Page 119 of Unbroken
“Yeah,” I grit out. “She said exactly that.”
He swears under his breath. “She told me the same. Zoya? What the fuck? No… she wouldn’t…”
She’s always been honest. Loyal. Why the fuck would she lie?
“You know what we have to do,” he says, his jaw clenched. His whole body’s vibrating with fury he’s barely containing. “Scout the premises. Find the others.”
I nod. “I’ve got a burner on me. Didn’t even bring my regular car.”
“Same.”
“You take south. I’ll go north.”
“On it.”
When I turn the corner, I see Rafail talking to one of the firefighters, posture casual—but his eyes give him away. When he spots me, his expression shifts. Relief—tempered with suspicion.
I feel the same.
“You all right?” he asks, low enough that only I can hear.
“Yeah. I wasn’t even here when it started. Were you?”
He shakes his head. “Nope.” But his eyes flick toward the fire crew, and I know we’re thinking the same thing—we say nothing to them. We don’t reveal shit. They’re not here for us.
“I found Rodion,” I tell him. “He’s safe. He’s checking the south side, looking for Semyon and Matvei.”
Rafail gives a tight nod, a muscle ticking in his jaw. He’s calculating—running the same numbers I am. This was a setup. Why?
We start moving, slow and steady, tracking the perimeter as firefighters disappear inside with hoses and gear. Rafail steps closer and lowers his voice again.
“Scared the fuck out of me,” he says, voice raw. “But you’re all right.”
“Yeah.”
“And Ruthie? Luka?”
“They’re fine,” I whisper. “Safe.”
His brow furrows. He doesn’t like any of this. “I just saw Rodion. He got the same call. We all did.”
While the flames die down under the weight of heavy hoses, Rafail pulls out his phone and clicks into the security feed. His face hardens.
“Surveillance is offline,” he mutters. “Someone shut it off.”
Inside job. That’s not even a question.
We find Rodion, then Matvei and Semyon, all accounted for. And it doesn’t take long to piece it together—we were all called. Every single one of us.
She summoned us.
“Why?” I growl.
“Pull up house surveillance,” Rafail snaps, and Rodion yanks out the tablet and boots it up. We watch it together.
“Everything’s fine,” he mutters. “No breach, no alarms.”
“Where the fuck is Zoya?” Rafail snarls.
