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“I found Madison staggering in the dark. When she told me where she’d come from, I knew she had to speak with Arsen.”
I nod. Mila’s horrific past is only bearable because there is a distance between her and the tragedy. But Madison? Her trauma is fresh. Whatever hell she escaped still haunts her.
Arsen informed me that the business had been brought back to life. But there’s a world of difference between knowing about the business and seeing the terrible scars that it leaves behind in person.
“Come on,” I urge, motioning down the hall. “Let’s go talk to him.”
Madison manages something close to a smile.
As we walk, I drop beside Mila, letting her lead the way.
Mila shoots me a quick glance. “You don’t have to be a part of this.”
“Yes,” I say solemnly, “I do.”
Arsen is waiting for us in his office. The lack of surprise in his eyes tells me Mila let him know ahead of time that she was coming and who she was bringing. He surveys all three of us, lingering on me with a look I can’t discern.
Finally, he focuses on Madison. “You know who I am?”
She swallows. “Yes.”
“Why are you here?”
His gruffness leaves me confused. I try to catch his eye, but he ignores me. Mila, though, seems to be on the verge of speaking up. Her lips are pressed into a line so taut it could snap.
Madison trembles as she rubs her elbows through her coat. She can’t be cold. It’s not possible.
Arsen is the source of her shaking.
I glare harder at him. He still ignores me. Madison says in a reedy voice, “I need protection.”
“From Yevgeniy?” he asks.
“He’s going to look for me,” she whispers, sounding miserable. “He told all of us that escaping was pointless. If we tried, he’d drag us back and beat us until we couldn’t move. Then he’d kill us.” She covers her mouth like she’s going to throw up. “I saw him do it to another girl. I know he isn’t lying.”
“Yes,” Arsen muses in a growl. “But I wonder if you are.”
Mila steps forward, ready to challenge him. “There are no lies here. I believe her.”
He holds her in an emotionless gaze. “That’s not for you to decide, Mila.”
She scowls as she flicks her eyes meaningfully at Madison. “There could be other girls like her.”
“Which is why I need you out there,” he says flatly. “In case there are more.”
The gears in her head begin to turn. She’s placated by this suggestion, but her voice comes out strained and clipped as she heads for the door. “Remember what I went through.”
It’s crystal clear what she’s trying to say.
Treat the poor girl with kindness.
Someone has to.
I’m glad that Mila has taken such a big-sister position with Madison. I know Arsen respects Mila deeply. I’m sure he’ll keep her trauma in mind while talking with Madison.
Or that’s what I think until the door shuts and he squares up with the frail blonde girl.
Looming over her, his face a mass of shadows from how hooded his brows are, he talks in a tone above reproach.
