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I’m glad he did—with the stipulation that I take an extra bodyguard besides Vlad and that they know where I am at all times. It was an easy agreement to make, so I rushed to get ready for school. Thankfully, my class schedule today isn’t an early one.
Thirty minutes later, I’m riding in the back seat as my driver takes me to campus. Vlad and Igor sit wordlessly, one in the front passenger seat and one beside me. We pull up to the curb outside the biology building, and this time, when my guards step out, I’m not embarrassed to be chauffeured around campus. In the past, it would have bothered me. But today, I’m grateful for their presence, the sense of security they bring.
“Alina!”
Katie’s familiar squeal makes my heart skip a beat, and not in a good way. My nerves are still a bit frayed after everything, but a full night of restful sleep in Mishka’s arms went a long way to helping me start to heal.
“Hey, Kat,” I say warmly, giving her a smile as she flies into my arms.
“God, I’m so glad you’re okay,” she insists, her brunette messy bun bobbing on top of her head as her arms tighten around my shoulders. She hugs me fiercely, like she’s afraid I’m not real or something.
“I’m okay. I’m here,” I assure her, pulling back to meet her green eyes.
We spoke on the phone yesterday. My mom told me Katie was the one who called when I never reached her house the night I was taken. If she hadn’t reported me missing, I might have been out there far longer with no one looking for me. But though I’m safe, she’s clearly still upset over what happened and grateful to find me in one piece.
Katie’s eyes flick toward the two massive men standing several feet behind me, and she takes my hand as she guides me toward class. “So, how are you?” she asks gently. It’s that same tentative tone everyone’s been using with me, like I’m so fragile I might just shatter at any moment.
“I’m fine,” I insist, squaring my shoulders. I’ve put on enough makeup to do a decent cover-up of the bruise on my cheek, and I’m wearing long sleeves and a jacket so no one can see the bandages covering the rope burn on my wrists. “A little shaken up, but I’m not just going to curl into a ball and hide over what happened.”
My tone comes out harsher than I intended, and I know Katie can hear the fear and defiance behind it. She gives my hand a squeeze.
“You always were the brave one,” she says. “So, did you…?” Her eyes flick once again toward the guards following us, then her voice drops so they won’t be able to hear her. “Still want to talk about what we were going to discuss the other night?”
“Honestly, that would be really nice,” I confess, my shoulders relaxing as Katie falls back into a more comfortable, conversational tone. So many things have happened since I called her that it hardly feels like it will be the same discussion, but I do still need to speak with someone about what I saw in the basement.
“You want to come have a study session after school?” she offers, and the invitation is so normal, it makes me smile.
“That sounds perfect,” I agree.
Katie gives my hand one more squeeze, then releases me as we enter class together. My bodyguards get several sidelong glances as they settle into seats on either side of me and Katie, but the professor doesn’t say anything. My father has made enough major donations to the school that no one has ever questioned who comes to class with me. And while that usually makes me uncomfortable, today, I’m actually grateful.
Try as I might to have a normal day, I still find it rather challenging to focus. I’m jumpy, scatterbrained, and more than a little bit distracted. But I keep that all to myself, trying my best to hear what my professors have to say and ignore the waves of anxiety that sweep over me at the smallest things.
One of my classmates dropped a pen loudly behind me halfway through the day, and I nearly jumped out of my skin over the unexpected sound. And now when people glance my way or study me as we pass on the sidewalk, I get goosebumps that send a shiver down my spine.
It’ll get easier. That’s what I tell myself. Today is my first day back, and my brain needs time to register that I’m no longer in danger.
Still, by the end of the day, my heart feels like I’ve sprinted a marathon, and I’ve broken into a cold sweat more than a dozen times. I would love nothing better than to go home, take a hot shower, and curl up beneath my blankets to watch a chick flick.
But I’m also glad that I’ll finally get to talk to Katie. That needs to happen sooner rather than later because I have to make up my mind about Mishka and my father. I suspect my kidnapping put everything on hold for both of us, but now it’s time to face reality.
Katie offered to drive me from school so we could talk on the way. But for the first time, I’m inclined to follow my father’s instructions, so I ride with the guards to Katie’s house. In the past, I would have considered their presence a nuisance, but not today.
If I didn’t have something so sensitive to discuss with Katie, I might even have been tempted to let them come inside her apartment when we get there. But instead, I instruct them to stay in the hall by the front door, that I’ll call them if I need them for anything.
Then finally, Katie and I are alone in her apartment.
“Snack?” Katie offers—her signature go-to before we get down to studying.
“Definitely,” I agree. I follow her into the kitchen, and she gets to work cutting up some fruit.
“So, can we just dive right in? I’ve been insanely curious about what you wanted to talk about. It doesn’t have anything to do with why you were kidnapped, right?” Katie glances at me from the corner of her eye but keeps slicing.
“No—well, yes. Maybe, but not in the way you would think.” I frown, thinking about the connection Mishka made to the men in the basement.
Katie sets down her knife and turns to look at me full on, crossing her arms as her face takes on a you-can’t-just-say-something-like-that-and-not-explain-it expression. I laugh and plant my palms on the counter, boosting myself so I can sit while I talk.
“Let me just start from the beginning, and I’ll clarify once you have the whole picture,” I say.
