Page 11 of Dark Gambit: The Play

Safe Haven was isolated, with nothing for miles around, so unless she managed to steal a car, which she had no clue how to do, she wasn't going anywhere on foot.

Why the hell had Igor and Valstar sent her on a spying mission without giving her any training? They could have at least taught her how to steal cars. Were they going to send people to retrieve her or just leave her there?

Would Valstar even care that she wasn't coming back?

Would her mother?

Not likely.

The only ones who would miss her were her father, her aunts, her cousins, and her friends.

As tears leaked out of her eyes, Sofia swiped at them angrily.

How often had she dreamt about escaping the compound and life under Igor's thumb? But now that she was free, she was crying over the people she loved and was never going to see again.

She just hadn't expected for it to ever happen. Besides, she wasn't free. What were Marcel and his people going to do with her?

Her fantasies about having a life with Marcel had certainly gone down the drain. He hadn't been cruel to her and he didn’t even look angry. He just seemed indifferent, treating her with remote politeness as if she was a stranger, a ward to take care of until he could hand her off to someone else.

She was so freaking alone.

As the tears started flowing again, Sofia had no more strength left to fight them. Grabbing a pillow, she covered her face to muffle the pitiful sobs and just let it all out. When she heard the door open, she turned on her side with the pillow still firmly pressed against her face, and when the mattress sank on that side, she turned to the other.

"Sofia." Marcel put a hand on her shoulder. "Is your headache that bad?"

She could've lied and said yes, but the truth was that sometime during her self-pity fest, the Motrin had kicked in and the headache had abated.

"I'm fine," she mumbled under the pillow. "Please, go away."

"You are obviously not fine." He caressed her back. "Are you scared?"

"Should I be?"

"If the doctor finds a tracker, he will surgically remove it, but he will anesthetize the area first, and you won't feel a thing."

Was that what he thought? That she was crying because she was scared of a little physical pain?

"I'm not afraid of the doctor."

"So what are you afraid of?"

Tossing the pillow aside, she turned to face him. "What are your people going to do with me? Are you ever going to let me go?"

His expression was pained as he shook his head. "You will not be physically harmed. I can promise you that. Beyond that, I don't know. I'm not in charge."

"Give it your best guess."

"I don't think you are ever going back."

"That's what I thought." She grabbed the pillow and covered her face with it.

"Why would you want to go back? If the male who sent you is who we think he is, he's a ruthless murderer."

How could they possibly know anything about Igor?

Had Jade managed to overcome his compulsion and tell someone about him? What did she expect to gain by that?

These people weren't Kra-ell, and they couldn't help her. They were probably more dangerous to her than Igor.