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“I’m done. Thank you.”
“You promised, Ms. Sloane.” He was so polite. “You don’t want me to get hurt, do you?”
Goddammit!
The spoon came near, and I opened my mouth again. I swallowed quickly, breathing deeply through my nose until my tummy settled. It tasted funny. Something I couldn’t put my finger on. Perhaps the pain medicine left a coating on my tongue. It seemed bitter like that.
“How long have you been here?”
I watched as his eyes shuttered. “Mr. Petrov brought me here when he moved.”
That tidbit didn’t tell me much of anything. Before I could grill him more, he shoved the spoon in my opened mouth.
Swallowing with a grimace, I focused on Roman rather than my protesting stomach. “Where are you from?”
“The city.”
He was tough, but I was stubborn too.
Another spoonful. Another gulp. Another question.
“Where are your parents?”
“Dead.”
On and on, we played. Soup. Spoon. Swallow. Solicit.
“Did he force you here?”
“No.”
“Why don’t you leave?”
“I don’t want to.”
“I don’t get it. He’s a dangerous man. Why would you stay?”
It was then I saw Roman lose his temper for the first time since we started this.
“Have you ever had to sleep in the cold, late at night, on the hard ground with no place to go and no food in your stomach, Ms. Sloane?”
My eyes widened in surprise. While, yes, I actually had done those things before, it was not something I had to manage while I was a minor. I had a decent childhood as far as provisions went. I had food and a warm place to sleep. It was only in my adulthood that the MC made sure to keep me in relative poverty.
It was in that mindset that I fibbed and shook my head. My problems were my own. He was a kid who shouldn’t need to provide for himself the way an adult would. He should be taken care of.
“Then you wouldn’t understand.” He shoved a straw between my lips. “Drink.”
Roman’s command didn’t feel like Alexie’s. Not yet. It didn’t have as much power or hold as much danger. But I could foresee the hard man he would become, should he stay with his so-called employer. Someone who could command a room with just one look. Someone who wouldn’t need to yell to be heard. He had…presence.
The thought of this kid under Alexie’s tutelage was terrifying. What kind of monster would he be when he grew up? I didn’t think the world could handle it.
“I have to go to the bathroom.” I tightened my sheet and moved to get off the bed, but my stomach sloshed with soup. Heaving, I slapped a hand over my mouth, using my palm to seal my lips, and swallowed back the rising vomit. I was already regretting eating as much as I had. The room swam and I collapsed back to where I had been on the bed. Darkness danced around the edges of my vision.
“I’m going to get Mr. Petrov.” Roman scrambled out of the room before I could stop him.
Abandoning the weight of the sheet this time, I forced myself to get on my feet, using sheer will to move my weakened limps. They were so heavy.
I had the urge to rush, but my body refused to listen. Only a couple steps toward the bathroom, and I couldn’t hold it in anymore. I collapsed onto my knees. Projectile vomit spewed out of my mouth and nose, soiling the floor. I tipped to the side and curled into a ball.
