Page 24 of A Pawn in the Game
She eyes me expectantly, biting the inside of her cheek.
I grit my teeth, my pride decimated. “Luka.”
“Luka,” she repeats, and I almost don’t recognize it. It’s a sweet, singing sound, so unlike the rough gravel I’m used to.
“Where did you learn to play like that?”
Her eyes drop to the side, any playfulness gone. “My dad taught me. A long time ago.”
The hair rises on the back of my neck at the mention of the man responsible for all this. A fire starts in the pit of my stomach, making its way through my limbs. “I see. Well, mine taught me how to protect the people I love. He also taught me not to be a treacherous bastard.”
Her eyes widen, her hands moving to her lap. “Did he make contact?”
“No,mila.He didn’t. Because treacherous bastards don’t have anything to protect. Anything but themselves.”
She stares at me as if I slapped her, her face unmoving, except for the rapid blinks of her eyelids. I push myself away from the desk, the chair scratching loudly across the floor.
The door slams on my way out, and I’m barely conscious enough to realize she’s left without a guard. I bark at Ivan to get down there and march straight into my office to open a bottle of rakia.
The scent of ethanol grounds me as I lift the bottle to my lips. I told her the truth. Father taught me everything I know. And now he’s gone.
CHAPTER 13
Sophie
His words slice through me, as if they’re surprising. They shouldn’t be.
The evidence was clear for years now.Boss-man—Luka is right. Dad doesn’t care about anyone other than himself.
I fidget the black king piece, my hands filled with restlessness. He is smart. Super smart. His brain fascinated me when I was a little girl. I would absorb his every word, giving him my full attention, just to get a piece of his wits. I would listen to him talk about chess for hours, memorizing the moves.
The king falls out of my hands, knocking down the queen. A gasp escapes me as my eyes fill with tears.
He sacrificed his queen, showing me he wasn’t smart after all. Misery grips me like a python, wrapping itself around my chest and squeezing until it gets hard to breathe. I try to focus on inhaling and exhaling, but the anguish is too big. My nails dig into my thighs, pressing into the skin until it hurts. Only when the pain gets intense enough does my breathing settle, the snake unwrapping itself.
I take care of what I need to in the bathroom, and stepping out, I’m met with another guard sitting on my couch. I’ve seen him before, but I don’t know his name. Feeling too drained tocommunicate or start another chess game, I ignore him, making myself comfortable on the bed.
Once again, my sleep gets pulverized by nightmares.
I’m surprisingly rested as I rise from the bed. Stretching my arms above my head, I’m attacked by glimpses of last night.Begging, crying, the gun firing, slipping on blood.And then nothing.Blankness.
It wasn’t real. It was just a nightmare.
I shake my head, focusing on my surroundings.
Still here.
Luka is sleeping, his humongous frame overwhelming the couch a familiar sight. I rush to the bathroom to wash my face and brush my teeth. And to get away from boss-man, unsure if he’s still angry with me.
Luckily, as I get out, he’s nowhere to be found, Marko sitting on the same couch.
He nods to my breakfast, and I dig in.
At least I’m not hungry anymore.
It must be the years of training my brain to find positive things, because I’m not sure there’s a silver lining here. I’m fed and untortured, but I’m still fucking kidnapped, Alan is still missing, and the realistic chances of me getting out alive are slim.
I’ve seen all their faces. I know their names. It would be dumb of them to let me walk free. They’ll likely use me to torture Dad and dump my body afterwards.
