recognized it instantly; the look that had surfaced in her mother's eyes years ago and had never left.
Desperation.
Sergei glanced from Thomas to Ariana to the photo in her hand, to the camera on his desk, and back again.
Instantly, the desperation in his eyes morphed into fear. He turned from the doorway and ran.
"Sergei! Wait!" Ariana shouted, dropping the picture of herself on the bed and bolting for the door. She
sprinted down the hallway behind Sergei. "We just want to talk to you!"
With every step, the gap between them widened. Ariana had never been much of an athlete, but she couldn't
let him get away.
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"Kid's fast," Thomas huffed from behind her. His voice crackled with pain.
Ariana didn't take the time to answer. She reached the stairwell and flew down the steps three at a time,
slamming into the door at the foot of the stairs just as Sergei slammed it shut behind him. She smashed her
fist against the heavy wood.
"Damnit!" She doubled over, gasping for breath.
"You okay?" Thomas was moving slowly down the steps one floor above. She looked up at him, feeling a
sudden pang of guilt. She shouldn't leave him alone in his condition.
"He's getting away," Ariana said desperately.
"Just go!" Thomas shouted, his voice bouncing down the stairwell. "I'll catch
up!"
Without another glance in his direction, Ariana threw open the back door and squinted against the glare of the
sun's reflection on the snow. Sergei had crossed the stretch of land behind Drake House and was headed into
the woods. She gritted her teeth and followed with renewed determination. She would get to him. If he
revealed those photos-the photos that showed her cheating on Daniel-she would lose everything. It
wouldn't matter that Daniel had lied or that he'd cheated first. All that would matter was that she cheated on
Paige's twin brother. She'd lose her friends, Billings, maybe even her mother. She would be a nothing.
Sergei disappeared into the thick covering of trees ahead. Every nerve in her body seized with terror.
Reaching the edge of the woods, Ariana turned back for a moment to look for Thomas. He was limping
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slowly toward her, at least twenty-five yards behind. She inhaled a sharp breath and ducked past the line of
trees into the woods.