7. ISABELLA

Chapter 7

ISABELLA

Three Nights Ago - Andrey's Apartment Building

As soon as I hear the door click, I open my eyes. I don't have to reach out to know that Andrey has left. The key turns in the lock. It's nice to know he still doesn't trust me. I stretch languidly. My limbs are still tingling, as are other areas of my body. I slide off the bed, trying to keep Andrey and what just happened between us from my mind.

I can't afford to get sidetracked by sex or the sexy devil that just drove me to the most explosive climaxes twice. I need to get out of here while I still have the cover of night to get to the airport.

I scramble off the bed, ignoring the burning sensation between my legs. I go to Andrey's mother's closet and rifle through it. As expected, some items still have the label on them, like an awesome sports bra and panties that are still in their exclusive boutique packaging and have yet to be opened.

Andrey's mother has exquisite taste in underwear. I also shop at this particular boutique. His mother is better endowed than me in the boob department. But luckily, it's adjustable. The compressing top and leggings are also slightly too big for me, but they're much better to move in than jeans and a baggy shirt. I'm about to do acrobatics down the side of a fucking building. I can't have a shirt flapping about.

I rifle through the closet and find a black hoodie, socks, and sneakers. I don't care right now if they've been used or not as I quickly get dressed. I take the pocket knife and shove it in the sneaker just beneath the instep of my one foot. I grab the hoodie and make a small hole in the pocket. Big enough to put my cash, key, and lock-picking tools in. I can't have them falling out. But if I move them between the pocket and the lining, they'll stay.

Thank you, Captain Johns— my one survival boot camp instructor — on Hiding Items 101. I put the hoodie on and zip it up. I tuck the hood in, shoving it into the back of the compression shirt as I can't have it flapping over my face on a jump. I've practiced what I'm about to do on the parallel bars for years, so I'm ninety-nine point nine percent certain I can do this— or die .

The key is in the glass door, thankfully. I unlock it and push it open, exhaling slowly. A small smile of satisfaction curls my lips. I step out onto the balcony and move to the railing.

My eyes are drawn down, down, down. "Now, just twenty-six stories, and I'm off into the night. Bye-bye fucktards of my past." I swing my legs over the balcony, dangling in the air, and swing down onto the one below and just off to the side of mine, landing it like a pro. "I stuck that landing."

"One balcony down." I turn and blend against the railing when I see the lights on inside the room and movement. "Shit."

I handstand onto the railing, hold the position, walk my one hand over the other to turn, and swing down onto the balcony below, hoping whoever was in that apartment didn't see me. I move onto the next balcony, and as far as I can see, it's vacant.

"Thank fuck!" I breathe. "I wasn't really looking forward to swinging my way down the building."

I flex my shoulder that was damaged during a competition two years ago. It was the same competition that ended my competing days because of the injury. I flex it a bit, then fish out the small tension wrench and pick from my hidden compartment in the pocket of the hoodie.

I crouch beside the glass door, feeling my heart pounding in my chest as the exhilaration of my escape starts to build. I can't believe I'm doing this. Who would've thought I'd ever use these skills? Maybe I'll become a cat burglar if I run out of funds when I get my new life.

With practiced precision, I insert the tension wrench into the bottom of the lock and apply a slight pressure. Carefully, I slide the pick into the top of the lock, feeling for the pins inside. One by one, I lift each pin, my fingers steady and sure despite the adrenaline coursing through my veins.

A moment later, I feel the last pin give way, and with a soft click, the lock turns. I open the door and step into the dark apartment.