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“Yes, but what about once I get out? I don’t even own anything for him to take from me.”
“Don’t worry about it yet, but I’m required to inform you of what’s going on. If there are any further developments, I’ll keep you posted.”
Her brow pitched. “Well fuck him. I don’t need him.”
I grinned at her outburst. She looked ready to scream, and I couldn’t blame her. Family had a way of always fucking you up.
“I’m sorry, Katerina.”
“It’s okay. I shouldn’t have expected anything else from him.”
“I’ll call again soon, Katerina. Stay strong.”
And there it was—she was going to keep hanging around. Fucking great!
The line went dead, leaving a heavy silence in its wake. Kat’s face paled further, her hands trembling in her lap. She kept blinking to push away her tears, and seeing her struggle left my chest stinging. I hated the idea of seeing her in agony. A fierce rush of anger surged through me.
“It’s okay to be angry. What your stepdad is doing is fucked up.”
She jerked her head up, wiping a loose tear. “Are you allowed to say that?”
“Absolutely. Cursing doesn’t violate any commandment.”
The edges of her mouth curled into a smile, yet the growing agony in her gaze was difficult to ignore. I’d read her file and knew the ins and outs of her shitty situation. It made me furious that the man who was supposed to protect her was causing her this much pain.
“He’s always despised me, ever since he married my mom and even after she passed away when I was a kid. The only reason he didn’t dump me was because my mom’s will stated that in order to inherit her wealth, he needed to look after me until I finished university.”
The anguish in Katerina’s expression was heartbreaking. It resonated within me, igniting a pain I had long tried to bury. She stared at me as if expecting me to offer a solution to her problems. Me, a broken man, was the last person who could offer her anything.
Instead, I shared something from my past, hoping it would help her feel less alone.
“When I was a bit younger than you, I left my family. It took me years to figure out that my family was entangled in organized crime. One day, I saw something I shouldn’t have. My father perceived my fear as weakness. He wanted me to prove that I was worthy as his son by shooting one of our guards who had betrayed him.”
“Oh, crap.” She leaned in closer, captivated by my words. I couldn’t fathom why I had shared my darkest past with her. I hated my family, despised the time I’d lived on the streets because of them and got involved with gangs to survive. I wanted her to know that everyone hit low points at some point.
“What did you do?” she asked.
“I was faced with two choices—shoot the man and join them or risk everything to escape and start a new life on my own.”
“You better have chosen the latter.” She nibbled on her lush lower lip, making me wonder what she tasted like.
“I wouldn’t be here if I hadn’t.” I grinned, wanting to laugh at the irony—if only she knew the truth. “Sometimes your family might not be the best people, and that’s okay. Family isn’t just about blood ties. It’s about those who genuinely care about you, those who would do anything to protect you. That’s what a true family is.”
She stared at me, her eyes a vibrant green speckled with gold that sparkled under the light.
“I really like that. It gives me hope. It sucks that you went through all of that, but I guess it led to you finding peace with God.”
We stared at each other, neither of us speaking, and I swear I heard a challenge in her words. Did she suspect we were lying about who we were?
When she got to her feet, my gaze lowered to her chest, and that primal hunger inside me growled.
“Before you leave,” I said, lifting my attention to her pretty face. “I have a computer set up in the library for your college studies. You can access your classes and resources there. The PC has been locked to other sites, but you should find all the resources you need in the library, including course texts that are being shipped to us. I would spend some time familiarizing yourself with how to use the program to download lectures and classes.”
“Thanks, sounds good.” She nodded eagerly, telling me she enjoyed studying.
“This,”—I handed her a sheet of paper—“is your schedule at the institute. Classes, study time in the library, and cleaning duties like everyone else. We all participate to keep this place going.”
As she scanned the schedule, I allowed myself the luxury of studying her. Up close, she was a lot more breathtaking than from across the room.
