Wish (4 page)

I walk over to him and sit on the floor beside
him. I hug my legs against my chest. I rest my cheek on my knee and
look at Damon. “I’m kind of scared.” I don’t like to admit this to
him, but he’s the only one I can talk to right now.

“
Me too,” he says. “I’ve been
trained on what to do in different situations, but they’ve always
been how to get away from the bad guys. I’ve never been trained in
what to do once the bad guy has you. A lot of good that training is
doing down here.”

“
If we get out of here, I am going
to train harder than ever before,” I say. “I don’t want to ever be
weak enough to get kidnapped again.”

“
I don’t think Tristan will ever
let you out of his sight for that to be a problem,” Damon says. “I
bet he is going out of his mind trying to find you. If I weren’t
here with you, I’d be doing the very same thing.”

“
I don’t think I’ll want to be out
of Tristan’s sight either. I feel safe with him.” But I’m totally
okay with that.

The door to the basement opens and I watch
Salvador slam the door behind him and descend down the stairs
towards us. He looks mad.

“
Are you okay?” I ask
him.

“
Fine,” he says, his voice hard.
“We’re moving locations.”

“Why?” I ask, my heart pounding
hard against my chest. Moving is
not
good. It’ll just make it harder
for Tristan to find us.

“
They’re getting close to finding
you,” Salvador answers. “Or at least Rafael thinks so.”

He calls his dad by his first name?

“
I’m supposed to drug you,” he
says, pulling a syringe out of his pocket.

“
Please, don’t,” Damon
says.

Salvador looks at him. “Shut it,
American.”

He really doesn’t like Damon.

“
Are you going to drug us?” I
ask.

He shakes his head.

Relief floods through me, and I feel hope for
the first time since being in this awful situation.

Salvador sits on the floor in front of his and
drops his voice to a whisper. “I want to help you guys. But I need
you to promise me something first.”

“
Anything,” I say.

“
I don’t want to be in trouble.
Not with Russia or the US. I want to be free and I don’t want
anything to do with my father and this group anymore,” he says. “I
never had a choice. And if I did, I never would’ve chose
this.”

“
Done,” Damon says.

“
I also want to go to that
American school you guys go to,” he says. “I’ve never been outside
of Russia, but I want to. Maybe I can make American friends too. It
sounds like you guys have a lot of fun.”

Okay, I didn’t expect
that
.

“
How old are you?” I ask
him.

“
Fifteen,” he answers.

“
You look older.”

He shrugs.

“
My aunt is the dean of the
school,” I tell him.

“
I know,” he says. “So you can
make it happen.”

I nod. “Definitely. You have a
deal.”

He takes the syringe and pushes all the
medicine out onto the floor. “We will be down here in thirty
minutes to get you guys. You can’t move. They’ll know. You can’t
even flinch or breathe the wrong way.”

“
How will we escape?” I
ask.

“
Trust me on that one,” he says,
pushing up on his feet.

“
How can we trust you?” Damon
asks.

“
Well, I guess you don’t have any
choice but to,” he says. “Just like I have no choice but to trust
you.”

He walks up the stairs and out the
door.

I look at Damon. “I trust him.”

“
I hope we can.”

“
He didn’t drug us,” I
say.

“
True,” he says. “I’m just trying
not to get excited in case he’s lying.”

I don’t think he is lying.

For some reason, I trust him
completely.

I’ve heard it
all.

Tristan.

I get a call on my private phone from a
Russian number. I answer it, hoping that it’s Katerina. Maybe she
found some way to contact me. She’s a smart girl. It wouldn’t
surprise me if she found a way for her and Damon to
escape.

“
Hello.”

“
Is this Tristan
Thomas?”

“
Yes,” I say, hesitantly. “Who is
this?”

“
Salvador Grishin.”

Grishin.

As in Rafael Grishin.

“
I have a proposition to make,” he
says.

I have a strong policy on not
negotiating with terrorists, but he has Katerina. I will do
anything to get her back. If this were regarding anything but her,
I would hang up. But I can’t. I will do
anything
.

“
I’m listening,” I say.

“
Katerina and Damon are going to
be moved to a new location tonight. Once they are moved, you don’t
have a chance of getting to them,” he says. “But if you find us
while we’re on the move, you can save them.”

“
And what do you want from
this?”

“
Damon and Katerina know exactly
what I want,” he says.

“
Is she okay?” I ask.

“
She’s fine,” Salvador says. “So
is the boy.”

Thank God.

“
Whenever you come, I know that
you won’t hesitate to kill anybody who stands in the way of their
safety. I’ll be the one in the red shirt. Don’t shoot me,” he says.
“Katerina and Damon know exactly what I want. I’m not a
threat.”

I don’t know much about Salvador. He’s fifteen
years old and lived with his mom until about a year ago. She died,
so he moved in with Rafael. At that point, he was pulled from
school and pretty much dropped off the map. I want to ask him why
he’s willing to help us, but I don’t want him to change his mind.
I’m desperate. I have to find her. He’s just a kid. It’s not his
fault his dad does what he does.

“
I can promise your safety as long
as Katerina and Damon are alive and well,” I say.

“
They are,” he insists.

“
You have yourself a deal,” I
say.

“
I can also tell you where the
others are being held,” he says. “Elizabeth Vasin and the other
girl.”

“
Okay.”

“
Damon and Katerina made me
promises,” Salvador says. “I need to know that they are able to
keep the promises.”

“
What promises?” I ask.

“
First, that I won’t be put into
jail. I have nothing to do with what my father is doing,” he says.
“Damon told me that I wouldn’t get in trouble. He’s the president’s
son, so he can make this happen.”

“
I don’t think that will be a
problem,” I say, knowing that the person who helps rescue the
president’s son will be give amnesty. Especially if Damon promised
it. He wouldn’t promise it to somebody who was a bad
guy.

“
Good,” he says. “Katerina also
promised me something. She was telling me about her American
friends, and her school. I want to be enrolled there.”

“
What?” I ask, not quite believing
what I am hearing.

“
I want to go to school in
America. At the school Katerina goes to. It sounds like a nice
school. She really likes it there,” he says.

A Russian terrorist wants to go to an American
high school. Huh. I’ve heard it all.

And Katerina is telling a terrorist about
school. She might be okay if she’s doing that.

“
Okay,” I say. “No
problem.”

I’ll always find
you.

Katerina.

Pretending to be passed out is harder than it
sounds. Especially when the terrorist who is carrying me feels like
he’s going to drop me. His arms are literally shaking. And I have a
cramp in my foot. I’m trying hard not to move, but my body is
literally hurting from not moving.

The guy who is carrying me leans over and then
drops me onto the floor. I’m only a few inches from the ground, but
still! Ouch! I jerk an inch before I catch myself. Thankfully,
nobody notices. I hear something hit the ground beside me, probably
Damon.

I hear an engine roar to life and begin to
vibrate around me. Now I am nervous. What if Salvador doesn’t
follow through on his promise? What if Damon and I are on our way
to our execution right now? It’s not like I can win against these
guys if it came down to a fight. They’ve got guns. Plus, there are
a lot more of them than me.

But I would fight if it came down to it. Not
just for me, but for Damon too.

None of them are talking, so I can’t tell how
many guys there are.

I wonder if we’re going where they have my
mum. I’d love to see her again. I hope they are treating her good.
Salvador was good to us, but he’s a fifteen year old kid. If Rafael
or one of the others had been bringing down our food, I’m sure the
treatment wouldn’t have been as good.

If they’re feeding her.

They might not be.

I feel the vehicle move forward and my body
rolls slightly. I hit another body—Damon.

At least now I know he’s definitely with
me.

The longer we are in the car, the more
panicked I feel. I should be glad to be out of that basement, but I
felt safe there. Here, I am exposed.

Plus, my foot cramp has gotten worse. I need
to move my foot.

The vehicle suddenly slams on the brakes, and
I go rolling forward. While I’m rolling, I move my foot
slightly.

Augh… relief.

Then I hit something hard. It hurts my
shoulder a but, but I’m fine. Then I feel Damon hit me on the other
side.

Ouch.

He hurt worse than whatever else I
hit.

They really should invest in some seat belts
for their victims.

“
What’s
going on
?” I hear somebody I don’t
recognize.

A door opens and cold air hits me.

“
Salvador, you stay here with them
,”
another voice says. I hear people jump from the vehicle.

Where are we? The back of a truck?

“
They’re gone,” Salvador
whispers.

I open my eyes and look around.

We
are
in the back of a
truck.

I move, my muscles feeling better.

I hear a gun go off, which thoroughly freaks
me out. Damon puts an arm in front of me, trying to shield
me.

After the first shot, I hear a lot of guns
going off and somebody opens the back of the trailer. Sun shines
through, hurting my eyes. I’ve been locked in a basement for so
long. Even with the tiny window, not a lot of light was coming
through.

“
Kat.”

Alik.

My eyes adjust to the light, and I get up and
run over to him. He grabs me around my waste and puts me on the
ground, giving me a hug.

“
I never thought I’d see you
again,” he says to me, still not letting go. I hold him just as
tight.

“
Me too,” I say. “How did you find
me?”

I look up and see a team of military going
inside the truck.

Then I see Tristan standing back, watching
Alik and me.

Salvador jumps out of the truck beside
me.

“
Did you do this?” I ask
him.

He nods.

“
Thank you. You saved my life,” I
say.

Tristan walks up behind Alik. He looks tired.
Like he hasn’t slept since we’ve been gone, which he probably
hasn’t. There are bags under his eyes, and his hair is a complete
mess. But he is smiling. Still, he’s the most beautiful guy I’ve
ever seen.

“
You found me,” I say.

“
I’ll always find you,” he
says.

I know he will.

That
is
why I love him.

I don’t know who steps towards who first—him
or me. But he wraps his arms around me tight and I hold him just as
tightly.

I missed him so much.

“
I probably stink,” I say, feeling
self conscience. The first thing I want to do is shower and brush
my teeth.

“
I don’t care,” he says, still
holding me tight.

This is where I belong—with him. In his
arms.

THREE

Raslan.

Katerina.

After showering for nearly an hour, I went to
bed and slept better than I have in days. Probably because I was
safe. And because I wasn’t sleeping on a concrete floor. That
morning, when I wake up, my muscles are sore.

Tristan is asleep in a room that is connected
to mine and Alik’s room. Last night, he fell asleep as soon as we
got back. I haven’t even got a chance to really talk to him yet
about anything. He must have been exhausted.