"Because to him, allahrensmust pass Satan's test.”
“Ahren?” I query, recalling Nikolai calling me that.
My heart stops beating when Rico replies, “Ahrenis Russian for angel.”
Swallowing away the lump in my throat, I ask, “What doesCatahamean?”
My breathing shallows as I wait for Rico to reply. ConsideringCatahawas only used once in the nursery rhyme Nikolai sang, I'm fairly sure I know what it means, but I still want Rico to spell it out for me. The last thing I want to do is get myself worked up over a simple childish rhyme. I've got enough to handle with an unknown husband, barely escaping a murder attempt, mob-like activities, and unearthing my lost memories to add an immature threat into the mix.
Any chance of sweeping Nikolai’s taunt under the rug slips away from me when Rico says, “Catahais Satan, Kitten,” confirming my suspicion.
Everything blurs as the last part of the rhyme runs through my head:She danced with Satan, and now she's dead, all for lying in the devil's bed.
“Aren’t Satan and the devil the same person?”
Rico shakes his head. "Not in this rhyme. Satan sends his angel to the devil's bed to test her. If she fails, Satan cuts off her head.”
“How does the angel fail?”
He runs his index finger across his top brow, removing a bead of sweat that has formed there. “By sleeping with the devil.”
“Who’s the devil then?”
He shrugs his shoulders. “Whoever Satan decides to test his angel with.”
I sink deeper into my chair and give myself a few moments to work through all the new knowledge I’ve been bombarded with. Why would Nikolai request for me to call him Satan after calling me angel? It doesn’t make any sense. Unless he thinks I'm going to sleep with the devil? My pupils widen. Was that Nikolai’s way of warning me that I’m sleeping with the devil?
I turn my eyes to Rico. He's watching me with the same amount of tenderness his eyes were wearing when he comforted me in the plane hours ago. Even shrouded by a world of darkness, there's something in his eyes that tells me he isn’t the devil I need to be wary of. He's the man who saved me from the devil, not the one testing me.
“Nikolai called meahren.”
His jaw tightens, but he doesn't appear totally shocked by my admission. “Nikolai calls all beautiful womenahren,” he replies. Even with his composure not altering, his tone is low, exposing that my disclosure still agitated him.
“He also told me to call himCataha.”
Now Rico looks shocked. Actually, it's more like fury beaming out of him.
Removing his seatbelt, he slides across the small section of leather between us and gathers my hands in his. “Stay away from Nikolai, Kitten. Do you understand me?”
Although I could construe his words as aggressive, his eyes aren’t relaying that. All I can see is genuine concern.
Relief fills his eyes when I say, “I understand.”
The remainingten minutes of our trip is made in silence. Rico maintained hold of my hand the entire time. That said more than any words ever could.
A sense of dread washes over me when the six-car motorcade pulls into the ginormous mansion I fled from only a week ago. I truly thought my long walk of shame through this residence would be the last time I stepped foot onto this property.Oh, how wrong was I?
After opening the back passenger door and sliding out, Rico dips his torso back in to offer me a hand. A crackling of tension hangs thick in the air as we climb the stairs leading to the main entrance of the house. A tall gentleman with slicked back hair, cold blank eyes, and an evil smirk etched on his face is standing at the entranceway of the mansion. I can tell the instant Rico notices him as his grip on my hand tightens and an expressionless mask slips over his face.
“Maya, come,” Rico demands, his tone deep and brusque.
A young woman with long brown hair tied back in a ponytail peeks her head out from a gathering of women standing on our right. She bows her head to the ground at the gentleman standing at the entranceway before locking her dark eyes with Rico.
“Take Blaire into her room and get her settled,” Rico instructs her.
Dipping her head again, Maya waves her hand to the elegant staircase behind her.
I shift my eyes to Rico. “Are you not coming with me?”
