Capture Me: The Complete Trilogy

Chapter 26

26Yulia

I don’t know how much time passes before I get my tears under control, but by the time I open the book Lucas left for me, the sun is already setting outside. I stare at the words on the open page, but the text fades in and out, the letters jumbling together in front of my swollen eyes.

I failed my brother. Because of me, he’s going to be killed.

I attempt to focus on the book, to push the devastating knowledge away, but it’s all I can think about. Old memories press in, and I close my eyes, too tired to fight them off.

“Please watch your brother,” my mother implores, her blue gaze filled with worry. “Check on him before you go to sleep, all right? He seemed a little feverish earlier, so if his forehead feels unusually warm, call us, all right? And don’t open the door for anyone you don’t recognize.”

“I won’t, Mom. I know what to do.” I might be ten, but it’s not the first time I’ve stayed alone with Misha while my parents rushed to my grandfather’s sickbed. “I’ll take good care of him, I promise.”

Mom kisses me on the forehead, her floral perfume teasing my nostrils. “I know you will,” she murmurs, stepping back. “You’re my wonderful grown-up girl.” Her face is tense with stress, but the smile she directs at me is full of warmth. “We’ll be back as soon as your grandfather stabilizes a bit.”

“I know, Mom.” I smile back at her, unaware that my life is about to change forever. “Go to Grandpa. I’ll watch over Misha, I promise.”

And I tried to do exactly that. When the policemen came to our apartment the next morning, I didn’t let them in until they showed me pictures of my parents’ bodies in the morgue, broken and bloodied from the car crash. I insisted that my brother stay with me when Child Services tried to separate us, claiming that a two-year-old shouldn’t attend his parents’ funeral. And when Vasiliy Obenko approached me at the orphanage a year later, offering to have his sister and her husband adopt Misha if I joined his agency, I didn’t hesitate.

I told the Head of UUR I’d do anything if he gave my brother a normal, happy life.

Opening my eyes, I try to focus on the book again, but at that moment, a flash of movement in my peripheral vision catches my attention. Startled, I look up and see a dark-haired woman standing in the middle of Lucas’s library.

Rosa, I realize, my pulse jumping.

“What are you doing here? How did you get in?” I can’t hide the undertone of panic in my voice. My hands are handcuffed, and I’m bound to the chair with a thick layer of ropes. If she means to harm me, I can’t stop her.

Rosa holds up a key ring. “In the main house, we have a spare key for every building in this compound, private houses included.”

I don’t see any weapons on her, which is somewhat reassuring. “Okay, but why are you here?” I ask in a calmer tone.

“I wanted to see you,” she says. “Tomorrow, we’re leaving for two weeks. Going to Chicago to visit Nora’s family.”

“Nora’s family?”

“Señor Esguerra’s wife,” Rosa clarifies.

I frown in confusion. I now recall that Nora is the name of the American girl Esguerra kidnapped and married. Lucas didn’t tell me the reason for his upcoming trip, but I assumed it was business-related. I had no idea Lucas’s sadistic boss has any kind of relationship with his in-laws.

“Anyways,” Rosa continues, “I wanted to see you in person before I left.”

My confusion intensifies. “Why?”

Rosa steps closer. “Because I don’t think you belong here.” Her hands are locked together in front of her black dress. “Because this isn’t right.”

“What isn’t right?” Does she want me strung up in some torture shed like she’d implied before?

“You. This whole thing.” Her brown eyes regard me steadily. “It’s wrong that Lucas has you here like this. That he’s leaving you with Diego and Eduardo. They’re good guys, both of them. They like to play poker.”

“Poker?” I’m completely lost.

Rosa nods. “They play with the guards on North Tower Two. Every Thursday afternoon from two to six.”

“They do?” My heartbeat kicks up again. Is Rosa telling me what I think she’s telling me?

“Yes,” she says evenly. “It’s not a problem because the drones patrol the perimeter around the estate, and there are heat and motion sensors everywhere. Anything approaching the border of the estate, no matter how small or big, gets scanned and examined by our security software, and the guards get alerted if the computer thinks there’s a problem.”

My pulse is now a frantic drumbeat. “I see.” Anything approaching, she said. That means the computer disregards things heading in the other direction. “How far is the northern border of the estate from here?”

Rosa hesitates, and I kick myself for being too blunt. She clearly wants to pretend she’s just chatting with me, and whatever information I glean is something she’s giving by accident.

“Two and a half miles,” she finally says, and I exhale in relief. I didn’t scare her off after all. “There’s a river that marks that border,” she continues, dropping all pretense. “Farther to the west, a small road crosses the river. It goes all the way north to Miraflores. Occasionally, we get some deliveries via that route.” She pauses, then adds, “The next delivery is scheduled for Thursday at three p.m.”

“Thursday at three,” I repeat, hardly able to believe my luck. “As in, this Thursday afternoon. The day after tomorrow.”

She nods. “We’re getting some food items brought in.”

“Okay.” My mind is racing, sifting through the potential obstacles. “What about—”

“I have to go now,” Rosa says, stepping even closer. “Lucas will be home soon.” She brushes her fingers over the book I’m holding, and her hand touches mine for a second. “Bye, Yulia,” she says quietly before turning and hurrying out of the room.

Stunned, I look down and see two small objects on top of my book.

A razor blade and a hairpin.