Page 58 of Sinful Embers

Some of the other bigger memories are of my real father, Nikolas. He was always trying to prepare Sabrina and I for anything. One of those preparations was an emergency number I should call should I find myself in a difficult situation. The number is as clear as day, but I do wander if after all this time it’s still active.

And now, I have one more reason to escape.

Because if I am pregnant, I refuse to let my child be born into this nightmare.

I eat my breakfast and soon his watch bleeps. He picks it up.

“You do know I peed on that, right?”

“Pee isn’t that bad,” Timir shrugs. “It’s negative.” He frowns. “It’s probably too early to tell the lady at the pharmacy did warm me this could happen. “Tomorrow morning as soon as you wake up you must take another test. It when your pregnancy hormone is at its highest.”

While I’m not too thrilled about the test. I’m happy for the boxes and that little magnetic strip.

After breakfast I put the silk pumps Timir brought me. He pulls a magnetic key from his pockets and runs it over the ankle shackle that pops open, and he sucks in a breath when he sees how raw my ankle is. “It’s not supposed to do that.”

“I’ve been wearing it day and night for the past two weeks, what did you expect,” I point out.

“I’ll get you some cream for it,” Timir says. “Come on.” He stands and I notice the slight tremor in his hands as he puts his dish back on the trolley. “Let’s go for a walk around the grounds.”

I slip my feet into the silk desk shoe slippers I was given and follow him. As we walk through it, it reminds me a huge wine cellar except it’s divided in to eight cells each with heady metal doors like mine and peep holes. My eyes secretly scan for position of cameras, the guards and how far it is to the door.

As we step outside I’m hit by the warmth of the early summer morning and the smell of the earth after rain. “Did it rain last night?” I ask.

“Yes, it did.” Timir answers then says. “Welcome to my homeland Leigh. Welcome to Russia.”

“My first time out of the US and I don’t even get a stamp in my passport,” I mutter then turn my eyes widening as I see the big golden palace looming behind us and that’s when I smell it…the ocean. I swivel and notice the ground stretch toward the sea. “What sea is that?”

“The Black Sea,” Timir tells me, giving me an idea whereabout in Russia we are. “Where you not impressed with my palace?” He frowns at her.

“What?” I ask confused and glance back at the sprawling mansion. “It’s beautiful. I bet it’s even more so inside.”

“I hope one day soon, when you’ve come to accept your new life, I’ll be able to show it to you,” Timir tells me.

My heart slams against my ribs as he once again refers to my new life. Deep down a part of me wants to accept it. To run and hide in that great bit ostentatious gawdy golden palace. Jesus. That’s over compensation for something. I get my thoughts back on track. That’s the easy way out. To hide from Radomir, his mother, and his family.

But that’s just trading one cage for another, and I have a feeling while Timir wants to upgrade my accommodation, Carlos wants to whip away the tiny luxury’s I have in my cell and let me sleep on the cold hard floor like a dog. So I very much doubt I’ll get to see the inside of that gawdy palace anytime soon.

We start walking. “Let me show you around the gardens and we can talk.”

I follow Timir, taking in as much detail about the place as I can.

Suddenly we stop and he starts having a coughing fit and this time I see the blood he wipes from his lips.

I point toward a bench. “Let’s go sit over there for a while.”

I notice Timir doesn’t resist and we sit on the wooden bench looking out over the Black Sea sitting in silence while Timir gathers himself.

“You’re dying, aren’t you?” I catch his icy blue eyes.

Timir sighs resignedly and nods. “I am.”

“It’s the poison that was on the gold arrow, isn’t it?”

“Yes.” Timir nods again. “The doctors managed to find something that has helped slow down the profession of the toxin. But they haven’t been able to crack how it was made or the antidote. Aparantly it’s been bio-engineered and need specific DNA which we believe was Vivienne’s DNA.”

“Figures that bitch would do something like that,” I seethe.

While the man is a monster to be honest he’s never been one to me. I have memories of him being nothing but kind and even sticking up for me against Vivienne. Even now, locked in his dungeon, he’s tried to make as comfortable as possible, which doesn’t add up or make sense to me.

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