my face. I reel backwards, letting out a cry, smashing into the far wall, my cheekbone blazing. Then he turns back to the monitor and presses delete on the new dialog box that has appeared on screen.
‘You won’t have any proof,’ he says to me.
‘You can’t remove all the cameras,’ I answer, a hand flying to my cheek, which is throbbing painfully.
Sebastian crosses to the door. ‘I don’t want to have to do this,’ he says to me, ‘but you’re giving me no option.’
My blood runs cold. What is he talking about? Before I can stop him he moves to shut the door in my face. He’s going to lock me in here!
‘I’ll only keep you in here until I remove the cameras. Then I’ll let you go.’
I dart forward and shove him hard in the chest, kicking the door back at the same time and wedging my foot into the gap so he can’t slam it on me. There’s no way I’m letting him lock me in here. We tussle, me clawing at him and him slapping at me and pushing me off him. I grab him by the shoulders and knee him in the crotch and he bends over double, groaning. I take the advantage and leap past him, racing out of the room and making straight for the front door.
Halfway there a hand grabs my shoulder and yanks me back. I stumble and Sebastian tugs my arm, trying to pull me away from the front door. I spin around, bringing my elbow up. It smacks into his face with a satisfying crunch and he lets go of me, staggering backwards, blood pouring from his nose. His feet slip and he goes down, his head smacking with a loud crack off the edge of the table.
I don’t stop to see if he’s OK. I keep running, throwing myself at the door, fumbling with the lock before leaping down the stairs three at a time until I reach the bottom, the foyer, and burst out of the front door onto the street, gasping and shaking.
A hand closes around my arm. I let out a scream and shove at the person in a panic, before realising it’s not Sebastian. It’s Konstandin.
Chapter Thirty-Six
‘What is it? What’s happening?’ Konstandin asks, hands gripping my shoulders.
‘It’s him. Sebastian,’ I splutter, looking over my shoulder in fear, half-expecting to see him racing out the door behind me.
‘What about him?’ Konstandin asks, following my gaze.
‘He’s been spying on us. He has all these cameras … I tried to get away …’
‘Did he do this?’ Konstandin growls, nodding at my cheekbone. I touch my fingertips to it and wince. I’d forgotten about the blow from the textbook.
I nod. ‘Yes. He wasn’t going to let me go …’
‘Is he still inside?’ Konstandin asks, cutting me off.
I nod again, adrenalin pumping through me in torrents, my blood still pounding loudly in my head. Konstandin moves to the door. I want to stop him but it’s too late, he’s already inside, rushing up the stairs. I glance up the street. I just want to run away, get the hell out of here, go to the police and tell them before Sebastian can remove the cameras from the apartments and do away with all the evidence, but I realise my phone and wallet and everything are still in the apartment and if I’m going to go back inside to get them I’d rather do it with Konstandin at my side.
I chase after him and catch up with him at the door to the apartment, which is wide open. Konstandin steps warily inside and I follow, unable to see past him. He walks a few steps and crouches down and that’s when I see Sebastian is lying on the ground in the hallway, face down.
Konstandin presses his fingers to Sebastian’s neck, feeling for a pulse. I cover my mouth with both hands and let out a choking gasp. Oh my God. He’s dead. I’ve killed him. But it was an accident.
Konstandin rolls Sebastian gently over and I fully expect to see his eyes, staring glassily up at me, or for blood to be leaking out the corner of his mouth, but instead I hear a groan and see his lips move. He’s alive! Thank God. But shit, his face is covered in blood and his nose looks like it might be broken. That must have been from when I clocked him in the face with my elbow.