To Hell with Russia — Erin Lee

The sequel novella to Erin Lee's From Russia, With LoveThey say life works in a full circle. Whoever 'they' are, they may be right. Ahha-Anna-Antipova, the little girl ditched with her brother on the side of a Russian highway at four years old, is now back on the streets. These days, Anna is sticking her thumb out for the next guy who will give her a ride and anything else she can sucker him for. I hear she's headed to Texas - a place she calls the state of opportunity. In truth, she's running to family number five, or six, if you count the quickie in the middle.For life to work in a circle, a lot goes on in between the edges. It's in these moments-the little ones-where the loop fills itself out; keeping the boundaries plump and bite-worthy. Anna certainly has a talent for that. At only nineteen years old, Anna has managed to run through five families. She's torn out hearts without ever looking back to see who she's hurt. For Anna, whom I'm now convinced is a real-life sociopath, it just doesn't matter. The only thing that matters, to Anna, is her. She's played one well-intentioned mother against the other with the same tune - a combination of woe is me and I just want to be loved. And they fall for it. We all do. I know I did, which brings me to part two of Anna's story...