I jump in, shuddering at how dark it is. “Have you got a light?”
He jumps in after me and pulls down the hatch, turning on a flashlight. “Of course.”
I move closer to him. The thought of being caught by my father’s men makes me sick to the stomach. “Where does this lead?”
Valery takes my hand. “Into Zelenograd center.”
“Is it wise to go into the center while my father is looking for us?”
He shakes his head. “No, but we don’t have a choice.”
I swallow hard and hold on to Valery’s hand tighter, hating the cramped sensation of being underground in the dark, dank tunnels.
He leads me through them for about twenty minutes until we come to a door at the end of a tunnel. “This is it. We are going to have to move fast once we’re on the streets.”
I nod in response, butterflies beating around in my stomach and making me feel sick. “Okay.”
We climb the steps into the back room of what I can only assume is a restaurant, as the shelves are stacked with food. “Where are we?”
“The storeroom of Kochevnik, my restaurant.”
My eyes widen. “Won’t they look for you here?”
He blows out a breath. “Perhaps, but we didn’t have a choice. It’s the closest exit to the underground.”
“The underground?”
He nods. “Our way out of the city.” He nods to the fire exit door at the back. “We will go out of that door.”
I lace my fingers with his as he turns off the flashlight and sets it down on a counter, which draws his attention to me. “Lead the way,” I say.
He squeezes. “Don’t worry, printessa. We’re going to make it out of this.”
I want to believe him, but I know how ruthless my father can be. After all, he murdered my mother because she didn’t want to be with him anymore.
He’s a monster, and if he believes Valery is going to make him look like a fool, he’ll stop at nothing to end his life.
If he knew I was running with him of my own free will, he’d probably murder me, too.
We go out of the fire exit and into an alleyway at the back of the restaurant, and Valery leads me toward the main streets of Zelenograd center.
My heart is pounding so hard I can’t hear anything else as we merge with the crowds out shopping on a Saturday morning.
I can’t help but feel on high alert, looking at everyone who passes by, wondering if they could be one of my father’s men.
Up ahead, I notice someone moving through the crowd unnaturally. I shift to one side and get a good look at his face, turning stiff when I realize it’s one of my father’s boyevik.
I yank Valery to a stop. “Vlad, my father’s Boyevik is up ahead and coming toward us.”
“Shit.” He runs a hand through his hair and gently guides me to turn around. “We’ll have to try to lose him.”
I look up and straight into the eyes of my brother, Yulian. “Fuck, we need to run.”
Valery notices him as well and turns to our left to cross the street, dragging me with him.
My heart pounds frantically as I hear my brother shout out to the men he’s with, no doubt telling them to chase us down.
Valery sprints through the crowd, dragging me toward our salvation as our damnation chases us through the streets of Zelenograd. I have to trust that he can get us out of this somehow.