Page 46 of The Way You Hurt Me

My jaw falls. "Doctor Palmer?"

How the hell is my shrink here?

She looks up to Dimitri. "This is a surprise."

"Willow had an experience tonight. I figured she may want to chat."

"Ah. I see. Well, I'm with one of the patients from Mishka's latest trip, but if you’ll give me ten, fifteen minutes?"

"Not a problem," Dimitri replies. "We'll be up in the lounge."

And then she's returning inside to her patient.

My mind is spinning as Dimitri leads us back the way we've come. "Doctor Palmer?" is all I manage to say.

He shrugs. "When Morgan mentioned you'd like to see someone, I recommended her. She's private. Nothing you ever say will make it out."

"Not even to you?"

He chuckles. "Especially not to me. She respects the women she helps."

We walk up to the first floor. The noise and busyness fade away as he closes the door of a warm, dark wood and red office. They must have excellent sound isolation.

I can barely make sense of everything I've seen the last few minutes.

Seated on a cozy armchair, I wordlessly take the tumbler he hands me, grateful for the warmth of the amber liquid, burning its way down my throat.

These people. Doctor Palmer. Doctor Matthews.

Only one thing is certain.

Dimitri Volkov isn't the man I thought he was. I was always attracted to the edge, the air of danger and control around him. From everything I've known, everything I've seen and heard, I realized that he was involved in businesses that weren't all entirely legal. But I never thought he could be a bad man. Dangerous, yes. Bad? Never.

Today I learned how mistaken I was. I thought he was not a monster. I never would have guessed he was a fucking saint.

"You pull people out of the sex trade and help them." And here I had been shocked about him helping puppies. This is next level.

"Don't make it sound like it's such a feat. Most will never integrate into regular society again. And a good half will keep selling their cunts and cocks, too."

"Will they be forced to do it?" I challenge, knowing the answer. "Will they be hurt?"

"Never under my care. But I still profit from having employees blindly, perpetually loyal to me."

"Because you've proven yourself worthy of blind, perpetual loyalty."

"And here you were, telling me how I couldn't stop you from showing your cunt online half an hour ago. What a change of heart," he teases, taking a seat opposite me. Then all humor leaves his expression. "I do apologize, by the way. I shouldn't have touched you tonight, right after you were attacked. I have a bit of a temper. You endangering yourself made me snap."

Because he understood a lot more than me what could have happened to me. God, I feel so fucking foolish for everything I've done so far. How do I even begin to explain it to myself, let alone to him?

"As Ruby Red Heart, I feel wanted. And I need that. I don't know how to get it otherwise." My eyes remain on my now half-empty drink.

"Do you know why I call you petal?" he asks after a long silence.

I shake my head.

"I didn't know your name; I can't say I remember every little girl introduced to me. But I remembered that look. The way your eyes would follow your sister. Follow Cam. And you'd blush whenever she was talking to any of her friends. Even to me.I called you petal then, because you made it clear you knew what lifestyle your sister had chosen."

I make a face. "I mean, doesn’t everyone know they fuck around? If it was a secret, they should make it less blatant."

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