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“You’re lucky, young lady,” he tells me seriously. “A few inches more and it would have pierced your spleen.”
I snort. Rather unladylike but I couldn’t find it in myself to care. “I’ll be sure to pass that along to the man who shot me.”
“Thanks, Eric.” Adrian clears his throat and the doctor, who looks as if he is about to say something snarky to me, closes his mouth. He bobs his head a few times as he stows away his equipment and beckons his creepy assistant out of the room.
Our gazes meet, and again it feels as if I know him somehow. Have I met him somewhere before? If I have, I can’t place where it was. After Ada’s unfortunate death six years ago, my father had me under lock and key. Every freedom I had worked so hard to gain was gone in an instant.
“Anton,” Adrian narrows his eyes at his second in command. Without any further instruction, Anton shoots his boss a knowing smile and strides from the room, closing the door softly behind him.
Leaving me alone with the devil himself.
Five
Iswallow past the lump in my throat, my tongue coming out to wet my bottom lip. The simple move catches Adrian’s attention and his eyes drift.
“I’m surprised you saved me.”
A flash of annoyance streams across his face. “Would you rather I let you die?” he mocks. “Say the word, Vanya, and I’ll end you right now.”
“That’s—that’s not what I meant,” I stutter. A beat of silence hangs in the air between us before I utter, “Thank you. For saving my life.”
He chuckles mirthlessly. “Don’t thank me yet, little mouse,” he tells me. “There’s still a chance I could kill you. But before I make my decision—tell me what happened.”
There’s a beating drum in my chest when he demands that I tell him what had transpired. It’s knocking against my rib cage, pounding faster and faster till I think it’ll burst through. Ice seizes my lungs, making it hard to breathe, as flashes of the night keep coming back to me.
“They’re all dead,” I whisper. “I woke to my grandfather’s scream. He was screaming my name and telling me to run.”
“How did you escape?” There is no missing the suspicion coating his words. Does he think I am some kind of spy or assassin sent to gain his trust and kill him? “Tell me, Vanya. How did an untrained mafia princess escape a highly trained hitman when no one else did?”
My jaw trembles, the lump in my throat growing bigger as tears gather behind my eyes. I can feel the wetness on my lashes, but I learned a long time ago to control my tears. Crying is a weakness. A vulnerability. One I will not give this monster. He’s already seen enough of my vulnerability. He can’t have this.
“I hid,” I admit shamefully. “I slipped behind one of the paintings my grandfather designed to be a hiding place. They’re just big enough for someone to crouch in. Fits one person. I hid there until the man dragged my grandfather down the hallway. He said he poisoned him. That soon he’d choke on his own blood and be in pain for hours and I would have to listen. He said if I came out he’d make it a quick death and wouldn’t let him suffer…” I let my voice trail.
Adrian scoffs. “And you believed him.”
I drag in a breath. “I did believe him. Not that it mattered. He did make it quick. In fact, he killed him before I even agreed to anything. Cut his throat to make it sound like he was suffering.” Flashes of my grandfather’s slit throat press against my mind. Bile rises up my throat. I falter over my words, and for a second, I’m not able to go on. I can still hear my father’s cries, begging for his life. I can’t remember hearing any gunshots besides the one that tore through my side. I can see all the faces of the bodies I encountered on my way to the hidden door. Their eyes had been wide open, lying in a pool of their own blood.
“What happened next?” Cold and unfeeling. The bastard. I had witnessed my entire family being murdered and he couldn’t dredge up an ounce of sadness or pity? Maybe some compassion? We’d never been close when he was married to Ada. I think he saw me as more of an annoying little sister than her best friend. She was a few years older than me, but that never mattered, even as a child. I’ve always been older than my age. In my family, innocence and naivety died young.
Too young.
I had tried to protect Ada from my world, but by the time I’d learned the truth it was already too late. My family’s dark proclivities had already sunk their claws in too deep. I’d been relieved when she’d met Adrian. I thought she was too innocent for him. I’d been wrong and that cost me everything.
“Vanya.” Adrian snaps my train of thought. Shaking my head, I inhale deeply before letting it out. The action was grounding.
“We have a secret passage that runs beneath the house. I managed to catch the man off guard just long enough to make a mad dash for the entrance,” I recount. “Somewhere along the way, he shot me.”
“He didn’t follow you through the passage?” Another note of suspicion vibrates off his tone. I shake my head.
“There is an interior lock,” I say. “Once it’s locked, the only way you can unlock it is with a passcode from inside the house or manually from inside the tunnel.”
He nods his head, his mouth pursing slightly as he takes that in.
“Then you came straight here?”
I shrug a shoulder. “I think so… Everything is a bit blurry.” He doesn’t say anything, just stares at me for longer than is comfortable before nodding his head as if he decided something important.
“You came to me.” It’s not a question. “You think I’ll protect you.” Again, not a question. He knows why I’m here. We both do. He is the only one who can protect me. If he isn’t the one trying to kill me. Then again, he probably would have just let me bleed to death if that was the case.
