Page 59 of Stolen By the Bratva King

He briefly lifts his hands off the wheel. “Don’t take this the wrong way. I was staying at your condo after you got arrested. You know that already, so I could keep an eye on things while you were inside. She’s the one who came tome. She knocked on the door. I didn’t invite her over, but she looked so sad and desperate. She didn’t seem afraid of me, maybe just a little wary. I decided to let her inside because it seemed like she really wanted to talk.”

I narrow my eyes. “Talk about what?”

“Youof course.”

“What about me?” My shoulders form a straight rod.

“She wanted to know how to get in touch with you. Then she said she wanted to stay with me at the condo. I gave her the bedroom. I took the couch.She’sthe one who decided to crash the place. I decided to stay there because she seemed a little paranoid.”

“Didsheask you to stay?”

A muscle in Vlad’s jaw jumps. He stares at the road. “She told me she wouldn’t mind it, as long as I gave her space, which, I can assure you, I respected.”

I grit my teeth. “You definitely should have told me.”

Vlad looks at me again. “She’s crazy about you, David. She won’t stop talking and fretting and worrying about you.”

“Then where is she?” I snarl. “If she cares so much, why didn’t she come with you to pick me up?”

Vlad sighs and rubs his jaw. “It’s complicated.”

I swivel and give him a hard look.

He gulps. “I swear, David, nothing happened between us. I insisted she go home, she insisted she stay. You can ask her yourself. She’s at the condo right now.”

I take a moment to process what David’s telling me. My brain is going a million miles an hour.

“Drive faster,” I growl.

“Wow,” Vlad chuckles. “You really are hard up for her, huh?”

“You need to learn the art of thinking before you speak,” I snap.

“I’m doomed either way,” he says.

“Yeah, you and me both.”

“You’ll get your answers, boss, I promise,” Vlad reassures.

“Yeah, well, I’ve been locked up for a month. Sorry if I’m a little irritable.”

“You’re allowed to be.”

“Don’t patronize me,” I snap.

Vlad looks at me. “I promise you, that’s not my motive. I didn’t do anything with her, didn’t try anything. I respected her boundaries. She misses you. Trust me.”

I still can’t understand why she would want to stay at my house, but Vlad assures me I’ll know soon enough.

Does she miss me? Is she too afraid to stay at her own apartment by herself?

“Did something happen?” When Vlad gives me a confused glance, I add, “I mean, did she say she was scared to stay at her place? Did someone from Oleg’s crew try to hurt her?”

“She didn’t mention anything like that.” The way he says it makes me wonder if there’s something he’s leaving out, but I don’t press him, because I’m getting frustrated, and I don’t want to take it out on him.

“Besides what she saw at the warehouse?” I ask.

Vlad nods. “I think that’s what prompted her to go to your condo in the first place.”

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