Chapter 97 Can’t Even Pee in Peace
❦ Rosalind ❦
Somehow, I knew he wasn’t beside me before I even opened my eyes. His absence was a pressing emptiness where warmth should have been.
I cracked one eyelid open to confirm it, frowning at the sight of cool, rumpled sheets. I grumbled as I rolled over and reached for my phone on the nightstand.
Ten a.m.
Seriously? He left me sleeping like a discarded doll?
Even if work had dragged him out early, the least he could’ve done was kiss me, or pull me close for one of those bone-deep cuddles that made the world feel less cruel.
But no. He had to pull this shit again.
Something was pulling him away from me. I felt it, like an invisible string between us stretched taut.
The hotel crossed my mind. Maybe he’d found out. But no, the Viktor I knew would’ve exploded and split the world into two just to throw it at my feet. He wasn’t one to swallow his rage quietly. I would’ve known.
I sighed, dragging myself to the shower, the hot spray chasing away the sleep but not the nagging thought that he was drifting out of reach.
When I tugged on my jogging clothes, my phone pinged. A quick swipe, and Dante’s name lit the screen.
Dante: Six hundred million liquidated for the auction.
My lips curved into a wry smile. “Good boy,” I murmured, my thumbs flying as I responded.
Me: Well done. Thank you.
I grinned Viktoriously, pun intended.
I’d have the hotel back in my pocket before Viktor even suspected a thing. And after I did, I would sit him down, look him in those gorgeous storm-gray eyes, and tell him the truth about what I wanted. About us.
Because I loved him. God, I loved him. And I knew that despite his walls and his shadows, he loved me back.
Why then couldn’t we stop circling each other like predators, stop trying to outwit and one-up one another and just… be? Just live, fight the world together, and let him give me what I craved most.
Unconditional access to that dick I was stupidly, shamelessly addicted to.
I walked downstairs expecting to see Adrian hunched over his laptop as usual, but the house was empty.
Viktor rarely allowed his capos near his fortress. I supposed it was fair. He carried a permanent target on his back. But his soldatos were loyal enough.
Speaking of soldatos.
“Signora,” Jacques greeted me when I reached the hall.
Always watching, that one.
My gut told me Viktor had assigned him to me personally, a silent shadow to make sure nothing touched me. Or to make sure I touched nothing.
I gave him a nod, feigning indifference even as the thought of Viktor’s possessiveness stirred butterflies in my chest.
With a sigh, I entered the kitchen and pulled together a protein pack.
After breakfast of oats and fruit that I ate more out of obligation than appetite, I laced my shoes and headed for the door.
As expected, Jacques was already there, falling into step behind me like a silent shadow.
Outside in the courtyard, a handful of men lingered across the grounds pretending to be casual, though their earpieces gleamed in the morning light, their weapons tucked under their jackets.
I stretched lazily, twisting my body just enough to catch Jacques watching me from the corner of his eye.
“Why does the house feel so empty today?” I asked, tilting my chin.
“Enza left for a grocery run. The Don is out on business.” His answer was clipped with a tone that suggested it was something I should’ve known.
“Ah,” I said simply, masking the stab of annoyance.
I turned away from his sharp gaze toward the gate, my muscles itching for movement.
Jacques followed me without question, but when he realized where I was headed, he cleared his throat.
“Jog within the premises,” he suggested.
I snorted. “I need fresh air. The entire compound reeks of your Don.” I said bitterly.
He didn’t reply. He simply trailed me, stopping when I stopped, moving when I moved.
After a while, my lungs burned, my thighs ached, and sweat stung my eyes. I slowed down, squatting to catch my breath, gasping against the pressure in my chest and the insistent urge in my bladder.
When I turned to glare at Jacques, the bastard wasn’t even sweating. His composure was infuriating and impressive.
I rolled my eyes. “Give me some privacy. I need to piss.”
His mouth twitched with disapproval. “It’s not advisable…”
“Unless you can magically transport us back to the house this second, I won’t survive the run.” My voice was sharper than I intended, but my patience was stretched thin.
I was annoyed at everything in the world at the moment.
I squinted at him. “Why the hell didn’t you bring a car?”
“I can call for one,” he replied, calm as ever.
“Then call. I’m not jogging back.” My breaths were harsh and ragged.
Maybe I wasn’t as fit as I wanted to believe, or maybe I was just bored. Either way, the novelty of running was gone.
Jacques finally lifted a hand to his earpiece, murmuring orders as he turned away. His back remained to me, giving me the barest privacy as I stumbled a few steps deeper into the bushes.
Branches and leaves scratched against my arms as I tugged my pants down.
The whole moment was ridiculous as hell.
Rosalind Marlow, heiress, queen, master schemer—reduced to squatting in the bush like a schoolgirl sneaking out to smoke.
The moment I squatted down and let go, a shudder rattled through me. I hadn’t realized how badly I’d needed to relieve myself until the first hot stream poured out. My eyes fluttered shut as the pressure eased, releasing a moan before I could stop it.
Snap.
My eyes flew open.
The sound was sharp and close, like a branch breaking underfoot.
Every muscle in my body seized. I clamped down mid pee, the ache nearly unbearable as I froze, listening. My gaze darted across the bushes.
Jacques still stood where I’d left him, a dark figure on the tarred road, his back still turned as he murmured into his earpiece. He was too to far to have made the sound.
My heart pounded against my ribs as I scanned the trees.
Nothing moved.
Biting down on my lip, I forced myself to finish, my eyes wide open this time.
I willed my body to hurry, the seconds dragging as though even my bladder conspired to betray me.
As soon as the last drop fell, I grabbed my water bottle and rinsed off quickly. My hands shook as I yanked my pants back up, fumbling with the waistband.
The low hum of an approaching engine reached my ears, and I sighed with relief.
The car. Finally.
I turned, ready to get back on the road…
and the world exploded.
Figures burst from the bushes, so close I could see the mud streaked across their camo-painted faces.
They were armed, fast, and silent as death.
I screamed.