The Killer’s Vow by Aria R. Blue
Vera
I’ve never been on a roller coaster, but this is what I imagine it feels like.
My heart gallops in anticipation of the next moment.
Simon is hanging halfway outside the building, balancing precariously on the window ledge.
And he wants me to join him.
“You’re fucking crazy,” I hiss.
“Take my hand, Vera,” he whispers.
I stare at his outstretched hand. A breeze blows the white curtains toward my face.
We can fall.
But we can also fly.
In that moment, my life branches out right in front of my eyes. I could either stay back and be an obedient daughter like I’ve always been.
Or I can take this stranger’s hand.
Delicately, I place my hand in his.
I clasp him tighter as he helps me up. There’s no time left for indecision now.
Once making sure that I’m secure, he crouches low to the ground and gently draws the curtains before closing the window.
I glance up at the sky.
A pair of tiny red birds fly over me.
I follow their trail, focusing on them instead of the impending doom that will follow if we get caught.
We flatten ourselves against the outside wall. The oak tree is hiding us for now, but there will still be security footage once we make a run for it.
“Hey,” Simon whispers. “I’ll get you out of here. I promise.”
“That’s kind of what I’m worried about,” I say, nibbling on my lips.
I’m about to say more, but he stops me with a finger to his lips. And then he taps it against his ear before pointing toward the study.
I turn my head, and sure enough, a shadow passes behind us.
Konstantin is searching the study.
For us.
If he’s here, it means that he must have been watching us from the main house. He was probably staring at the greenhouse like a hawk. And when Simon and I didn’t emerge on time, he decided to interrupt.
My breath suspends in my lungs as I wait for the shadow to pass.
But it doesn’t.
The curtain blows back slightly. But there is no breeze.
I tilt my head and see a beady black eye staring straight at me.
“Going somewhere, printsessa?”
The curtains are yanked all the way back.
Before fear can shoot through me, Simon grabs my hand and tugs me toward him.
“Hold on, Vera,” he says, shooting a dirty glare at Konstantin.
My father’s guard is swift, but Simon is even faster. He makes me climb his back and hold him for dear life.
“No matter what, don’t let go,” he instructs.
And then he jumps off the fourth-story window.
Just when I think we’re going to crash, he pulls out a gun-like device and points it at the tree.
A thick wire shoots out and wraps around one of the branches of the oak tree. The other end of the wire secures itself somewhere behind us.
I bite down on my lips hard enough to draw blood.
We zip down the thick wire.
A million possibilities run through my mind.
Falling to a bloody death is one of them.
Being shot by my father’s bodyguard is another.
Both of us being executed is the final one.
“We’re not going to get away with this,” I say in his ear as the wind whips against my face.
“You just watch, tigritsa moya,” he says in Russian, extracting the rope and climbing down the tree with finesse.
“They will shoot,” I say, even as I cling to him.
“Will they, though?”
Something dawns on me.
There was a reason he wanted me to cling to his back like a baby monkey. Papa’s guards would be less likely to shoot at him if there was a chance they’d hurt me in the process.
We make contact with the ground.
“You’re despicable,” I say, scrambling to get away from him. “You used me as a human shield.”
“It’s too late to look back now, Vera,” he says, raising his eyebrows.
For the two of us, time bends and stills.
A whole army could be charging at us at this moment, but it feels like we’re guarded from the rest of the world.
And I know he’s right.
I’ve already been seen running away with this man. All I can do now is follow him.
I scoff. “There’s a back gate. But they change the passcode every week now.”
“Don’t worry about anything,” he says. “I’ve done my homework.”
It’s my house, but he leads the way.
I growl internally. Just because they won’t shoot doesn’t mean they won’t try to restrain us.
We step toward the back of the house to find it completely empty.
No armed men are patrolling this side of the compound.
No guard dogs are present.
It’s highly unusual.
But I don’t have time to register any shock. Simon and I sprint toward the back gate.
I scan my sweaty palm, and the twelve-digit passcode is prompted immediately.
Simon enters it with the patience of a predator.
His hands aren’t shaking. His face isn’t sweaty. And there’s no nervousness about him whatsoever.
The back gate swings open, but just then, the dogs are let loose. Men with weapons run behind them.
Even now, Simon doesn’t break a sweat.
He seems to rely on divine help to solve all of his problems. Because instead of running from the giant wolf hybrids like a normal person would, Simon stays still.
“You should go,” I choke out. It feels like there’s a large rock stuck in my airway. “They won’t hurt me, but they’ll hurt you.”
“You’ve got to have some belief, tigritsa moya,” he chides, still cool as a cucumber.
He’s staring at the middle of the dog pack.
I gasp when I see it.
Lion.
He’s bounding toward us, faster than the rest of the dogs. He snarls at the ones he passes by, making them whimper and draw away.
When the rest of the dogs notice that their alpha is among them, they slow down.
The only dog who reaches us is Lion.
“Good boy,” I say, relief flooding through my body.
Simon sprints along the road and gets into a black Lexus convertible. He reverses at full speed, stopping in front of me.
Every step of the way, I have a choice.
I’m choosing Simon.
I’m choosing the unknown.