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  New Hope Academy, Episode Four

  Scarlett Haven

  Copyright © 2016 Scarlett Haven

  http://scarletthaven.wordpress.com

  All rights reserved.

  Smashwords Edition, License Notes

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite ebook retailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  This book is dedicated to my mom.

  Glad you like this series!

  I love you!

  This is episode 4 in the New Hope Academy Series. It is the last book in this series.

  I highly recommend picking up the first three episodes, Fate, Luck, and Fame before reading this.

  ONE

  Where are we?

  Katerina.

  I wake up in an unfamiliar place, not knowing where I am or how I got here. My body is laying against something hard and very cold. My arms are behind my back and they’re cramping. I go to move them, but I can’t. I open my eyes and jerk up to see that I’m lying on a dirty concrete floor. My hands are tied behind my back, and they’re attached to somebody else.

  “Damon,” I say, my voice hoarse. It barely comes out as a whisper.

  He doesn’t respond, and I pray that he’s alive.

  I pray like I’ve never prayed before.

  “Damon,” I say, a little louder.

  Memories come rushing back to me of getting in the car with Matthews and Rafael.

  They… drugged us. That part is hazy. In fact, almost everything after getting in the car is hazy.

  Oh my gosh. Matthews! I trusted him! He’s spent the night on my floor before! He’s had many opportunities to kidnap me. Why did he wait so long? Why now? And why did he have to kidnap Damon too?

  I try and reach for my phone in my back pocket, to see if it’s still there. It’s not. Guess they were smarter than I thought.

  “Damon, please wake up,” I say again, this time on the verge of tears.

  He still doesn’t respond, but I hear him take a deep breath. Relief rushes through me. At least he’s alive. Whatever they gave us was strong. I can’t even feel my legs, and barely my arms. My head is aching, probably because I need water. Who knows how long we’ve been passed out.

  I think about the Glock that Tristan gave me. It’s sitting in the top drawer of my desk at school. A lot of good it’s going me there. I should’ve had that gun on me at all times. I could’ve prevented this.

  Tristan is probably so upset right now. So is Alik. And my dad. I wonder if he’s found mum yet. He will. And he will find me too, I have to believe that.

  It isn’t just me missing. Damon Hartley is missing too. The whole United States will be looking for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if the military was looking for us right now. I just hope they can find us, wherever we are.

  “Did we get on an airplane?” I hear Damon ask from behind me. His voice is weak and he still sounds half asleep.

  “I don’t know,” I whisper. “I don’t remember much.”

  “They held you down gave you a shot. And then me one,” he says. “I remember getting on a jet, but I don’t remember anything else.”

  “Where do you think we are?” I ask.

  “I don’t know,” he answers. “Maybe Russia.”

  “This isn’t good. This could start a war. You’re… you,” I say. “Your dad is going to do whatever it takes to get you back safely.”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’m sorry that I dragged you into this,” I tell him.

  “I’m glad I am with you,” Damon says. “I’d hate to think of you being here all alone.”

  I feel him squeeze my hand, and a very selfish part of me is glad he’s here too. I would be scared if I was all alone. Having him here makes it all better. Even though I am worried about him. I can’t lose Damon. No matter what happens, I have to protect him.

  “My dad will find us,” Damon tells me, his voice sounding stronger now. “I know he will. He’s probably got all of the United States military here, looking for me. He would’ve been alerted the second that he knew I was missing.”

  “I wonder how long it took them to figure it out,” I say.

  “I don’t know,” he says. “I just want to know where we’re at and how long we’ve been here.”

  I know that the longer we’re missing, the harder we will be to find. I just hope that they find us soon, before we’re killed. I’m only sixteen. I still have so much to live for—so much to experience. So does Damon. This can’t be how it ends.

  “I bet Tristan is freaking out,” Damon says.

  “No. I bet Tristan is calm. He’s unreasonably chill when there is a crisis going on. Alik, on the other hand, is probably freaking out,” I say.

  “My dad is probably freaking out too,” he says. “He handles stress well, but not when it comes to me. He sent me six bodyguards just because he knew you would be at school.”

  “Apparently six wasn’t enough,” I comment.

  Because, seriously. Here we are, tied up in some basement.

  At least, I think it’s a basement. There is a staircase leading up and a small window at the top, letting in a little light. It’s cold down here, but there is a little space heater close by, making a loud noise. There is a water heater down here, and a door that leads to something—maybe a furnace. There are also hookups for a washer and dryer, but there is nothing plugged up to them.

  The door at the top of the stairs creeks open, and a guy that I don’t recognize walks down the stairs. The guy is young—not too much older than me. He can’t be older than seventeen or eighteen. He’s got light blond hair and pale skin. His dark eyes meet mine, and his step falters.

  “You are just a kid,” he says, speaking Russian.

  “I’m sixteen,” I say. “How old did you think I was?”

  “Sixteen?” he looks uncomfortable. “What about the American boy? How old is he?”

  “Sixteen,” Damon answers for himself.

  The boy sighs and pulls a knife out of his back pocket. I stiffen a bit, but try not to let him see my fear.

  “I’m going to untie you, but no funny business,” he says. “There are people with guns at the top of the stairs, and trust me when I say they won’t hesitate to shoot you.”

  “What about food?” I ask. “I’m hungry.”

  “I’ll bring down food in a little bit,” the boy says.

  “What’s your name?” I ask, and I feel the knife cut at the rope behind me.

  “Salvador,” he answers. “You’re Mikhail Vasin’s kid, right?”

  “Yes,” I answer, wondering what this guy is doing, working for the bad guys. He’s too young to be doing this.

  The rope comes undone, and I considering using my training. I could fight this guy. But I know he’s telling the truth about there being guys with guns at the top of the stairs. They won’t hesitate to shoot me and kill me. And then Damon would be left alone. I have to stay alive and protect him.

  “You know who my dad is as well,” Damon says. “This is not going to end well for you.”

  “Shut up, American,” Salvador says to Damon, then walks back up the stairs.

  I pull my arms in front of me and rub my wrist. My wrists have red marks where I was tied. Damon scoots around in front of me so I can see him. He looks terrible. His brown hair is a mess, like he’s been fighting. He has a black eye, and he looks exhausted.

  “What happened to your eye?” I ask, reaching a hand up to
touch it.

  He jerks his head back before I reach it. “Nothing. After they drugged you, I fought back. I wanted to save you. But I wasn’t strong enough.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Why? I obviously couldn’t do it,” he says.

  “But you tried,” I say.

  “I know why you picked Tristan over me. He can protect you. I can’t.”

  “Damon…”

  “Let’s just not talk for a while,” he says, then lays down on the hard concrete floor, closing his eyes.

  I hate that he’s mad at me, but I think it has more to do with him than me. He tried to protect me, and that means a lot to me. I only wish I had been awake to protect him. All those months of training and it wasn’t enough.

  I hope Tristan finds us soon.

  I have to find Katerina.

  Tristan.

  I am talking with some of the best trained men in the United States military, trying to come up with a plan to save Katerina and Damon. The president of the United States is pacing back and forth nervously, which is something I never thought I’d see. I’ve never seen him nervous before. Then again, I’ve never seen his son kidnapped before.

  “Russia is willing to comply,” one of the president’s advisors says as he walks back into the room.

  I sigh in relief.

  If Russia was unwilling to let us into their country, it would mean war. Instead, they’re going to help us, which is good. Maybe we can get out of this with minimal damage. I don’t know a lot about foreign politics, but I do know we do not want to go to war with Russia.

  By now, the whole world knows that Damon Hartley and his alleged girlfriend, Katerina Vasin, has disappeared. Katerina isn’t his girlfriend, but that is what the media is saying. It’s only a matter of time before they dig up information about her—about her father being a terrorist. They already know she’s Russian, and people are speculating.

  “Tristan,” one of the guys drawing up the plans says to me. “Are you absolutely certain that this girl is not involved. We can’t afford to be wrong about this.”

  “I am certain,” I say, not hesitating or wavering. “Katerina Vasin is to be trusted.”

  “Okay,” he says, putting his faith in me. “When did the girl’s cell signal go out?”

  “They landed in Moscow early in the morning,” I answer. “They must have realized that she had her phone then and they ditched it.”

  “Russia is a big country,” the president says. “How are we supposed to find them? And how do we even know they’re still in Russia?”

  “I believe they’re in Russia,” I say. “Everybody is looking for them. There is no way they can leave the country. Wherever they are, they’re hiding out. They’re waiting for us to make the first move. Well, not us. They’re waiting on Mikhail Vasin.”

  “And Mikhail is willing to comply, right?” he asks.

  “Yes. Anything to get his daughter back. Right now, he’s looking for his wife, his son’s fiancé, and Katerina,” I say. “They’ve pretty much taken his whole family.”

  “I thought he was supposed to be their leader,” President Hartley says to me.

  “He was. But as you know, terrorism is a messy business,” I say. “Mikhail was offered a job working for the Russian government about five years ago, and he’s been working on the inside trying to take down the group that he helped create. Somebody must have figured it out. It seems a lot of people in the group have turned on him.”

  The information was something we were just given last night. We were going to go after Mikhail, even though I knew he wasn’t involved. Not with his daughter missing. I’ve seen how much that man loves her. We were all shocked the hear it. Even though I had seen how much Mikhail loves his daughter, I still thought he was involved somehow.

  The news about Mikhail no longer being a terrorist will make Katerina happy once she finds out. Probably his wife too, if she’s still alive. Elizabeth Vasin has been missing for quite a while now.

  “And we’re offering him amnesty if he helps us find the kid and continues helping take down the group,” the president’s advisor says.

  Good.

  Mikhail has done a lot of bad things, but he’s more than making up for them. Taking down a terrorist group from the inside is a hard and messy job. One that he might not make it out of alive. I know he can see that now. His wife and kids are paying for his mistakes.

  “We’re almost to Moscow,” a woman says. “It’s time to buckle up and get ready to land.”

  All of us take a seat and buckle up. My heart beats anxiously inside my chest as we make our descent into Russia.

  I have to find Katerina.

  Worst of the worst.

  Katerina.

  I can hear men talking from upstairs.

  They sound anxious.

  Damon is asleep, so I slowly walk up the stairs and put my ear to the door so I can hear what they’re saying.

  “Kidnapping the boy was a mistake.” I know the voice. I am pretty sure it’s Matthews. Or at least, that was his name as Damon’s bodyguard. I’m sure it’s not his real name. He was with Damon the longest, so he’s grown to know, and possibly care for Damon.

  “It’s too late to back out now,” another voice says. I don’t recognize this guy at all.

  “The Russian military and the United States military are now looking for us,” Matthews says. “You know we can’t hide here forever. They are going to find us. We should just leave them and save ourselves. We can hide…”

  “When did you become such a chicken?” I hear Rafael ask him. His voice is very unkind and unforgiving.

  Rafael is the one guy I am scared of. He could murder me and not think twice about it. There is nothing good left inside of him.

  “The girl is just a kid,” I hear a new voice. It sounds like Salvador, though I can’t be sure.

  “Shut it, Salvador,” Rafael says. “Take them some food. Can’t let them die just yet.”

  I hear them shuffling around, so I quickly, and quietly as possible, run down the stairs. Right when I make it to the bottom, the door opens and I see Salvador walking down with a tray of food in his hands. I go sit by Damon, who is still asleep.

  In my mind, I count the voices. I heard four, though there could definitely be more. But hope bubbles up inside me, because Russia and the United States are looking for us. They will find us. I know they will. Tristan will save me.

  “Hey,” I say to Salvador, liking him better after hearing that conversation. Maybe he’s not all bad. “Is Damon all right?” Damon has been asleep way too much since we’ve been down here.

  “It’s the medicine in his system,” Salvador says, in an unkind tone.

  He’s probably mad about getting yelled at by Rafael. Not that I can blame him.

  Salvador sits down the food on the floor in front of me.

  “Why are you working for these guys?” I ask him.

  “No talking,” he says, then walks back up the stairs.

  I sigh when he slams the door.

  I guess getting on this good side is going to be harder than I thought.

  When the door shuts, I see Damon move. He sits up, looking confused for a minute. Then he sees me.

  “I’m so tired,” he says. I can hear how tired he is in his voice. “I don’t know how I can sleep down here.”

  “Salvador told me it’s the medicine,” I say. “He brought down food.”

  “I’m starving,” he says, looking at the tray. “Do you think it’s safe to eat?”

  I shrug. “I don’t think we have a choice. We need to keep up our strength. I don’t have a lot after that stupid shot they gave us.”

  “Okay,” he says, grabbing a piece of bread.

  “I heard them talking up stairs. Apparently Russia and the United States are working together to find us,” I tell him, taking a bit of the bread. “I don’t think it will take them long. Tristan is smart. And with the two countries working together…”

  “Go
od,” he says, now smiling. “They’ll find us.”

  “Yeah, they will.” I just hope they don’t find us too late. I’m not saying that to Damon though. He seems hopeful and I can’t take that away from him.

  “That Salvador kid is a creep,” Damon says, taking a drink of the water.

  “I don’t think he’s so bad. He’s just in a bad situation.”

  Damon looks at me, maybe to see if I’m serious. “Katerina, we are in a bad situation. Not him. He’s free to come and go as he pleases.”

  “We don’t know that,” I say. “He’s treated really bad. And I just get the feeling that he’s not really so bad.”

  “Only you could think a man who has kidnapped you and is holding you against your will is nice,” he says.

  “He didn’t kidnap us,” I say. “And you’re right. I’m not saying he’s a good guy. I’m just saying maybe he’s not as bad as the other bad guys. He’s just a kid himself. Maybe this isn’t his fault.”

  “Whatever you say,” Damon says.

  He thinks I’m crazy.

  And maybe I am.

  I’d like to think that everybody in the world has some good in them. Even the worst of the worst.

  But maybe not Rafael.

  I don’t like this.

  Tristan.

  Mikhail Vasin is really, really mad at me. He says it’s my fault that Katerina was kidnapped. Well, mine and Alik’s fault.

  Mikhail knows now that I am Katerina’s bodyguard. There was no way around it. But now that I know he’s no longer a terrorist, I feel better about the whole thing. I should’ve believed Katerina. She believed in him. I should have too. I trust her judgment. She knew her dad wasn’t a bad guy.

  My chest hurts, thinking about her. I wonder where she is and if she’s doing okay. She’s a strong person—a great fighter. I know that she will be all right. She has to be. I’m glad Damon is with her. At least she isn’t alone.

  I’m also glad Damon is with her, because it means a lot more people are looking for them. I know that sounds selfish, but if he wasn’t with her, we wouldn’t have the United States helping us. The president doesn’t care about some Russian girl. And I’m not sure any of this would be possible without their help. I definitely wouldn’t have access to the technology that we do without their help.