Page 105 of Unhinged

"Because I’m trying to make sure that I don’t have to tie you to the bed," he says with practiced patience. Then he lowers his voice, and his eyes darken, half-lidded.

"Believe me, I have everyintentionof tying you to this bed. But not until you're better."

A shiver runs through me, heat pooling in my stomach.

“Wait. Did you buy me…ateddy bear?”

A caramel brown teddy sits at the foot of the bed.

He shrugs. “So what if I did?”

Then his phone rings.

"Under the covers," he orders. "I have to take this."

I curl up, flipping through the tablet with glee. It’sslick.And I love this next job.

Yana is intelligent and capable. I know precisely what kind of disguise I'm going to put her in.

And she's going to love it.

I’m flipping through my contacts, creating the document she needs, and making really good progress when I hear Matvei on the other line.

"No. Yeah, I know. Not this time."

But when I go to check through the apps here, I see a file folder. I click it out of curiosity and freeze when I see a familiar name on one of them.

Gleb.

My eyes dart to the door.

He's still talking, his voice rising and falling, deep in conversation.

I keep two browsers open, ready to shut one down the second I need to.

But I can't help myself.

My fingers tremble as I click on the file.

I turn the sound lower and stare at the footage in front of me.

My heart is in my throat.

On the screen, a man who looks exactly like Matvei—but younger, angrier—hangs by shackled wrists, his body bloodied and bruised.

Oh my god.

I don’t want to watch… but I can’t look away.

It’s a window into Matvei’s past. A glimpse of who I’m really dealing with.

I need to watch.

I need to see what happens.

I can’t make out who stands in front of him, but the deep voice from beneath a hood sounds like Rafail.

"Confess what you did to all of us. Details."

---