Page 50 of For a Price

“But… she…” I pause, choosing my wording carefully. “She burst into your bedroom like it was nothing.”

Roman picks up his fork and steak knife. “I told you, devochka. She is staff. Think of her as a personal assistant. She does things I need done that no one else does. Track schedules. Make phone calls. Fetch items. You seem not to like her. Is that correct?”

“She’s just… difficult to read.”

“Many Russians are. We prefer it that way.”

We fall into a brief silence as we begin our meal. I’m starving once again, my belly giving a little rumble that I hope Roman doesn’t hear.

Tonight’s meal is the heartiest yet. Filet mignon with a mushroom sauce and pureed mashed potatoes and wild carrots. I lick my lips before I even have my first bite, a pulse of excitement thrumming through me.

I’ve never eaten so well. So extravagantly.

The fanciest steak I’ve ever had was the salisbury steak that comes in frozen TV dinners.

As I cut into my filet mignon, it almost feels like I should be in reverence of such an exquisite dish. I should chew carefully and savor every bite.

Roman watches me between slices of his own steak. “Have you ever had filet mignon before, devochka?”

“Take a wild guess.”

“Tell me how it was like for you. Living on the streets like you have been.”

I shake my head. “It’s nothing fascinating. I was an orphan. No one wanted me. So I got by any way I could.”

“It takes smarts to do that. A survivalist mentality.”

“I guess so. I… I took it more day by day. Things became easier when I found a group to be with.”

“Stronger in numbers,” he says, reaching for his glass of wine.

“Exactly. But sometimes it was the wrong crowd.”

“Like this JC you were working with.”

“Right… JC and the others. They had rough upbringings too. So did Rosita. We all did.”

“JC and the men you were with did not care for you. They should not have had your trust.”

My brow raises. “And you would know this how?”

“Where are they? Where are you?” he asks, his tone harsh and blunt. “They left you to take the fall while they saved themselves. As men, they are cowards. They will find out what a grave mistake they have made.”

“I don’t want them dead. I don’t want anything bad to happen to them.”

“That is not your choice to make. Or mine. They involved themselves when they tried to kidnap the sovietnik,devochka.”

I drop my protests altogether. There’s no use bargaining on JC and the others’ behalf.

Roman is correct about one thing—theydidleave me, and they also didn’t tell me what I was getting myself into in the first place.

It’s time I look out for myself only. Maybe, for now, being with Roman is the best place for me to be…

“You have a whole crew of men under you,” I say, taking a bite of my filet mignon. My eyes flick across the table, landing on Roman. “You’re a powerful leader. I still don’t get why you seem so fascinated by me and what I’ve been through.”

“Not always, kitty cat. I come from very humble beginnings.”

“Even with your father being the sovietnik?”

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