Page 24 of Sinister Promise

If I left it, I'd have nothing to protect myself.

If I took it, I became something else—someone who might have to decide whether to fire it.

My grandmother's face appeared in my mind’s eye. She depended on me. If I died tonight, what would happen to her?

I seized the gun, wrapping my fingers around its grip.

The weight surprised me; it was heavier than Iexpected, solid and deadly. My index finger hovered near the trigger as nausea and resolve battled within me.

It was either the smartest move or the dumbest decision of my life, but I had no time for second-guessing.

I was leaving one way or another.

I crouched low, staying beneath the cubicle walls as I scurried toward the back exit. The gun bumped against my thigh with each movement, a constant reminder of how drastically my situation had changed. Every creak of the building made me freeze, my ears straining for any sign of Pavel's return.

The door opened with a tiny click, and I peered into the hallway.

The main fluorescents were off, leaving only recessed lighting casting eerie shadows along the corridor. The stringent odor of industrial cleaner—usually just an occupational annoyance—now smelled like safety, like the normal world I was desperately trying to return to.

If Pavel remained on this floor, his men would be nearby too.

I hugged the shadows as I crept toward the stairwell door.

"Yeah, it's done. No, they don't know yet," a man's voice said as he appeared at the other end of the narrow hallway.

I ducked into an office before he spotted me.

Pressing against the wall behind the door, I held my breath. The gun felt impossibly loud in my hand, as if it might announce its presence.

He laughed into his phone. “His head exploded like afucking watermelon. You should have been here. Bitch to clean up all that blood though.”

The casual tone made my skin crawl as he joked about the man whose brains were splattered across marble.

Static from a radio crackled, and Pavel's voice cut through.

"The cleaner ran off. She's still in the building, probably headed outside. Find her and bring her to me now."

A whimper of fear crawled up my throat.

I barely contained it as the man swore and ended his call.

Silence followed. My fingers pressed against the wall as my legs quivered. I clenched my muscles to stop their movement, remaining motionless.

The door to the office I was hiding in swung open and the man stepped into the room.

I froze, not even daring to breathe as I cowered behind the door, barely concealed.

My gaze was trained on the sliver of space between the door hinges and the wall, sweat trickling between my shoulder blades as I stood braced to run if discovered.

He cursed under his breath then left, slamming the door closed behind him.

I exhaled silently and leaned my head against the wall.

He opened several more doors down the hall, each one slamming shut with a finality that made me flinch.

After a few minutes of quiet, I eased the door open a crack and peeked out.

The man was gone, with no sign of other searchers...yet.

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