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I walk up to her and take her hand in mine, giving it a slight squeeze. “Yeah. I needed Danill to go with Nal to handle something. I picked you up since Danill wasn’t with you, and I wanted to see you. I feel terrible for how I spoke to you, Amelia. You were right. You don’t deserve to be spoken to like that. I was angry, and I took my anger out on you, which isn’t acceptable. I only hope you can forgive me for it.”
Amelia smiles softly. “You know, after the sixth orgasm last night, I think I forgave you. But it’s nice to hear you actually say you’re sorry. I wanted to talk to you about it, so I’m glad you brought it up.”
I stop in my tracks and pull Amelia against me. All I want is to have my arms around her and know she’s safe. I kiss the top of her head and tug her hand along with me. “Come, I have a surprise for you.”
Amelia and I get into the elevator, and within a few minutes, the doors open to our suite. Her breath’s taken away when she steps foot into the room. It looks straight out of a hotel ad for a romantic weekend getaway. Roses, candles, chilled sparkling wine. I’d do anything for this woman. I’d burn down the entire world if she asked me to. Though, sometimes I wonder if she realizes how savage I’d become for her.
“Ruslan, this is beautiful.”
“Not as beautiful as you, malen'kiy krolik. I do have another present for you.”
Amelia raises both of her brows. “Oh? What kind of present?”
“The firm I hired to look into your identity theft called me this evening. They found the location of the person who was behind it all.”
Amelia’s eyes go wide. “What? Really? Where?” She seems almost excited to hear this.
“Yes. Your apartment,” as soon as I tell her it was her own place, her excited expression shifts to shock and fear.
“That means Carter did this.” Amelia swallows and runs as fast as she can to the closest bathroom. It’s right off the living room, and she drops to her knees. In no time, she’s vomiting in the toilet, and I’m grabbing her hair and holding it, so she doesn’t get any vomit in it.
“We got him, Amelia. This is good. We know it was him.” I try to reassure her, but I have no idea what sort of things are running through her mind right now.
I hand Amelia a washcloth, and she wipes her mouth. She looks at me with disgust in her eyes, and as soon as she speaks, I feel so sorry for her. “I trusted him, and he violated me in the most horrific of ways.”
Chapter Fifteen
Amelia
I’m leaning over the porcelain throne, trying to keep myself from throwing up any more than I already have. My head pounds, and my stomach’s rolling in the worst way possible.
Carter’s responsible for my identity theft.
I know Ruslan didn’t lie to me. He would never lie to me about something like this. Still, my mouth’s fallen open, and I’m completely perplexed. But why shouldn’t I be? Carter took advantage of me, sure. I think I knew it back when I was dating him, but I didn’t have any clue just how much he was doing it. He’s solely responsible for all the hell I’ve been through the last year. I even vented to him, cried in front of him, and screamed at the world when I was with him. All those emotionally charged, frustrating outbursts where I kept asking why it was happening to me, and he told me people target others. He said it just happened, and it happened to millions of people, but he said over time, everything would be okay again. He was probably laughing at me when I walked away, smiling because he was the man responsible for it all.
God, it makes me so sick. Another bout of nausea comes coursing through me, and I don’t know what I’m going to do. Ruslan’s sitting on the bathroom floor next to me, still holding my hair. “I’m sorry to tell you this way, but I knew you’d want to know what happened.”
I give him a curt nod but shake my head in disbelief. How could I not have noticed? How could I not have realized he was the one behind it all? I feel so idiotic. The man had access to all my private information. He knew where my lock box was with my birth certificate, social security card, and passport. I even have all my bank information in that lockbox. Whatever he needed to get, he could. He could’ve picked the lock on the box for all I know, or maybe he even had an extra key made. There are so many things running through my mind right now, things I should’ve paid more attention to when I was with him.
“Stop that,” Ruslan speaks out of nowhere, and I look into his dark eyes.
“Stop what, Ruslan?” I ask him, my exhaustion and stress showing in my voice.
“Overthinking. I see it on your face. You’re blaming yourself right now, aren’t you?” It never ceases to amaze me how Ruslan knows exactly what I’m thinking. Not all of the time, but there’s a good portion where it’s like he has a mind-reading device.
“How can’t I? I let him into my apartment. I let him into my life… and look what he did, Ruslan. He fucked it all up. He’s the reason I’ve been so stressed. I don’t expect you to understand it because you have money. You could make this go away with the snap of your fingers, but I can’t. I’m not well off like you are. I’m a regular woman who’s busting my ass to try and get this all sorted. Identity theft isn’t something that’ll just come right off your credit. It takes a while, and if I’m lucky, it might be expunged from my credit within the next couple of years. No one will let me get a credit card, open a bank account, or even apply for a loan. If anyone does a background check on me, I won’t get approved for an apartment, job, or whatever it is. That’s how badly identity theft screws you.”
Ruslan lets go of my hair and gently rubs my back. I know he’s trying to think of what he can say to make me feel better, but he’s not going to be able to make me feel better. This is my life, as pathetic and fucked up as it is right now. If it weren’t for him, I might never have found out Carter did this.
Tears well in my eyes and slowly cascade down my cheeks. As much as I try, I can’t hold them back. I’m both sad at finding this out and grateful for Ruslan being in my life. He might not have come in under the best circumstances, but he’s already making such a positive impact on my life.
“You aren’t in this alone. We found out who did it, and I’m going to make him pay. I will do that for you.” Ruslan stares into my eyes, and I know he’s trying to reassure me.
I let out a soft laugh and keep eye contact with him. “You’d do anything for me, Ruslan, and I know it.”
Ruslan wraps his arm around me and pulls me into his lap. He presses a chaste kiss on the top of my head. “You have no idea how important you are to me, do you?” Ruslan’s question comes out of nowhere.
I glance up at him, and he simply stares into my eyes, but the air is different now. It isn’t thick, but it isn’t as still as it was a few moments ago. Suddenly, heat comes over me, and I’m rendered speechless.
