Page 34 of Sinful Scars

If only she knew the power she has over me.

Shame floods my body as I look at Elle’s peaceful face, the evidence of my release coating my hand.

Silently grabbing the box of tissues off of her bedside table, I quickly clean myself up and shove my cock back into my pants.

Before I can make another reckless decision, I get to my feet and silently stalk into the kitchen area where I lay out her necklace. I can’t have any excuse to come and visit her again, no matter how badly I want to.

Her phone catches my attention, and I frown.

Didn’t she lose this at the bar? Wasn’t that the whole reason that she realized the uber wasn’t real?

I’ve been following her movements meticulously since the kidnapping, and she’s not once paid a visit to the bar to go and retrieve her phone. Even if she somehow managed to get it back, who knows what kind of tracker could have been put on it in the meantime.

I’m instantly suspicious, picking up the device and turning it over in my hand. When I tap the screen, it automatically opens on to her home page which shows a generic background.

She has no passcode and is yet to personalize the screen, which makes me hopeful that this is a new phone. I’m tempted to take it with me and have Pyotr check it over for bugs just to be safe, but I’ve run out of time tonight. Instead, I quickly open up her phone app and copy down her number into my own contact list just to give me some peace of mind.

I know I could have Pyotr get me such information, but I don’t want him to ask any questions. The fact that he knows about my personal link to Elle over the kidnapping situation makes me uneasy.

If the Koslovs were to somehow get wind that he’s working for me, I would never forgive myself.

I shut off Elle’s phone and slip my own back into my pocket. With one last look at Elle’s sleeping form, I slip out of the front door and take the internal fire escape down to the back exit of the building which leads to an alleyway.

If I head straight to my apartment nearby, I could maybe get in a few hours of sleep and come back here before Elle wakes up.

Despite the street being deserted, I still pull my hood low over my face out of habit. Though, it probably doesn’t hurt to be extra careful.

I can’t afford to be so reckless, which is slowly becoming standard practice when it comes to Elle Conti.

The soundof my phone ringing jerks me awake, and I blink.

I look down at myself and find that I’m still fully dressed in yesterday's clothes, and my head pounds as if I spent the night pounding vodka shots.

The dull ache in my back tells me that I fell asleep on the couch,again, because I was too exhausted to even make it to my bed.

“Fucking hell,” I groan as my phone continues to ring.

Sitting up, I catch sight of the flashing screen on the floor. There’s only one person who would be calling me, and the fact that it’s still dark outside the window, the sun yet to make an appearance, concerns me.

My muscles protest as I get to my feet and cross the cramped living area to retrieve my phone.

I spy the time and groan. It’s almost six, which only gives me thirty minutes to get back to Elle’s before she wakes up.

Sometimes, she heads straight out to get herself a coffee and there’s no way in hell I’m letting her walk across the city in the dark.

“What is it, Pyotr?”

“Rise and shine.” Pyotr chuckles on the other end.

I offer him a grunt in response, which elicits another laugh from my only friend.

“I’ve got something of interest for you.”

“Is it essential that you share it with me at such an unsociable hour?”

My throat is painfully dry, and my stomach growls, but I don’t have time to attend to my needs.

“I’d be happy to put all this shit in an email, but then again, I’m not the one insisting on working so off grid.”

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