Chapter Twenty-Five
PRESENT DAY, LOCATION UNKNOWN
No escape.
The words drum in my mind as Alexei leads me down the stairs to our cabin, his hand wrapped securely around my elbow—ostensibly to keep me from falling as the ever-growing waves rock the yacht. But in reality, it’s to make sure I don’t do something as foolish as running. I know he can sense the panic-driven urge within me, hear my fast, shallow breaths.
This is it.
After more than a decade, our cat-and-mouse game is coming to an end.
As we reach the bottom of the stairs, a clap of thunder makes me jump, and he glances at me, eyebrows raised. “Are you afraid of thunderstorms, Alinyonok?”
I’m afraid of you and what you’re going to do to me. The words dance on the tip of my tongue, but I swallow them down. I don’t want him to
