The security guards waved her through as usual. During the usual smiles and small talk, Holly considered dropping the slightest hint about her situation, tipping them off about her mission. About Andrei. It might be nice to have a little extra help.

But then she realized that if Godev’s men could have gotten to Gary Johnson, they could’ve gotten to anyone. It wasn’t worth the risk. So she gave them a nod and went on her way to Gary’s office. She employed her newfound trick at the door, picking the lock again and clearing her mind completely as she moved into the room. Confident. Strong. Ready for anything.

What she wasn’t ready for was for the door to lock on its own after closing behind her. And then the sound of the whole floor locking down. A security protocol that she knew would put the entire wing on lockdown. Her hands felt clammy and unsteady on the handle as she tried pointlessly to open it. When she turned around, her whole body felt unsteady.

And then full of dread.

Andrei Godev bore down on her, handgun raised and aimed at her forehead.

His face was so eerily cool and calm.

Her face, her body, numb. For a moment, she could see everything from up above as if she’d left her body. Maybe it would be fortunate to leave her body. A defense mechanism. Maybe that’s what Beth had been doing in order to keep her sanity. Maybe if she could just—

“So good to see you, Holly.”

She scanned the room for something she could use to bludgeon him to death.

“You came to run the code?”

“Yeah,” she said, coughing the word out. “So what’s with the gun to my head?”

“Bullshit.”

“What do you think I came here for?”

“Everything you say and do is bullshit.”

Holly couldn’t really argue with that. There were so many horrible things she wanted to do to him. And with such a strong motivation. Yet, nothing. She failed every time. She was bullshit, as bullshit as her attempt to rescue her cousin. Everything, bullshit.

She turned to him. “I won’t run the code unless I see some proof of life.”

“What?”

“Prove to me that she’s alive.”

Andrei took a step back, the gun still pointed at her. He smiled. “That shouldn’t be too hard. We’ve got her set up on webcam so my clients can browse and pick and choose in real time. It’s like a menu.”

Holly wouldn’t allow herself to think about it. Aside from the nausea it would produce, she would likely do something drastic resulting in hole in her head. Instead, she focused on the hole currently pointing at her head, the barrel of the relentless aim of Andrei’s handgun.

How could she get out of this without one?

Follow the commands?

“Hey,” Andrei said, “you watching?” He had pulled out his tablet, showing her the screen. From Holly’s vantage point, a glare from the ceiling lights obstructed the view of whatever it was she was supposed to see. And she was very glad about that.

“You see or not?”

She wanted to see her cousin, to know she was safe and alive. But to see her like that . . . to see her own cousin in some sick human catalogue . . .

Andrei had tilted the screen, and now the image was all too clear.

They had Beth tied up with bungee cables, the ropes digging into her naked flesh. Holly looked away, unable to stifle the scream that erupted from deep inside, the pain and anger. The thirst for revenge driving through her and making her crazy. She was shrieking now, unable to stop until the hard thunk of metal struck her forehead.

He had smacked her with the butt of the gun.

And now she was quiet.

“You’re out of time,” Andrei said. “Log in to the computer and let’s get to work.”

She logged in to Gary’s computer without a word, her hands steady over the keys, her mind thinking of anything else but the way the ropes were so tight around—

“Come on,” Andrei said. “Double time. I know you can do this in your sleep.”

It felt like sleep. She was in a haze, on autopilot as she worked through Tansy’s experimental program. She felt herself dissociating again, that defense mechanism. And then she thought of a better one.

Holly began stalling for time, little bits of seconds here and there. A half a minute while she typed absolute gibberish. Then deleting it and trying again. She needed to squeeze as much time as possible from Andrei’s grasp. Maybe he would look away long enough for her to try contacting Tansy and asking for help. All she needed was a few seconds.

“Stop fucking around,” Andrei said.

“I’m not.”

“You’re stalling.”

Yes, she was definitely stalling. But now that Andrei was watching her so closely, there was no point. Still, she couldn’t bring herself to execute his plan. She wouldn’t. She absolutely would not cooperate with that fucking pig.

But maybe she’d get lucky and not have to cooperate.

Maybe Logan—

Then she heard a bang.