Page 47 of Emerald

Ivan left with nine men, including his brother Dominik.

From what I’ve observed in my short stint prowling around the monastery, and passing the dining hall on two separate occasions, Ivan has eleven soldiers living here, besides himself. He used to have twelve, but then Remizov killed Karol—the boy I saw sleeping on the couch. The one wearing the orange running shoes.

That means that Ivan only left two guards behind today.

Which means I have an excellent opportunity to make my escape.

The funny thing is, I’m not particularly inclined to leave. I no longer think Ivan is going to kill me. And despite my teasing him, his hosting skills really are improving by the day.

Would it be so bad to lounge around his suite, reading his books, snooping through his stuff, eating more of the ridiculous amount of food he brought up for our breakfast?

When he comes back—if he comes back. . . WHEN he comes back, he can tell me how things went with Remizov. What he’s planning to do next.

And he can throw me down on his bed once more and ravage my body in that aggressive, voracious way that no man before him has managed to match.

That sounds nice, doesn’t it?

Unfortunately, I’ve never been very good at accepting what would be nicest and most comfortable for myself.

I always seem to do things the hard way.

I like Ivan. But I’m not ready to be his little pet.

So I start circling the master suite, searching for my way out.

I try the door first, of course.

It’s locked—not a particularly secure lock, but one that is alarmed and will surely send an alert to Ivan’s phone if I open it.

Now that I’m in a fully-stocked room instead of a cell, I have a lot more tools at my disposal—for instance, I’m sure Ivan’s got plenty of weapons squirreled away in here. But if I were to shoot the lock off the door, that would make a lot of noise. Enough to bring one or both of those remaining guards running.

And whatever I do, I don’t want to hurt any of Ivan’s men. Two days ago, I wouldn’t have cared. But now I know this is a family. I’m not interested in making an enemy out of any of them.

Ivan’s suite has windows on two sides. I can see the whole north and west sides of the compound from here. Specifically, I can see the roofs and stone walls. Ivan’s suite is almost the highest point of the monastery, other than two towers on the opposite side.

However, these windows aren’t a good point of egress. The original glass has been removed. The new glass includes tamper sensors and steel-wire reinforcement. They don’t open—I’d have to smash the glass and cut the wire. Again, tripping alarms.

But . . . there’s another way.

That massive fireplace.

Original to the monastery. Big enough to fit several of me inside its flue.

That’s my way out of here.

But first, clothes.

I raid Ivan’s closet, looking for the smallest clothing I can find. The vast majority of what he owns is suits, and even his casual clothes are miles too big for me. But beggars can’t be choosers. The same for thieves.

I take a dark gray hoodie, and a pair of black joggers. I roll up the pantlegs and the sleeves and cinch the drawstring of the pants as tight as I can. I take socks too. I plan to use several pairs, because there’s no way I’m going to be able to keep my feet inside any of Ivan’s shoes, but then I see my own soft leather climbing shoes lined up neatly next to Ivan’s Oxfords.

Lady Luck is with me. Maybe Ivan planned to give them back to me. Not that I’m holding my breath on him being motivated to give me any kind of clothes—he was enjoying the alternative too much.

Smiling to myself, I slip on my familiar shoes once more.

Now, I have a slight dilemma—though I saw from the yard that it was no longer snowing, it’s still going to be frigidly cold. However, if I put on too much bulk, I won’t be as maneuverable.

After some debate, I decide to wear only the hoodie and keep myself warm by running.

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