Page 77 of Cruel Knots

“Thanks,” I say gratefully. I’d been dreading walking barefeet out in the corridor again. Slipping on the slippers, I hurry after Lilja.

Unlike earlier, several men in black combat attires have appeared in the corridor outside. They’re all busy dragging the corpses and carrying them away. Another group mops up the blood and filth covering the floor.

“This way,” Lilja calls, guiding me away.

Reaching the ground floor, she navigates through a network of hallways, leading me to a different part of the manor. This remote corner remains untouched by the recent invasion.

Lilja slips through a pair of open doors at the end of the hallway. I walk in after her and find myself in a vast kitchen space. The place is so big, it even boasts a long, rectangular dining table in the corner with twelve chairs.

Modern amenities like a giant steel-door refrigerator and cooking hobs dot the old-fashioned kitchen. Flower-patterned curtains hang at the windows. Fire burns in a crate set against a nearby wall.

I move toward it, eager to warm my freezing hands while Lilja sinks into a chair at the dining table.

“You okay?” says a strange female voice.

An aged woman, probably in her early seventies, moves toward Lilja. Her hair is completely silver. A sunflower-patterned apron covers her pink dress.

“Hey, Dora,” Lilja says in a low, tired voice. “Can you get us something to drink?”

“Who’s this?” Dora asks instead, gazing at me.

“This is Lucia. She’s my guest and my brother’s captive. Whatever you do, do not let her out.”

I frown at Lilja.

“Stop pouting and get over here,” Lilja says, slapping the table.

“Is everything okay upstairs?” Dora asks as she bustles around the kitchen.

“They’re cleaning up now,” says Lilja. “There were nearly two hundred that attacked us tonight. We were completely unprepared, you know? Leon called to warn us just a minute before the attack began. Our dads are gonna be impressed when they hear what we accomplished tonight.”

Dads? Did she just say ‘dads’?

“You want some coffee, deary?” Dora asks her sweetly.

“Fuck you,” Lilja snaps. “Get me some Jack. And maybe something to eat too.”

The old lady doesn’t even react to the cursing. Instead, she continues rummaging in the fridge.

I take a seat beside Lilja, wary of her volatile mood.

Damien fed me earlier today but I’m ravenously hungry again. The battle left me feeling drained and exhausted. Not to mention the way we fucked back in my room...

Squeezing my eyes, I force myself to forget the memory.

The smell of toasting bread and frying bacon wafts into my nostrils.

My stomach groans, making me glance toward Lilja. She’s become quiet and is sitting with her shoulders hunched, her gaze lowered to the table.

“Are you okay?” I ask.

She turns her head to gaze at me. “I’m not sure,” she says. “I’m not even sure I should get close to you.”

“Why not?”

“Damien won’t allow me to become a part of this,” she says with a brooding look on her pretty face. “I know their revenge on Callum Baldwin’s a personal one. They don’t want me getting caught in the mess. Damien could be planning to send me away as we speak.”

“You’re the strongest girl I’ve ever met,” I say in a serious tone. “You can fight just as well as your brothers. You proved yourself tonight.”

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