AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He shook his head, throwing back his shot, and put his hands on my shoulders. “All that matters is that you are OK. That Juliet is OK. We’ll talk in the morning.”
“I need to tell you something. Something I didn’t tell the police.”
His jaw clenched, his whole body tensing. “What is it, Nova?”
“When they had us in that room, it was dark. We could barely make each other out. And they didn’t speak a lot, but I heard them once through the door. I heard a name.” My eyes didn’t leave his, his hands digging into my shoulders with more force than a moment ago. “I heard the name Kaviathin. They said it more than once. Do you know who that is?”
His whole face went completely blank. Not one ounce of emotion was there. He shook his head. “No, never heard that name in my life.”
You son of a bitch.“Are you sure? You’re positive you don’t know anyone named Kaviathin?” I said his name again, hoping to provoke Ryzen, but it wasn’t working. Whatever emotion I’d thought I would elicit from him was tucked away deep inside and it was not going to rear its ugly head tonight.
“I’m sure.” He clenched his jaw and let out a deep breath. “Why didn’t you tell the police, Nova?” He was the one watching me now, looking for something that I wasn’t going to give him.
I sniffled and wrapped my arms around him, hiding my face in his chest. “I was too scared.”
He patted my back, not saying anything for a moment. “Get some rest, and we’ll talk more in the morning. Do you want me to stay with you in your room?”
My head felt like it might explode, and I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment. “Can you stay on the couch?” I tried to smile, but I knew it came off as flat. “To make sure we’re safe,” I choked out, wanting to grab the bottle of bourbon and bash it over his head.
“Of course.” He rubbed his thumb over my cheek. I shuddered involuntarily, but he probably thought it was from pleasure. “Don’t worry. I’m here to protect you, Nova.” His lips brushed against my cheek, and I made a mental note to scrub there rigorously before bed.
Yeah. That’s the problem.You’rehere. Not Cian.
But not for long.
Chapter Seven
Day 7
I woke to the sound of someone cooking, the smell of bacon in the air. I had slept like absolute shit, tossing and turning all night long. At one point, Ryzen had opened the bedroom door and checked in on me. I actually found it kind of creepy because I had no idea if he was doing it out of concern or to do something harmful to me. I suspected the latter, but it was probably just paranoia.
It was a new day. A day to make wiser choices and not fuck things up and cause chaos. Which was too bad. Footsteps came down the hall, and I flipped over so my back was facing the door.
“Nova, honey, I’ve got breakfast,” Ryzen called out, then swung the door open. “Nova?”
I scrunched my nose up and sighed.Here we go.
I flipped over and smiled. “Hi,” I said softly. “Be right out.”
He stood in the doorway, shirtless with an apron on and a spatula in his hand. “I made pancakes.” He grinned. “Juliet left early this morning back home, so it’s just us two.” He walked back towards the kitchen, not bothering to shut the door behind him.
There was no use delaying the inevitable. I grabbed the white silk robe from the end of the bed and did a quick check in the bathroom to make sure I looked somewhat presentable, which was quite laughable considering the giant scrape on my forehead and numerous bruises covering my body.
When I got to the kitchen, Ryzen flipped a pancake and stacked them up high on a plate, along with eggs, bacon, and fresh fruit. His smile was spread from ear to ear as he walked over to the high-top table and set them down in front of me. OK, so apparently he was Prince Charming this morning.
“How did you sleep? I hope well?” He cupped my cheek in his hand, and I tried to smile.
“I slept as could be expected after the last few days. Thanks for breakfast, you didn’t have to do that.” I picked up a pancake and nibbled. “And you?”
He took off his apron and sat down next to me, his arm brushing against mine. Not sure why he thought he didn’t need to wear a shirt, but I wasn’t all that surprised. I made sure he was looking at me when I glanced at his muscular arms and bare chest, then widened my eyes when he “caught” me looking.
Nova La Roux: Actress of the Year. I was surprised I was able to pull this off so well even though the need to cause him some bodily harm was rushing through me.
I stuffed a pancake in my mouth, doing my best impression of virginal embarrassment, and he chuckled. It was an act. A paid performance. And my payment was a get-out-of-jail-free card if I could pull this off. I just had to think of myself as an actress, that was all. More Stepford Wife and less psycho killer. I could do this. I was a badass and ready to take him down.
“Ryzen, I have a lot of questions. I’m confused why the police didn’t know I had been kidnapped. Why didn’t you tell anybody?”
He visibly tensed next to me. I didn’t think he’d been expecting me to be so blunt. He laid down his fork and turned towards me. “It’s complicated.” He grabbed my hands in his.
