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He plunks me down in a chair in the middle of the room, and with deliberate movements, secures me in the chair. At the feel of the restraints on me, I squirm, needing to get away. I don't like this. I feel utterly and completely vulnerable. I hate the feeling it gives me. I could handle this with reassurance from Maksym, but he gives me none, treating me like little more than a little rag doll, pliable in his grasp.
"Sit still," he orders when I squirm again. "You know what my instructions were and what awaits you if you disobey me."
And for some reason... for some weird, unfathomable reason... that reassures me.
I don't feel humiliated as I expected to. I feel oddly comforted.
Once again he stands in front of me. "Demyan will record this time," he says.
"I can do it," a man with a computer says, but Maksym shakes his head. "The last time you did this, you lost it," Maksym scolds. The man scowls, and Demyan stands with his phone.
"I'll do it," he says.
The man hangs his head, chastened, but I catch a glimpse of hate-filled eyes before he does. The look startles me so much, I want to tell Maksym, but I've been instructed to be quiet.
The video recording is much like the previous one. I sit with my back ramrod straight, not responding at all. If they want to summon my father and The Thieves, that's on them. Maksym repeats what he said that first night, challenging my father to come and give himself over.
He will never. He will try to kill them all first.
My heart beats a crazy beat in my chest at the thought of what Maksym is laying on the line. He's been tortured at the hands of my father before. He could end up right back there again.
Demyan finishes the recording and immediately sends it to Maksym.
"Sent it to you, brother," he says. "We're prepared for the aftermath of this."
They finish their business with me still secured to the chair, when finally, Maksym comes to me.
"We're done here," he says.
I have so many questions to ask him.
What will we do next? Who was the one who betrayed them? Will my father be baited with the video sent?
But as the room vacates, and Maksym removes my ties, taking me by the hand, one immediate question comes to mind.
Will I be rewarded for my obedience?Chapter 15Maksym
She's been a very good girl during the intense meeting I have with my brothers. She can't keep up with the pace nor dialect of our language, so I suppose she misses much. She doesn't know that both Filip and Vladak were party to the missing video. She doesn't know that they are brothers, and perhaps bear the same tattoos. It's more than coincidental that they insist on taking a second video and share a glance when Demyan takes it instead.
With her head bowed submissively, she doesn't know the way Vladak looks over her body with traitorous eyes, and that my first thought was how I would pluck those eyes out of his sockets to make him pay.
"Let's video the bitch," he says in Russian, and my fingers curl into fists, aching to break his jaw. Eager to make him bleed.
When the video is complete, I take her upstairs. I promised her a reward if she behaved, and she's been an angel.
My angel. The very special girl who came to me in my distress.
How could I let anything happen to her?
How could I have allowed myself to lose my temper?
I should spend the rest of my life dedicated to keeping her safe, happy, and secure.
But first, I need to end the threat against us.
I take her back upstairs. She'll be rewarded some privilege for her good behavior today. But when we get to the elevator, she's scowling down at the ground, her face drawn.
"What is it, Olena?" I ask, as the doors to the elevator open.
"I don't know what I did wrong," she says with a shrug. "You seem so angry. I did what you asked me to."
"You did," I confirm. "That was not a question."
She casts her eyes down. "Then why so angry?"
The elevator opens. I escort her in, but when the doors shut, I gather her in my arms.
"Come here," I tell her, speaking softly in her ear. "My anger is not directed at you, Olena."
Hell. It never was.
I promised her good behavior will be rewarded. But I can't allow myself to fall for her. I can't allow myself to become attached.
But damn, it’s too late.
We go up to the apartment, and I'm constantly on guard. I'm looking for someone in the hall, someone in the apartment when we arrive. But no one comes. It would be a fool who would risk such exposure so soon after our meeting.
