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“Don’t provoke me, Ekaterina.”
I didn’t like being threatened, no matter how much fear I felt. “Or what? You’ll break into my home—again? You’ll put cameras in every corner—again?”
“Drop the fucking attitude before I fuck it out of you.”
That was when I listened to the voice of reason and hung up—immediately. He called twice after that, but I shut off my phone. I tried to resume my evening, but my hands were shaking, and no amount of good books was going to help me calm down.
It was twisted, the thoughts that managed to squeeze themselves into my brain. I’d never been in a situation even remotely similar to this one, and it was eating me alive trying to predict his next move before I made mine.
He didn’t want to help me? Well, a deviant plan flashed behind my eyes. But I couldn’t do it alone, so the first thing I did in the morning was contact Xenia again, to extract the information I couldn’t be bothered with a while ago.
I was curious about what was going to happen when Davorin’s hand was forced.
How would he react when there was nothing else to do but help me? I knew for a fact he would be angry beyond belief once the realization dawned upon him.
And it was a scene I couldn’t wait to play out.
If there was anything I hated more than tardiness, it was people getting in my way.
There was a signing today in my favorite bookstore. It was usually a quiet place, with only a few people, and a great book selection, but I hadn’t been aware of the event or I’d have changed my plans.
I was itching to find a new thriller to read, though today, it seemed next to impossible to get through the mass of people crowding it. There could only have been about fifty, but the place wasn’t all that big. It took every bit of self-restraint not to turn back around and give up on my mission.
A lot of cussing and yelling followed me as I pushed my way through, but once people realized I had no interest in meeting the author and wasn’t cutting in line, they slowly stopped talking.
It was a fantasy novel signing. I could read pretty much anything, from thrillers and horrors to erotica and romance, but fantasy books were too tiring. The idea of reading five hundred pages, filled with world building, only to be left on a poorly executed cliffhanger had never appealed to me.
As soon as I was through the mass of people, I made it to the relevant area quickly. Since there wasn’t a specific book I was looking for, I took my time looking through the shelves, fishing for good books I’d never heard of.
The loud people in the background ticked me off though. If I had a bomb on me right now, I’d definitely set it off. It was a bookstore, not a goddamn playground.
To top it all off, I’d underestimated the weather today. It had seemed like it would be a lot warmer than the previous week and I’d dressed accordingly, only to be proved wrong as soon as it was inconvenient to turn around and go home again.
I reached for a book and pulled it out. It was calledA World of Curiosities, and the synopsis intrigued me. It was more of a mystery than a thriller, but I didn’t mind—anything would be good enough to take my mind off the issue at hand.
Davorin.
I found it especially irritating that I didn’t know what he looked like. Anything could’ve been underneath the mask, and I was desperate to know who he was. He didn’t seem like the type to reveal that though, and I knew that if given the chance, I’d need to snatch the mask off to put my curious heart to rest.
I realized then what was bothering me the most though. It wasn’t that he was stalking me—I could’ve dealt with that easily. It was the fact he was constantly on my mind. Why had he chosen me? Why had he gone out of his way to insert himself into my life after that awful night?
I was broken out of those dangerous thoughts when my phone buzzed. I fished it out of my back pocket and furrowed my eyebrows at the unknown number. I’d received a text message, which I opened immediately.
It was a picture of me. Taken a moment ago, whilst I was reading the description of the book.
Another text followed suit.
You look good enough to eat.
Chills spread all over my body as I turned around. At least fifteen men in the bookstore matched his height and weight. They were all dressed in coats or jackets, so I was unable to look for Davorin’s tattoos, to identify him.
Another message came.
You’re looking in the wrong places, little lion.
I shut the phone off.
A few minutes passed, and all I did was try to remain calm. After a lot of deep breaths, I took the book, paid for it, and left as quickly as possible. There was a red lightbulb flashing above my head, warning me how dangerous it was to be on my own.
