31

Once we’re far enough from the village, I break into a jog, and she follows suit. I keep a steady pace to avoid her feeling any discomfort from her injury. We continue running for two hours straight until we get to the pickup point—a cottage in the mountains that’s owned by Viktor’s family. We could’ve set the meeting at one of the military safe houses, but I’ve completely lost faith in the institution after the planned setup during the mission. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that it was a setup, and that fucking cost me the men I grew up with. Men who were supposed to be under my protection. I control my breathing as I find the key under the flowerpot and push the old door open. “We’ll stay here for a few hours until Viktor comes to get us.” Sasha nods and strides inside, her movements mechanical. Her expression looks dissociated from reality. She remains standing in the middle of the shabby cottage with old furniture and threadbare rugs for one second. Two. Ten. Thirty. In fa