Page 27 of Savage Warrior

“Where did you come ashore in Britain?”

I’m sobbing quietly by the time I’m done. It was harrowing to relive it all, but I do feel an odd sense of relief to have told someone. Anyone. And this man seems… sympathetic. And, he believes me, I think.

He reaches across the table to take my hand. “Arina, apart from the injuries I’ve seen, did they hurt you in any other way?”

“I’m not sure…”

“Did they rape you, Arina?”

My eyes are locked on his. The slate grey softens to a smudgier smoky shade. I begin to relax.

“No.” I shake my head. “I thought they would. I was so scared…”

He smiles and squeezes my fingers between his. “I’m glad. And you did well. To survive, and to manage to escape.”

“There were others who got away as well. I don’t know where any of them got to…”

“My guess is that the gang are frantically trying to round them up. Apart from the money they stand to lose, there’s the question of witnesses. They won’t want any of you talking to the police.”

“I know. That poor police officer…”

“True, but they won’t care only about that. It’ll be more about the potential loss of their lucrative trade. We can assume they had a sale lined up, potential customers waiting. And their valuable merchandise is currently scattered all over the Highlands. Not good for business.” His brow furrows, but he smiles at me. It’s the first time he has, and it transforms his features. Softens them. Handsome becomes devastating.

If I ever described a man as beautiful, it would be him. Now, in this moment.

And I don’t even know his name.

“Who are you?” I blurt.

“?tefan Romanescu.”

“?tefan…”

“Most people call me Rome.”

“You are British?” I ask tentatively.

“Yes, but half Polish.”

“That’s why you speak my language?”

“My Russian isn’t that good. Passable, like your English.”

“I see,” I murmur.

“So, Arina, do you have a plan of any sort?”

I nod emphatically. “I need to go home. To Lida. To my family.”

“This is the brother and sister you told me about?”

“Yes. Our parents are dead. There’s only me, and they need me to come home.”

“Okay. So…?”

“I need to get to an airport, catch a plane home.”

“Right…”

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