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I just need to hold on for a couple more hours. We’re so close to finding her, and once I do, I’m going to make whoever is responsible for this pay greatly. I won’t make it easy on them, not in the slightest bit.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Eset
This room is all I’ve seen, and somehow Goran hasn’t put his hands on me… yet, but I know there will come a time when he either tries to rape me or harms me in some way. I’ve been trying to wrap my head around this situation, and I’m still baffled any of it happened in the first place. However, how am I supposed to come up with a plan to move forward if I stay stuck in the situation I’m in? I have to look forward to the future like I’ll be doing something tomorrow, or the day after, or even the day after that.
Goran has already given me a lot of useful information. He’s said that the ploy to go against my brothers and me is accurate and that there are people supporting our mother’s claim to be the leader of the Umarova family… but just like my father, she doesn’t even have one ounce of Umarova blood inside her. How these people can support these frauds is beyond me. I wouldn’t even feel comfortable if Nazyr or myself were to ever take anything over from Ruslan or Lom unless they had passed or there was no other choice. Sure, we changed our surnames to Umarova, but we still aren’t blood-related to them.
Heavy footsteps cause me to glance up, and a shadow fills the small sliver of light that comes in from under the door. “Miss Eset, are you hungry?” Goran calls from the other side.
“Starved, actually,” I state clear as day, realizing when I speak to Goran normally, he has a tendency to treat me better. If I change my attitude toward him in the slightest, I think that’s when he’s going to snap. I don’t have proof, but I’m not really looking to test that theory out. Who knows what he’ll do.
Goran begins unlocking the multiple deadbolts he has on the other side. The jangling of keys can be heard for a few moments until he twists the last lock out of its slot, then opens the door. “I need to confess something to you, Miss Eset, and I don’t think you’re going to be very happy about it.”
I raise both of my brows and look Goran up and down. “What the fuck did you do, Goran?” I question him as he leans down and gives me a plate of food. On the plate, I can see what appear to be sausage wieners, ketchup, and a couple of toasted pieces of rye bread from the scent that wafts in my nostrils. What kind of breakfast is this?
I take the plastic fork Goran provided me with, cut a piece off the hot dog-shaped thing, then dip it in the ketchup. “I’ve been doing my research, Miss Eset, and this is what the Czech call a ‘warm breakfast’. I don’t know why they eat warm sausages in the morning like this, but there must be a reason for it.”
I chew on the sausage, and when I swallow, I clear my throat and look right at him. “Goran, you said you need to confess something, and now you’re beating around the bush. What did you do?”
“I lied to you, Miss Eset.”
“You lied to me?” No shit, Sherlock. He’s been lying to me for some time, from the looks of things.
“Yes, I did. I told you I killed Meryem, but I didn’t. I wouldn’t hurt something that I knew was so important to you, so I had my colleagues come in and check on her while I was working for you. She’s here in this very same cottage. I don’t know why I told you she was dead. Maybe I wanted to see if it would get a rise out of you, to see if you would turn on me… but I have a better idea. I do want to know your thoughts before I tell you more.” Goran ends up taking a seat on the other end of the mattress pad and stares at me in an adoring manner.
It makes me physically nauseous that I had someone guarding me who is this insane, but I have to push those feelings back. I’m a survivor, and I’m going to get out of this situation if I stay strong and focused. Actually, I’m not solely going to get myself out of this situation. I’m going to get Meryem out of it, too, because I promised Kirill I would find her and keep her safe.
“Why would I ever lash out about something I could no longer control? It would be foolish of me, causing me unnecessary stress and anger. Was I happy about what you told me? No, I was furious, but I wasn’t going to show you any of that. You already knew you fucked up. Of that, I’m sure of.”
“Yes, Miss Eset, I knew I did, but it was fun for a moment to make you think the very thing you came looking for was lost.”
I cock a brow. “Do you enjoy playing games with me, Goran?”
He takes a moment and then shakes his head. “No, I do not. I wasn’t playing games. I was—”
“You were only playing games, Goran. Don’t be foolish, and don’t be dumb. You telling me Meryem was dead in the first place was an elaborate lie where you only sought to harm me emotionally. I’m not an idiot. I know exactly what you were fucking doing.” At this point, I can’t hold back the anger coursing through me, and Goran’s eyes widen with excitement with every heat-filled word I spew at him.
God, he’s enjoying this.
“She isn’t dead. She’s here, in another room like you’re in.”
“Speaking of that.” I pause and look around the small, cramped space. “This isn’t what I’m used to. It’s below me, honestly. We need to discuss a better-suited arrangement in the long term because, from what was stated, I’m naturally assuming we’re going to be here for quite a while. Am I correct in assuming that?”
Goran looks down at my plate. “Eat more food, Miss Eset, then I will let you know more of what you want.”
He’s trying to alter the power dynamic between us, but he doesn’t know I hold the power. It might not seem like it, but from the way we’ve been conversing, I know I have it within my grasp. “I’m going to eat, but it’s only because I’m hungry, not because you’ve told me to,” I state clearly, wanting him to understand he isn’t in control here.
I pick up a piece of toast and bite into it. There must be a small bit of butter or margarine spread across the bread because it has this light, sweet taste to it.
“This cottage is mine, so we will stay here for as long as we need to. I’ve been thinking things over, and I have a great idea of what we can do in the long run. You know about the ploy against your family, and you know that there are powerful people who want to see your mother in charge. I know who those people are, and after they believe they’ve won—I will take them out one by one until your mother is left scrambling, fearing for her life every day.”
“What will you do, then?” I ask the million-dollar question.
“Then we will get you in the seat where you belong. As someone with Umarova blood in their veins, it’s only your right to be there. Your mother has no place, but others don’t believe that. Others think she is who should be in charge, but it’s only because of her loyalty to Anzor. My plan with you is to deceive anyone who might question you after the fact. Most will be dead, but I’m sure a couple of people will pop up from out of the woodwork and ask the same question. At which point, we’ll tell them you were always loyal to your father and how you were a double agent.”
I’m sorry… did Goran just insinuate I have Umarova blood inside me? “Goran, I’m missing something here.”
