Bastard set me up.
“You’re in the favor of a Brigadier.” Nicolai sounds in awe. I don’t blame him, but knowing who it is, is dangerous, and if the General ever found out we knew, I know he wouldn’t hesitate to drag a knife across my throat.
“We need to burn the warehouse and get the girls.”
Nicolai restarts the car without question. I glance up at the window, hoping to see Evie, but no one is there.
“She’s safe.” Nicolai confuses my look.
“I know.” She was safe in Nicolai’s house. It was a fortress.
“He’ll know soon that I broke in.”
“We should have the girls by then and be on our way back.”
“We need a van to transport them.”
I glance at Nicolai. He’s picking up his cell phone. “I’ll arrange it now.”
I place all the information back into the file and roll it up before stuffing it inside my jacket. It was something that I would have to burn. No one could ever get their hands on this information. Not about me, but most importantly about the General. That wasn’t knowledge that should ever be shared.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
LUCCA
The factory is blazing in the distance. The silence in the van is loud. I adjust the rear-view mirror to make sure I did, in fact, place all six women in the back.
They are there—all silent.
Fear is etched into their downcast faces. Igor’s number flashes up on the screen of my ringing phone as I fetch it from my pocket. Any other time I would answer it straight away, but not right now.
He continues to ring. I keep stealing glances at the women in the back just to make sure they are actually there. I had expected them to put up a fight, but they just obeyed what Nicolai and I told them. We led them to the van, and they filed in. My gut tightens. Their obedience made me wonder what they had suffered.
I drive back to Nicolai’s and pull around the back. The women starts to shift, and I meet a pair of doe eyes in the mirror. The moment it happens, the woman looks away. She looks broken.
“Which one of you is Leah?” I ask. All heads snapped up in unison at my question.
I see how they move their legs towards the woman with the doe eyes. It’s like they can’t help but be drawn to her.
“Me.” It’s a squeak.
Evie is right. She is fragile. More so than the rest.
Nicolai’s car pulls up behind the van, and he jumps out, approaching my rolled-down window. From here, I had no idea what I was doing.
“The guest house out back is empty. I’ll have food and clothes brought out there if you want to get the girls settled.”
Nicolai is ready to walk away. “He keeps ringing.” I don’t say Igor as twelve pairs of ears are no doubt glued to our conversation.
“It couldn’t be the building. It’s too soon. So he figured out you broke into his office.”
I nod. My thoughts exactly. “I’ll ring him back soon.”
“What are you going to bargain with?” Nicolai asks as I push the door open and climb out.
“Nothing.”
I’m ready to open the back door when Nicolai grips my arm, stopping me. “He won’t stop coming for you. You know that.”
“I know.” We stare at each other for a few seconds, and the moment Nicolai releases me, I open the double doors of the van.
“Everybody out.” There is no panic or hesitation. The women climb out and huddle together as they look around.
“This way.” They follow me to the guest house. I keep waiting for one of them to break formation and take off in a sprint, but they follow me. I think now of my Evie. She wouldn’t have followed so easily. I didn’t think so anyway.
The guest house is nearly as large as Nicolai’s home. Nothing was spared with the décor.
I leave the front door open, and two women arrive shortly after us, bringing clothing and blankets.
They smile at the terrified women. “Fresh clothes.” One of them holds up piles of clothing. Four security men enter the house, and the women who were still tense, freeze.
“You can all go outside,” I say.
None of them move.
I’m ready to repeat myself when Nicolai comes in and clicks his fingers. “Outside.” They file out, and the women stare at Nicolai.
“No one is going to hurt you. You are all safe here.” He’s smiling like the man you might bring home to your mother. “You have my word.”
I’d fucking laugh at him; only I was glad he was trying to make them relax.
“I’m going to get Evie,” I say to Nic.
The doe-eyed woman takes three steps towards me, she’s glancing at the other woman who is ushering her back, but she takes another step towards me. “Did you say, Evie?”
“She’s been worried about you,” I say.
She shakes her head like she doesn’t believe me. “She’s here?” Her hand goes to her heart like she’s trying to keep it in her chest.
“Yes.”
The other women are all staring at me like they aren’t sure if I’m telling the truth. “I’ll go get her.”
I leave the guest house and pass the four security men who stand close to the front door.
She’s lying on the bed. Her arm is thrown over her face, and for a brief moment, I think she’s asleep. A part of me wants to leave her sleeping. She needs her rest.
Her arm drops from her face, and she quickly sits up on the edge of the bed. “Where have you been?
