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By the next morning, Marco had changed his mind and instead took Mr. Fluffy outside after breakfast by himself.
He didn’t trust me, I knew that, but I was still bitterly disappointed and frustrated. I knew from what he’d said that the funerals of his dead soldiers were today, and I guessed that was probably souring his mood.
I wondered again how Jess was getting on and prayed that she was recovering. Whenever I thought back to the church, I felt worry and guilt churn up my insides as if it was somehow my fault that Jess got hurt—it had been at my wedding after all.
And I was her older sister and I had always looked out for her until that day—until I had been dragged away from her while she lay bleeding and unconscious on the floor.
***
The next couple of days followed the same routine. Marco and I slept in the same bed, but all my meals were in the bedroom and Marco would collect Mr. Fluffy twice a day for a run around in the gardens. I suspected that Danio and Debi might be involved in the dog walking.
Later that week, I was in a particularly irritable mood one evening. “I’ve been locked in this room for days now,” I griped.
“Well, you shouldn’t have tried to escape before,” responded Marco.
“You’re punishing me, is that it?”
“No, beautiful. You would know if I was punishing you.”
After a silence, he said, “You can come with me tomorrow when I take the dog for a walk after breakfast.”
“Really?” I asked eagerly.
“Yes.” He looked at me carefully. “But you have to give me something I want.”
I hesitated. “Like what?”
His eyes burned into me. “Like we take a shower together.”
CHAPTER 17
JULIANA
I didn’t say anything for a second, my mind whirring.
“That hardly seems like a fair exchange.” My voice sounded higher than normal, and I was having difficulty getting the words to come out.
“You asked for something that you want, to go outside, so I’m asking for something I want in return. That’s how this is going to work. You decide whether to agree or not.”
He waited for me to answer. I frowned slightly, trying to think. “Only a shower?”
“Only a shower. I won’t do anything you don’t want.”
“How do I know I can trust you?” I must have been crazy to even be considering this.
“Have I hurt you so far?”
“What, you mean apart from kidnapping me, locking me in this room and not letting me speak to my family?”
Marco narrowed his eyes. “If you had come willingly as per the contract you signed, those things wouldn’t have been necessary. I could have treated you a lot worse, especially after you tried to stab me and escape. I haven’t physically hurt you. But it’s your choice—I won’t force you.”
I considered what he had just said. I was probably doing a deal with the devil, but I had to get out of this room before I went completely crazy.
“Okay,” I whispered quietly.
MARCO
We looked at each other and when Juliana didn’t make a move toward the bathroom, I stepped slowly toward her. Her eyes were wide, and she looked like a deer caught in headlights. And I was her predator: the big bad wolf.
