“SIZE SIX?” ANITA’S gaze scans me from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.
“Yeah.” Her long legs go on forever. I don’t like how she looked at Nicholai.
She’s sizing me up, so I don’t shy away, and I do the same to her. Is this who is dating The Handler?
We both have questions, but I remember what Nicholai told me about him doing most of the talking. These people might be helping us, but I have to remember that they’re still dangerous people.
Anita opens a door into a large room with a four-poster bed. My gaze immediately moves to the ceiling. No mirror. The room is beautifully decorated with high quality and dark furnishings.
“You can stay in this room.” She pushes open a door that leads into a bathroom. “Bathroom,” she tells me and smiles.
“I’ll get you some clothes, kitten.”
I don’t like the endearment, but I force a smile. “Thank you.”
Once she leaves, I enter the bathroom. A large bath that could hold a few people dominates the room.
Anita returns and I enter the bedroom. She places the clothes on a trunk at the base of the bed.
“Anything else I can get you, kitten?” She’s smiling sweetly, but all my senses are telling me this woman is dangerous.
“No, thanks. I might just get some rest. “
She doesn’t leave immediately, and I force a smile. “Thanks, once again.”
She finally leaves me alone, and I lie down on the bed. My mind decides to conjure the image of the man’s hand clad in a silver band. Two bullet holes in his forehead have me tightening my eyes. Is someone waiting for him at home?
I sit up and rub my eyes, trying to push the image away. A shiver assaults my body, and I have no idea if it’s the cold or the idea of being surrounded by unfamiliar things. I want Nicholai here with me. I want to lie in his arms and fall asleep. My stomach twists when I picture him. I miss him. Frowning, I get up off the bed. I shouldn’t miss a man like The Collector. I think I have gone beyond pretending that I don’t have feelings for Nicholai. I’m falling for him hard and fast.
My cheeks burn. What kind of person does that make me? To fall for someone who just kills on a whim? Who takes husbands from wives? I grew up in the middle of the Bratva, but I didn’t see the violence. I heard the stories from Eric, but to me, it was just that—stories. It wasn’t until I entered the mill that the horror of what we were really came true.
I leave the bedroom and try to push my dark thoughts away as I run the shower and strip off, but they don’t leave me. I’m back in that cell. Liddi’s screams pierce me all the way down to my soul. I should have stopped Oleg. I should have saved her. I was such a coward.
I escape the shower and towel myself off. I can’t think. I don’t want to. The clothes Anita left out for me are all tight. I sigh but pull on the black leggings and a red string top. They don’t leave anything to the imagination, but they’re clean.
I run my fingers through my hair before climbing into bed. I know I need sleep. My eyes burn with tiredness, but it’s hard in a foreign place. I tell myself that Nicholai won’t let any harm come to me. So far, he’s kept me safe; he’s running because of me. Or maybe that’s what I’ve told myself, that Nicholai is running because of me. He could be running because of Gail. What did he do to her? Take someone she loved?
I sit up in the bed. Sleep won’t come, and I don’t want to be alone with my thoughts. Leaving the bedroom, my footsteps are silenced from the carpet that cushions my bare feet. I catch myself in a full-length mirror at the end of the hall. I tug the top away from me, but once I release the red fabric, it clings right back to my skin. Grabbing my blonde hair, I pull it over my shoulder. My bruises are fading fast. I look away from the mirror as I continue down the stairs. My gaze collides with Anita’s.
“Thought I heard you moving, kitten.”
“Where’s Nicholai?” Calling him The Collector was on the tip of my tongue.
“My clothes look good on you.”
I pull the top again. “They’re a little tight.”
Anita flashes me a smile. “They are this way.” She flicks long curly locks behind her shoulder.
I feel small and childlike compared to Anita. She has curves, and any man would stop to look at her.
She opens a set of glass doors, and the steam from the pool room instantly touches my skin. A pool runs the full length of the room. Lucca is in it, and I can’t stop staring at his body, which is just as heavily coated in tattoos as Nicholai’s.
Nicholai sits on a chair close to the pool. He has removed his jacket and tie and opened the top two buttons of his shirt. His dark eyes zoom up to mine, and I pause in my stride as his gaze roams across my body. I continue to follow Anita, and Lucca watches me as closely as Nicholai does. Each step is nervous until I reach them. Now I have no idea what to say.
“I couldn’t sleep,” I blurt out to Nicholai and just focus on him and no one else.
His smile is soft, and he drags a chair over beside him. Relief swims through me at the invitation to sit beside him. I take it up quickly and drag my legs up into the chair. Lucca’s gaze is heavy on me, but I keep my focus on Nicholai.
Nicholai startles me when he reaches across and wraps his hand around mine.
“Are you staying with us long?” Anita asks Nicholai, dragging everyone’s attention to her.
“He can stay as long as he wants.”
It’s the first time I’ve heard a serious undertone to Lucca’s voice. I watch him as he stares at Anita.
“I’m only asking,” Anita retorts, and Lucca’s gaze swings around to us, catching my eye.
“You can stay as long as you want.” He’s speaking to me, and I can feel my cheeks heat.
“Thank you, Lucca.”
His smile lights up his silver eyes. “You’re welcome, Mila.” He grins at Nicholai before diving under the water and disappearing. He reappears at the end of the pool, pulls himself out of the water, and leaves the pool room.
My attention returns to Anita, who smiles at me before she turns and walks slowly along the pool. She sways her hips more now, and I glance at Nicholai, expecting him to be watching Anita. My heart beats fast as my gaze clashes with his dark eyes.
“Are you okay?” His concern has me smiling.
“I am now,” I answer honestly, and he tightens his hand on mine.