Page 18 of Twisted Prince

Only half of us have shoes, and I wonder how far I might have to go barefoot on the snow that blankets the ground. I’m not looking forward to it, but I would walk across broken glass to get away from Mikhail, Zmeya, and all the Zhivoder men.

“Keep moving, and try not to get separated. If you do, find the moon and keep it on your left. I’ll find you as soon as I can.” Short and sweet, Gleb’s instructions never leave much room for confusion.

The girls nod, wide-eyed and nervous but more than willing to do as he says if it means freedom on the other end.

“Let’s go.” Gleb ushers us out into the main room, Lev and Denka following, and I catch Denka lighting a match and tossing it onto the tattered mattress before exiting.

Lev rummages quickly through the cupboards to find a bottle of vodka, which he smashes across the wood floor. Then he lights a match and drops it as Gleb urges us out the front door.

“Won’t that draw their attention?” I ask as I step onto the cold, hard ground and match my pace to Gleb’s.

“They have enough to think about at the house; they won’t see it until the roof’s on fire. And at that point, they’ll have to come investigate—see if any of you girls are still alive. With any luck, they won’t find our tracks until morning. By then, we’ll be long gone. But I’m not letting them use that fucking rathole to imprison girls any longer.”

7

GLEB

I pull up into the courtyard of Pyotr’s estate, putting the Land Rover into park. In the rearview mirror, I catch Lev and Denka parking behind me. Since we weren’t sure how many girls there might be, we wanted as much room as we could manage on our own, so we each drove to the edge of Mikhail’s estate.

The extraction was easier than I thought it might be. Then again, from what Mel told me on the ride home, the Zhivoder were a bit overconfident that the Veles would no longer be a problem for them. Serves them right.

What I wouldn’t give to make a second run tonight and prove Mikhail even more wrong by slitting his throat in his sleep. But the girls are my priority. And after hiking through the woods barefoot on the snow, wearing far too little clothing, and after days of malnourishment and abuse, they need care and attention. So, revenge will have to wait.

We escort the girls inside, and their wide-eyed astonishment mirrors the look Pyotr’s Upstate home inspires the first time anyone sees it. Massive and luxurious, it somehow manages to feel warm and inviting despite its sheer size. I think the current Mrs. Veles has a lot to do with that because it wasn’t always so… welcoming.

“Each of these rooms has been made up for you girls, so you can pick whichever you want to sleep in for the night,” I explain as I lead them to the wing of the house containing the guest rooms. “Tomorrow, we’ll fly to New York City. From there, we can arrange to get you five back to your homes—if you have one to go back to.” I make eye contact with each of the five new girls we found chained alongside our five I came to rescue.

While still cautious—as they have every right to be—with Mel and the other four clearly glad for our presence and the fact that we set them free, the new girls seem far more willing to trust us from the get-go than the last batch we saved from Mikhail.

“In the meantime, you each have an en suite bathroom. Clean clothes are in the drawers. Feel free to claim whatever fits. The on-call doctor will be here shortly to make sure your injuries are addressed.”

“Thank you, Gleb,” Annie murmurs, tears glistening in her eyes.

Beside her, Mel has an arm wrapped maternally around the youngest girl’s shoulders. And the vision of her, rock-solid and willing to lend others her courage despite everything she’s gone through, strikes awe in my heart. She’s fearless, a fiery force of nature. She has been from the moment I first laid eyes on her.

I have no doubt Mel’s past has forged her into the iron-willed creature she is. Though it can be infuriating at times, it's moments like these that make me realize just how priceless Mel is.

I give Annie a curt nod, then clear my throat, suddenly uncomfortable with the number of tearful faces. I’m not good with emotion. My father drilled the necessity for it out of me at a young age, so I don’t really know how to handle it when girls cry. But I’m trying.

I respect Pyotr, and he and his wife, Silvia, have proven how important empathy can be. It’s what separates us from the monsters like Mikhail, and despite what my father raised me to be, I want to be more than that.

“Get cleaned up. Once the doctor has come and gone and you’ve had a chance to get settled, we’ll leave you be. If you need anything, Lev, Denka, and I will be just down the hall.” I gesture toward our rooms. “But we won’t bother you if you’re looking for space.”

“Do you have… food?” the girl in Mel’s arms asks tentatively, her chin trembling.

“The staff is preparing it now. It should be brought to you shortly.” I can only imagine how hungry they might be. From my cursory inspection at the cottage, I wondered if it had been days since they’d eaten anything of substance. Another reason I could break every bone in Mikhail Sidorov’s body.

Mel gently strokes the younger teen’s hair. “Let’s get you cleaned up,” she offers.

* * *

“The jet will be there at seven tomorrow morning. But take whatever time you need,” Pyotr states.

A long silence settles across the line as I pace across the open space of my designated room. I called to give him an update now that the girls are settled in for the night, and he was more than thrilled to hear I managed to find all five of our girls alive. But I’m still on edge because my pakhan is back in New York City with a traitor while I’m miles away and can’t do a single thing about it.

I keep finding myself in these positions, torn between where I am and where I should be. And while Pyotr has Val to watch his back, with Efrem dead, we’ve lost not only a valuable soldier who would do anything to protect Pyotr, but he was also my only real suspect for who could be our rat. I need time to reassess. But I can’t do that from all the way up here.

“The girls are all okay, though?” Pyotr asks, finally breaking the silence.

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