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“Come with me.” I look at her, the command plain in my voice. “I think a more thorough tour of the house is in order.”
I’ll at leastshowher the possibilities of what could come. She can make her own choices from there.
She hesitates briefly, and for a moment I think I’m going to have to drag her up out of the chair and march her where I want her to go. But after that brief moment, she stands up, as elegantly as a queen, and looks directly at me.
“Well? Show me where you want me to go.”
I gesture for her to go first–I’m not about to let her be behind me for any number of reasons–guiding her towards the staircase on the right-hand side of the front door that leads down to the basement. I can feel her tension, and it excites me more than a little.
You have no idea what could be in store for you.
And then, just as I’m about to nudge her forward, I see something strange.
An envelope, lying on the floor after clearly having been pushed through the mail slot in the front door, although I can’t think why anyone would have the address to what is essentially one of Vladimir’s safe houses.
A warning alarm goes off in the back of my head as I step away from Natalia, keeping one eye on her in case she gets it into her head to bolt as I reach for the envelope. It’s thin, as if there’s very little in it, but I feel a small weight at the bottom.
When I turn it over, there’s no name. No address. A blank envelope.
Something is wrong here.My first thought is to throw it away without opening it. There could be something harmful inside, some kind of poison, although I can’t imagine who outside of the Syndicate would know I’m here, or why anyone from that organization would want to harm me. It hasn’t been long enough for Vladimir to grow impatient.
And then I glance over at Natalia and see the flicker of fear on her face, as if the envelope reminds her of something, and I know I have no choice but to open it. If it has something to do with her, then I need to know what it is.
Quickly, I rip it open, and I don’t miss the small flinch that I see out of the corner of my eye when I do. I can feel her watching as I open it, tipping it to one side so that whatever object is inside falls out.
When I see it, it makes no sense at first.
It’s a thin gold chain, a necklace, with a gold charm of a ballet shoe dangling from it, a small diamond embedded into the toe. I turn towards Natalia, holding it up, and I can see that she’s gone paler than before.
I flick it into my palm, clasping my hand around it, watching her reactions carefully. I can see that she’s trying to stifle them, trying to stop me from seeing any emotion on her face, but I’ve learned to read her well. I know it means something to her.
With my other hand, I fish out the folded paper inside, letting the envelope drift to the floor. Inside, in heavy, bold handwriting, is a short note.
I thought you might like this gift from home.
I am watching you.
I know where you are.
I will come for you.
He can’t keep you forever.
A sudden, irrational rage boils up in me, so fierce and overwhelming that there’s nothing I can do to hold it back, even if I’d wanted to. The letter, the gift–they’re for Natalia. I know they are. I have a sudden image of her with another man, of her touching him, kissing him, dancing for him and making conversation with him, and the fury that it rouses in me is almost a living thing, palpable and uncontrollable.
I lunge for her, and she shies away from me, but I’m quick too. I grab for her, and my hand closes around her throat as I push her backwards against the stairs, her back slamming into the staircase as she gasps for breath, reaching up to claw at my hand.
“What the fuck isthis?” I hiss, holding up the note for her to read. I see her eyes scanning it frantically, welling with frightened tears, and when I’m sure that she’s seen what it says, I crumple the note in my fist, throwing it angrily to the floor before I dangle the necklace from my fingers in front of her face, letting it sway back and forth. “And what about this,suka?”
She shakes her head, her throat convulsing under my hand, and I give her just enough space to breathe, loosening my grip a little. Tears are welling in her eyes as they flick towards the necklace, and I can tell it means something to her, even if she’s trying very hard to make me think that it doesn’t.
“Tell me,” I growl, my voice low and threatening. “Do you have a lover looking out for you? Is this a gift from another man?”
Natalia’s eyes go wide. “No, that’s not it–I–”
“If there was ever a time for you to not lie to me, this is it,” I warn her, letting her hear the black thread of fury winding through my words. “If there is another man, and you lie about it–”
“There’snot,” she wheezes, shaking her head. “I swear.”
