M I L A N A
I wake to the sound of running water, frowning. It makes no sense why Lyov would be showering alone. Ever since he kidnapped me a week ago, we’ve showered together every
single morning.
Then I remember how he was the evening before. He didn’t seem himself. I glance at the clock, sighing, as it’s a little before eleven in the morning. I feel terrible for oversleeping, but we haven’t had much sleep during the night lately.
There’s been an unspoken tension between us that seems to be increasing. We both know Lyov can’t keep me forever. We both know this can’t continue. My dad wouldn’t allow it, and neither would Lyov’s pakhan.
Although, the thought of returning to Miami and being forced to submit to my dad’s control again makes my stomach churn. The only positive of returning would be seeing my friends again. Kate, Alex, and Harriet probably think the guy I hooked up with murdered me.
I wonder what they are going through and if they’ve approached the police. My dad has enough contacts in the Miami PD to keep it under wraps.
I move to sit on the edge of the bed, wincing slightly.
Ever since we started fucking, I’ve been sore. It doesn’t help that the moment Lyov looks at me, the soreness turns to an aching need for him. I get out of bed, stretching my arms above my head and yawning.
I’m about to head out of the room when the ding of Lyov’s mobile phone catches my attention. I stare at it, wondering whether or not to check
it. After a moment of hesitation, I walk past the phone. It’s crazy, but I trust the man who kidnapped me—I don’t need to check his phone.
I enter the kitchen. Lyov got me to write a list of all my favorite food and stocked up the kitchen with it the day after we arrived. My favorite breakfast food is pancakes with maple syrup. I decide to get to work, making us both some.
I search the cupboards, looking for a mixing bowl. Anytime I’m not with Lyov, I have to keep myself occupied. Otherwise, I start to think about the reality of our situation. I know what we have between us can’t continue.
Here in this cabin with him, I’ve been happier than I have been my entire life. University was only a partial escape from my dad and that way of life, but he made sure he was never too far away.
For the first time in my life, I’m free of Pavel’s constant watch, and it feels exhilarating. Ironically, the man who was sent to capture me, freed me. Even though I don’t have a bodyguard, I feel safer than ever. Lyov makes me feel safe.
My life has been full of coldness and detachment from an early age. Ever since I was little, my dad has never cared for me or shown me any love. It hardened me to all emotions.
One week with Lyov, and I can feel him peeling back the layers and slowly melting my ice-cold heart. He makes me believe that I can love and that it’s not too late for me.
I grab the milk, eggs, and butter out of the fridge, placing them down by the side of the mixing bowl. When I moved out to live in student accommodation, I had to learn how to cook quickly. At my dad’s house, there was never any need since he pays a full-time cook.
I learned that I love to bake, and my friends love what I bake too. I even started getting orders for cakes from students in my class. It would be a dream to own a little patisserie someday.
When I told my dad I wanted to bake for a living, he laughed in my face. He said my only job would be to service whatever brotherhood member he forces me to marry—in other words, whichever one will pay the most for me. He said that to my face as if I’m a damn whore.
A bang in the bedroom startles me, and I spin around. My brow furrows as I hear Lyov swearing and then his footsteps stomping out toward the kitchen.
“Is everything—” I stop short when I see Lyov’s face.
He is standing in the entryway to the kitchen with fire in his eyes. A rage so intense it scares me with one —a look that reminds me so much of my father when he snaps.
“Did you read my messages?” He holds up his phone.
My brow furrows, and I shake my head. “No, I came straight out here to make us some breakfast.”
He charges forward. “Don’t lie to me,” he growls.
I stumble backward into the counter, knocking the bowl of batter onto the floor. “Oh, look what you’ve made me do.” I bend down to grab the broken dish. Before I can grab it, Lyov captures my hair and yanks me around to face him.
“Lyov, let go of me,” I shout, trying to writhe away from him. This is ridiculous. “I didn’t read your fucking messages.”
He yanks me even harder, and my heart rate stills as he grabs a knife from the kitchen counter. His eyes mist over, and pure rage etches onto his face. This isn’t the same man I’ve spent the past week getting to know. He is well and truly gone. I haven’t seen this side to him.
“Lyov,” I mutter, trying to soften my voice in an attempt to stop him.
He brings the cold metal of the knife up to my throat, staring at me like a man possessed. “Did you read them?” he asks again.
I shake my head. “No, I told you I didn’t.” A lump forms in my throat as tears cloud my vision. I can’t understand why he’s acting like this.
His eyes are glazed over as he stares at me. I swallow hard, feeling the metal nick my skin as I do. A drop of blood trickles down my throat and onto my chest.
His eyes follow it. It’s as if the blood breaks him from his rage-filled daze. He lets go of me, and I stumble backward. My knees shake from pure terror and give way as I crumple to the floor. I stare in shock at Lyov, who keeps his back turned to me.
His back rises and falls with deep and heavy breaths, keeping his head bowed. He walks toward the door, saying nothing. All I can do is watch as he opens it and leaves the cabin.
I flinch as he slams it hard behind him, making the cabin shake with the force. The turn of the key in the lock makes my stomach sink.
Ever since we started sleeping together, he has left the door unlocked when he goes to get supplies. He’s right not to trust me to stay after the way he just treated me.
He just showed me some of his true colors. He is a brutal man who can’t control his anger. That’s the last thing I want from a man I care for—my dad and brother were bad enough. Perhaps all men are the same because the men I know can’t control their anger.
I let out a shaky breath, remaining on the floor. My head rests on the soft, wool rug beneath me. Lyov’s lash out and uncontrollable rage serves as a painful reminder of the kind of man I’ve got myself involved with.
Tears prickle at my eyes as I recall the look in his eyes. There’s a darkness inside of him—darkness I shouldn’t have got entangled with, but I couldn’t help it. There was such a strong connection between us that neither of us could deny.
I can’t explain why he draws me to him, but this is the proof I need that it was a mistake. I need to get away from him. We are bad for each other, and he’s dangerous. Next time he flips, I might not be so lucky. It would have taken one swipe of his wrist, and he could have killed me.
As the tears fall down my cheeks, I force myself up to my feet. I press my hand to the small cut at my throat, swallowing hard at the thought of how much worse it could have been.
This is enough to break the spell Lyov has had over me. He has blinded me by the way he makes me feel, but his actions prove he doesn’t care for me the way I care for him.
Lyov is too broken. A man lost trying to find his way. I don’t intend to be collateral damage, no matter how much I care for him.
I walk toward the window of the cabin, gazing out at the man I’ve been sleeping with these past seven days. He sits in the driver’s seat with his head in his hands. A burning ignites in my chest as I wonder if he even regrets the way he just treated me.
He glances up, and our eyes meet. I dodge out of the way, feeling the breath stolen from my lungs from one glimpse of those ice-cold blue eyes. The roar of the van’s engine outside sends a wave of relief through me.
I can’t face him now or ever—not after what happened. He will be gone for a while if his other trips are anything to go by. I turn my attention back to the cabin and know what I have to do. Hopefully, the window in the bedroom is still unlocked and the perfect escape route.
I dash for the bedroom and rush toward the window, trying the catch. The panic clears the moment it flips over. I force the window open, and the cold air gusts through the cabin.
By the time he returns, I intend to be long gone. We may be in the middle of nowhere, but I can’t stay here. I refuse to accept that this is my fate. It will hurt to cut him loose after what we’ve been through, but I won’t be collateral damage. It’s not worth dying next time he snaps.