"I can't let you get away," the older woman whispered, her voice shaking. "He'll have my head. Please. I can't."
Kira pressed the sharpened edge of the brush harder against the soft skin of her throat, drawing a frightened whimper from her.
"Listen to me very carefully," Kira said, her voice low and cold. "I'm not playing games. If you don't comply, I'll kill you and escape anyway. So, choose wisely. Do you want to be a dead body on the floor while I walk out the front door, or do you want to live and just watch me leave?"
The woman trembled in her grip, her breath coming fast and shallow. For a long moment, she said nothing. Then she exhaled, slow and defeated, and reached down to her waist. With shaking fingers, she untied the small ring of keys fastened there and slowly raised it up where Kira could see.
"Good," Kira said. "Now raise your hands above your head."
The woman obeyed at once.
"Turn around. Slowly."
