The brightness comes back, the dullness recedes, and Polly straightens just a little bit taller. “I… I can’t believe it.”
“Trust me—I couldn’t either at first.”
She’s looking more like herself now. The arch of her eyebrows has that old streak of mischievousness. “Does he know?”
“No. I was serious: you’re the first person I’ve told.”
“That was your trump card, huh?”
“Depends. Did it work?”
She nods slowly. “I’m going to be an aunt.”
“Being an aunt requires both of us to get out of here in one piece,” I remind her. “We’re made of stronger stuff than they think we are, Polly. We can fight them. We can get out of here. I will have this baby and you’re going to be the best aunt.”
She’s looking a little teary-eyed again, but I’m pretty sure these are the good kind of tears. “Thanks for sharing with me.”
“Of course.”
“Can I ask you something?” When I nod, she asks, “Why haven’t you told Uri yet?”
I hesitate. If there was ever a time for honesty, though, it’s right now. “For the first few days after I suspected that I might be pregnant, I was in denial. Then, when it became obvious, I was scared to tell him. Things with Uri and me are… complicated. I wasn’t even sure he’d be happy. And to be honest, deep down, I knew I wanted this baby.”
“Uri will be happy, too, you know. He just might not know it right away.”
I snort with laughter. “That’s comforting.”
“But seriously,” Polly says, adjusting her position on the mattress, “he’s going to be a great father.”
I nod. “I already know that.”
Polly smiles. “And you’re going to be a fantastic mother.”
It’s the first time I’ve heard that word used out loud in relation to me. Mother. It sounds so important. So heavy. “I don’t know about that.”
“Are you kidding me? You’re so amazing with Lev. You bonded with him in days when I didn’t manage to in years. That comes from a natural mothering instinct.”
“Polly—”
Before I can finish my sentence, we hear the bolt unlatch. Polly’s eyes go wide with panic and the color drains from her face.
“A-are they coming for me?” she gasps.
My instinct is to jump out of bed and shield her with my body. But these fucking restraints. Every time I pull at them, the sting of my raw, bloody skin makes me regret it.
“Hey now,” I tell her urgently. “It’s gonna be okay. You’re stronger than they think, Polina Bugrov. You’re as Bratva as your older brothers. You’ll survive this. Remember who you are.”
I’m not sure if the words are getting through to her. Her eyes are fixed on the same two Russians who came the first time. Tattoo Arm licks his lips when he sees me and flings a plastic package onto my bed. I don’t bother examining it just yet—I’m concentrating on Scarface, who’s making a beeline for Polly’s mattress.
Oh, God. They are here for her.
“No!” she screams, realizing the same thing. “No, please! NO!”
Scarface says something in Russian with a deep, throaty chuckle. He undoes Polly’s restraints and hoists her into his arms. She looks like a little ragdoll against his muscular chest.
My sense of calm breaks. “Please. Don’t take her. Take me instead. TAKE ME INSTEAD!”
Both men look at me with amusement. “We would, gladly,” Tattoo Arm says with another lip lick. “But the boss has other plans for you.”
They turn back to each other and continue talking in Russian. I can’t understand anything they’re saying. Over the sounds of Polly’s frantic screams, I can’t really hear much at all. But I do catch a name amidst the strange, slurring words.
Dominik.
“Polly,” I yell as they lock the cell door and take her up the stairs. “Remember what I told you. Remember who you are!”
The door slams shut. The bolt latches again. Polly’s screams are cut off abruptly.
I’m completely alone now.
It feels like madness.
4
URI
“This will work.”
But my confidence is born out of desperation rather than determination and Nikolai knows that. He eyes me carefully, pushing the cup of black coffee towards me. “It will work as long as he complies,” he replies. “If he chooses to fuck us over—”
“He won’t.”
“You overestimate how much people fear death, Uri. If I were that rat down in the cellar, I’d know I was dead already. Regardless of how cooperative I decided to be.”
I grit my teeth. “You underestimate how much people fear pain. He knows that I will rain hell down on him if he doesn’t do what I want. Trust me—he will cooperate.”
Nikolai sighs and nods. “Shall we then?”
I extend my hand out and Nikolai drops Alan’s phone into my palm. We’re heading back to the shed as sunlight peeps around the corners of the house. Has it only been a night? It feels like twenty. I’m aging decades with every passing hour.
“Sir?”
I turn around to find Svetlana standing on the landing of the staircase. I can see it in her eyes: this is about Lev. “How is he?”
“He’s had nightmares all night, sir,” she says wearily. The dark circles under her eyes are proof enough of that. “George and I tried to calm him, but he just keeps asking for you. And…”
I frown. “And?”
“And for Miss Alyssa, as well.”
I don’t even have to glance at Nikolai to see that he’s burning a hole in my face with his stare. I want to go up there and be with Lev, but right now, I have to focus on getting Polina and Alyssa back.
“Try to soothe him. If he starts losing it again, give him a sedative.” It’s not my favorite way to deal with Lev’s episodes. He’s always confused and scared when he wakes up. But desperate times…
“Yes, sir.”
Svetlana disappears into the corridor and I resume my warpath, hellbent on making this plan work. Nikolai follows behind me without a word but I can practically hear the wheels in his head spinning.
I crack when we get to the shed. “Stop it.”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“I can hear you thinking at me.”