Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
I jackknife to my feet. “Can you just f*****g stop?”
Under different circumstances, I would be sympathetic to Chloe’s distress, but my ribcage feels like it’s folding in on itself, and my headache is worsening by the second. I had another bad episode recently, one that required me to resort to my pills, and I’m still not entirely over it. Each day, I battle an urge to take a pill or two… or ten. It’s so tempting to just swallow the painkillers and float away, to forget the ever-present fear and doubt.
Have I endangered my brother and his new family by hiding out with them?
Would Alexei have been as determined to locate Nikolai’s compound if he didn’t suspect that I am here?
Chloe tenses, and I can tell she’s about to snap back at me when Lyudmila turns to
