Page 35 of His Tesoro

“And get information about who took them and what they saw,” Matteo added gruffly.

Dr. Amato shot him a disapproving look before turning back to me. “I’ll go see if they’re alright with seeing you.”

I waited outside the door while Dr. Amato went in.

Matteo moved close to my side. “You alright to do this?” he asked.

I looked up at him with a frown. “Yes, I’m fine. Are you okay?”

He scoffed. “I’m always okay.”

I just hummed. He seemed tense, but I had no idea why.

Dr. Amato came out of the room. “I think they understood enough to agree for you to talk with them. Why don’t we give it a try?”

I gave her a smile as she opened the door for me. The room had a large window and two beds, but both girls were huddled together on one of them. They looked to be close to mine and Mila’s ages, and just like the two of us, one was blonde and the other had brown hair. Their eyes were wide and haunted as they took me in.

“Hello, my name is Sofiya,” I said softly in Russian. “Can you understand me?”

The girls held each other closer but said nothing.

“I’m sure it doesn’t feel that way, but I promise you’re safe here. I will make sure of it.” It wasn’t really in my power to make that promise, but I trusted Dr. Amato.

I awkwardly looked around the room, unsure of what to do. I moved over to a small bookcase and picked up a romance book I recognized.

“This is a really good one,” I said, feeling stupid as I held it up to them. “I don’t know if there’s a Russian translation, but I can look into it if you want. That is, if you like reading romance. My sister and I got pretty hooked on it.” I put the book back on the shelf. “Or maybe Russian isn’t the right language?”

“We understand you,” the brown-haired girl whispered. She cleared her throat and then repeated it, her voice stronger this time.

My heart sped up. “It’s so nice to meet you,” I said. “Are you sisters?”

They both nodded. “I’m Katya and this is Stasya,” the brown-haired girl said. Her sister curled into her side, resting her head on her shoulder. My chest clenched as I thought of Mila and me doing the same.

“Did someone hurt you?” Stasya asked, speaking for the first time.

I cocked my head to the side. “What do you mean?”

She gestured to my wheelchair.

“Oh no. I was born with…” I trailed off, realizing I didn’t know how to translate Ehlers-Danlos. “Well, a medical condition that makes it hard for me to walk sometimes.”

She nodded, her shoulders relaxing slightly at my answer. “Do you know the men who brought us here?” she asked.

I nodded. “One of them is my husband, Matteo.” Saying husband out loud made it feel more real.

“He gave us candy because I said I liked chocolate,” she said softly. She pulled out a large paper bag from behind her and tipped it to show me—it was absolutely bulging with candy bars. “Do you want one?”

I was about to refuse, but then my stomach growled. Breakfast felt like ages ago. “I’d love one, thank you.” I wheeled forward so I could grab my favorite chocolate caramel bar.

I hummed as I took a bite. “How old are you two?”

“I’m nineteen,” Katya said. “Stasya is seventeen.”

I swallowed hard and pinched my thigh to keep from crying. “Could you tell me what happened to you?” When the two of them stayed silent, I added, “Please, I only want to help.”

Katya stroked her sister’s hair. I was sure they would refuse to talk to me. I was a stranger. They had no reason to trust me. But then Katya started speaking.

“There was a man back home.” She blinked quickly, and Stasya clenched her hand tight. “He said he could get us jobs in America. Our parents died a few years ago, and we didn’t have a lot of opportunities in our town. So we said yes. He brought us to Boston.”

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