Page 52 of Broken Empire
She swallowed hard, nodded, and started sprinting down the driveway, blonde hair swinging behind her. I headed back down the hall and swiftly grabbed the laptop from the desk in the set room, presuming it belonged to Murray. Then I headed outside and ran to catch up with Shay. She looked over her shoulder with wide, panicked eyes when she heard my footsteps thumping behind her. When she realized it was just me, a relieved smile broke out on her face.
“Figured we might need this,” I said, holding up the laptop. “Evidence.”
Shay nodded and kept sprinting, chest heaving as sweat beaded at her hairline. When we reached the gate, I hurried over to the lock and unlatched it. “The car is that way,” I said, pointing to the left. “Just a few more yards.”
“I can see Leah!” Shay said, wildly waving her hand in the air. “Who’s that next to her?”
I pressed my lips into a sardonic half-smile. “Another long story.”
I glanced over my shoulder to see if anyone was following us. The front of the estate was empty and quiet, apart from the gate, which was slowly creaking shut. No one had registered our absence. They would, though. Any second now.
When we reached the car, I opened the front passenger door for Shay before dashing around to the opposite side. Leah had spotted us coming and climbed into the driver’s seat, so I had to sit in the back next to Davina.
I sucked in a deep breath to stop my lungs from burning and tapped on the back of Leah’s cushioned headrest. “Go!”
17
Shay
“Welcome back.”Leah grinned at me and reached across to squeeze my arm. She lowered her voice and moved her head closer. “Are you okay?”
I swallowed hard. “I will be,” I murmured. “I literally owe you and Killian my life.”
Before Leah could reply, Killian jumped into the back seat and pulled his door shut with a heavy thud. “Go!” he said, tapping on the driver’s seat headrest. “We need to get the fuck out of here.”
Leah twisted the key in the ignition and released the handbrake. “Does it matter which way we go?” she asked, looking at Killian in the rear-view mirror.
He shook his head. “No. We just need to be anywhere that isn’t here.”
Leah stepped on the accelerator and pulled onto the road before swerving to the left to turn the car around. As we picked up speed, I took a deep breath and leaned my head back on the seat.
Half an hour ago, I was lying in bed waiting to die. I’d given up all hope; surrendered myself to becoming the latest addition to Pyotr’s collection of dead dolls. It was utterly surreal to think about that now, as if it were merely a nightmare I’d woken up from, or a horror film I’d become far too immersed in.
It was even more surreal to consider the fact that I was suddenly free, speeding away from the hellish Dollhouse mansion with people who genuinely loved and cared about me. I had to dig my fingernails into my palm to remind myself that it was really happening. That I was truly safe again.
Killian reached forward and stroked my hair from the back seat. I turned to him, smiling faintly as pleasant tingles rolled over my scalp. At the same time, I caught sight of the other person in the back of the car.
“You,” I said, eyes narrowing. “I know you.”
It was the British woman from the auction at the art gallery. The one who bought me on behalf of Pyotr. Her wrists were bound in front of her, and her cheeks were streaked with tears. When I tried to catch her eye, she looked down at her lap, face flushing.
“What’sshe doing here?” I asked, looking at Killian with wide eyes.
“She helped us find you,” he said, glancing at the woman with a disdainful expression. “It wasn’t that hard, was it, Davina? You only lost half a nail.”
My gaze dropped to the woman’s hands. Her left index finger was bruised and bleeding.
I didn’t feel any sympathy for her at all. Killian could’ve sliced all her fingers off, fried them up, and fed them to her, and I still wouldn’t feel bad.
There were so many things I wanted to say to her. So many curse words and threats bubbling up inside me. I couldn’t do it, though. I was too exhausted. All I wanted to do was curl up and sleep for a thousand years.
I turned back to face the windshield, shoulders sagging against the seat. “Where are we going?” I asked, glancing at Leah.
She slowly shook her head. “I honestly don’t know. Killian?”
“We have to go somewhere safe. Somewhere these Schöneberg assholes would never think to look,” he said. “Just let me think for a minute.”
“What about her?” I muttered, jerking a thumb in Davina’s direction.
