Page 25 of The Bratva's Hostage

Chapter 12 - Elena

I sat down to a lunch of crepes with chicken and mushrooms as I contemplated my next course of action.

After my conversation with Maksim, or lack of one on my part, he jumped into the shower and left me to my own vices, stating that he had a lot of work to do.

I forked the stuffed crepes into my mouth, moaning as the sauce hit my tongue. I didn’t have anything for breakfast, choosing instead to stay in the room in case he expected me to have breakfast with him.

I couldn’t tell if the food tasted so good because I was hungry, or if the housekeeper was just exceptionally good at her job. The crepes were about to be my favorite meal.

That’ll be the only good thing about this place.

My eyes gravitated to the housekeeper. Is she spying on me? She’d been in the kitchen all this while, busying herself with so many different activities and yet, I couldn’t shake off the feeling that she had her eyes on me. I was paranoid, but I had no one here but myself. I couldn’t trust anyone. I was their enemy just as much as they were mine.

She shut off the tap and wiped her hands on the dishcloth before walking past. My eyes remained focused on her until she was out of sight, and I heard doors open and shut until I could no longer hear her heavyset footsteps.

I looked around the room quickly. Who knew how much time I had before she returned or someone else was sent to watch me? My eyes scanned every area of the room until I was satisfied that there was no CCTV secretly spying on my every move.

I settled back into my chair, a bit surprised. I never would have allowed him into my home without taking any safety precautions. My thoughts filled me with suspicion once again. Were there tiny cameras hidden in various places to lure me into a false sense of security as he waited for me to slip up and give him the information he wanted?

I probably looked foolish to him if he was indeed watching me. With a groan, I gave up. I had no other choice than to believe that I was wrong, or else I would forever be paranoid and would never manage to get anything done.

I slipped the small device that I hid in my pocket and swiftly slipped it into my ear, pretending to simply rest my head on my hand. Back straight, I looked around once more, taking another bite of my crepes before connecting with Uncle Lucas.

“Elena are you alright?” he asked, his concern seeping through the device. “I waited all night for you to contact me and was worried when you didn’t.”

I blushed, allowing my hair to fall over my face even though he couldn’t see me. Memories of last night returned to me, my body moving in sync with Maksim’s. I never would have imagined sex could be so intense and more satisfying than whatever pleasure my fingers could offer.

“Elena? Have I lost you?” his voice broke through my thoughts.

“Oh…uh, well, I couldn’t speak with you last night because he is tracking my phone, and I couldn’t risk Maksim walking in and finding this device on me. It was a good idea to bring it with me, it’s so small that he would never suspect that I have it, and I can communicate with you here without worrying about him finding out.”

I looked around the room once again, worried that I had summoned him by calling his name. Satisfied that I was alone, I returned to my conversation with my uncle.

“That’s good. So, what do you plan to do now?” he asked me.

My brows furrowed in confusion at his question. “It’s the same as always, my plans haven’t changed. I must find Marco’s killer as soon as possible. I need to wait for a good opportunity so I can go ahead and carry out my plan.”

“Good. Remember, you cannot trust him. No matter how good he treats you, he will only be doing so to get you to let your guard down before he strikes. Never be comfortable with the enemy.”

“I know that, especially not with this. Marco’s killer is a member of the Bratva, one of his own. I might be his wife, but I will never be one of them. He will always choose to protect his men.”

My jaw ticked wildly. When he asked me what I wanted in his office the night he caught me, I hesitated. A part of me wanted to believe that the man who was so attentive to me the night before would be sensitive to my plight, but I had quickly shaken it off.

I was not that naive to believe that just because we were married, we would automatically begin to live as a normal married couple. There was nothing normal about our union. Ours was a business arrangement and I would never delude myself into thinking it could ever be anything more than that.

There was only one goal I had in mind and that was to find Marco’s killer and avenge him. Whatever happened after that, I was willing to accept it as my fate.

“Be careful, Elena. These people are dangerous, and you do not have us there to protect you if anything goes wrong.”

I smiled at the concern in his voice. “Don’t worry, I’ll be careful.”

“That’s better. If anything happened to you, I wouldn’t know how to explain it to your father when he wakes up.”

I tensed up at his words. All day, I had tried hard not to think of my father lying unconscious in the hospital, worried that if I did, I wouldn’t be able to go on with what I had in mind.

Will he be disappointed when he wakes up and finds that I’m married to the enemy? Will he ever wake up?

These questions lingered at the tip of my tongue. I ached to ask them and receive reassurance from my uncle that my father would be fine but there was nothing he could do for him either, and I didn’t want to put him in that position.

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