Chapter 133

Vladimir:

I knew that I was playing with fire with what I was doing, but I also knew that I caught the woman’s attention.

Her eyes were fixed on my extended hand for a few seconds before she allowed herself to extend hers to shake mine. And I couldn’t help the small smile that formed on my lips as I felt a spark coursing through my veins. 

Her eyes studied my expression before she pulled her hand away, and I nodded, watching as she took a sip of her tea. 

“Do you spend your whole day in this room?” I asked, and she looked around the room for a second before she nodded. “Don’t you go out?”

She shook her head in response before nodding at the window. I looked at it and she got up from the edge of the bed, making me smile as I watched her walk toward it. She put the cup of tea on the table, and she stood in front of it, crossing her arms over her chest before looking at me and walking toward the bed again. 

“You stand like that when you want to look out the window?” I asked, and she nodded. “Do you not miss going out? You know, feeling the breeze on your face? Sunlight maybe?” 

She looked down at her lap and it didn’t take me long to realize that she might not even be allowed to go out in the first place. Her heart raced, and she wrapped her arm around herself, massaging it gently. 

“Doesn’t he allow you to go out?” I asked, and for the first time during the night, I saw anger in the woman’s eyes. Elena seemed to be angry with my question, and I didn’t know whether it was because I asked it or because it opened a scar that she might have not wanted to talk about. 

She shook her head and crossed her arms in the shape of an X then pointed at herself. “He locked you here?”

She nodded, and I frowned, clenching my fist as I tried containing my own annoyance at the fact. I didn’t know how she felt, but I could tell that she wasn’t happy about it. And I couldn’t blame her, to be locked within four walls was not something that I would do to a woman like herself. I didn’t even understand why he chose to do so. She seemed far too young to have done something to offend him personally and if she was his wife, I didn’t know why he would need to treat her like that.

“Why did you agree to marry him?” I asked, taking the woman off guard. She scoffed in response, and I frowned in confusion at her reaction. “You didn’t?”

She shook her head and I saw anger in her beautiful brown eyes. Her brown hair, being left in its normal curls, draped over her back and shoulders as she chewed the inside of her mouth, and I nodded. 

“Are you a slave here?” I asked, and the woman looked up at me. Her eyes met mine and I waited for her response. This was not something that neither Killian and I allowed, it was our fathers who stopped such acts when it came to the Russian Bratva, and being part of our alliance, especially as my mother’s brother, even Konstantin should have known to follow such rules. But it didn’t take me long to look at the woman to realize that things might be more corrupted here than we knew. “Were you sold in an auction?”

She shook her head in response and I nodded in understanding. “Did he kidnap you?”

She looked down at her lap, and I frowned. 

“Is your family alive? Are they looking for you?” I asked, and she nodded then shook her head, making me frown at her response. She kept her eyes on me for a second, and I watched as she got up from her bed before the door knob took us off guard. Her eyes widened in surprise, and I nodded in assurance before walking behind the door just as it opened, revealing Batrov as he walked inside. 

He looked at the two cups of tea for a second, and I slipped out of the door before he saw me, standing close as to hear what he was talking to her about.

“Do you have someone inside?” He asked. I could hear him opening the closet and then closing it before my eyes caught sight of Claire. She shook her head in question and I walked toward her, watching as she looked at Elena’s open bedroom door. “Who was inside this room? And why do you have two cups here?”

The anger that I heard in Batrov’s voice told me that he wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her, and the thing was, IF he did, wasn’t going to be merciful to him. The woman was still my mate and though I knew that I was going to have to deal with him, I knew that I was going to have to be patient. The last thing that I needed or wanted was to draw more attention to myself than I had.

“I want you to go inside and tell him that you brought the two cups.” I said, and she frowned. 

“What?” She asked, frowning in confusion. “You went inside…?”

I closed the woman’s mouth, and she shook her head at me.

“You could get her killed!” She whisper shouted as I heard Batrov asking the same question again.

“Then go and fucking help.” I said, and her heart raced. “Tell him that I sent you to bring the tea to me and you went to take something from here before then. You just went to put it back before coming.” 

“I can get hurt…”

“I will cover for you,” I said, stopping her. “Go,”

Her heart raced and I watched as she rushed toward the room, and I couldn’t help but frown as I glared at the door for a second too long before hearing her speak. “I am so sorry, I was loading the washing machine and it slipped my mind to take the tea to Mr. Vladimir.” 

“What?” Batrov asked, his tone filled with surprise as he heard what Claire just said. 

“It is Thursday, Mr. Batrov. We normally wash the sheets and change them. Mr. Vladimir asked me to bring tea with me, but when I remembered the day, I had to go and clean the sheets. I left the tea here to come back to it, my apologies…” 

“What is going on here?” I asked, entering the room. I looked at Claire and shook my head in question. “I’ve been waiting for you for the past twenty minutes, and I doubt that it takes that long to prepare tea.”

Batrov looked at Elena for a second, and the man closed his eyes as he took a deep breath. “The tea is yours?”

“Was,” I said, glaring at the man. “I doubt that I am going to be drinking cold tea, would I?” 

“I will go and prepare a new…”

“Wait for me in the room and ignore the tea.” I said, stopping Claire. She nodded and picked up the tray, and I watched as she rushed out of the room. Batrov looked at her for a second as my eyes met Elena’s, her eyes thanking me, and turning my attention to Batrov, he looked down at his feet. 

“My apologies for the misunderstanding.” He said, looking at Elena. “You know, she is my responsibility when boss is not around and I tend to ensure that nothing goes out of his rules.”

“And yet, with whatever fuss you made, you had me busy with where the fuck my tea went, didn’t you?” I asked, glaring at the man. He went to respond but I turned to the door before he could. My eyes met Claire’s and she shook her head at me as I winked at her. I nodded at her to go to the room just as I heard Batrov saying.

“I am sorry, Elena, I didn’t mean to scare you.” His voice was filled with regret and I scoffed as I walked away from the door.

Apologize all you want, Batrov. I am going to be sure that you swallow that tongue of yours before you dare to think of raising your voice at my woman ever again…