Page 15 of Marked (Russian Sinners 1)

“I am so sick and tired of Russians speaking Russian around me,” I glared at both of them.

Maybe I became crazy during my captivity, my mood going from whimper to pissed off. Or maybe it was my fear that fueled my anger, or maybe it was the near death and near rape experience.

“If you want to say something that concerns me, any of you, speak English. At least until I can learn this damn language.” My eyes watched all three of them pointedly, then my eyes returned to Dimitry. “If my father insists you cannot take me home, I would like Rosetta Stone for Russian… please.”

Sometimes I wished my family didn’t instill manners into me. I should demand it, not ask for it. I wanted to correct myself and sayI want it now.But the damn etiquette couldn’t be overridden that easily.

A lingering heartbeat of dead silence was broken by Nikolai’s laugh.

“I like you,” he told me, shocking the hell out of me. The man was drop dead gorgeous when he smiled.

I shook my head. “That is a bizarre response, but okay,” I muttered.

Sergei smiled and he announced, “Ok, princess. We’ll speak English when we talk about you. Do you want to know what I said to Dimitry?”

I eyed both of them warily. My gut feeling was telling me I wouldn’t like whatever he said.

“No,” I answered him. “I’d rather have that shower now.”

“This way,” Dimitry motioned with his head to follow him. He took me in through the main door, that led us to a marble entry. I stood in awe at the grand, overboard, foyer. It was almost gaudy. My family wasn’t exactly middle class but I had never seen anything like this. I’ve visited the White House for a state dinner multiple times but even that couldn’t touch this.

“Wow. Is this your place?” The question left me before I thought better of it.

“No.” His tone was curt, and as if he regretted it, in a softer tone, he asked, “Do you like it?”

I shrugged. “It’s rather flashy.”

“Yes, it is.” His eyes held mine. “We’ll stay here a day, max two and then we’ll move.”

We started up the marble stairs that seemed to go on forever. I didn’t want to tell him all this made me anxious. I was used to controlling my destiny, where I was going and when.

“Where will we go?” I asked him.

“I have a place close to St. Petersburg.” He rubbed his face as if he was still thinking about the plan. “We’ll be safe there but we might have to rotate until your father is ready for you.”

Again, I wondered what he was getting in return for all this trouble. It must be worth his while to be doing all this and for who knows how long.

“Are you private security?” I repeated my earlier question.

“No.” Short and curt answer, but at least he answered.

“Why are you helping my father?” Maybe he’d answer more questions, although there was no doubt in my mind this man only revealed what he wanted and when he wanted. He didn’t even spare me a backward glance and there was no doubt he wasn’t going to respond.

This man was unlike any I had ever met. I wanted to know who he was; why was he helping me. “Is Boris after me-”Again.

I cut myself short. These men might be helping me but there was no certainty right now. I didn’t know under what condition they agreed to help me. There was no way in hell I’d give them any kind of leverage, intentionally or unintentionally.

He stopped abruptly and I ran into his back causing myself pain.

“Ah, shit. Sorry,” I muttered, taking a step back. Raising my head, our eyes met and for a lingering second; it seemed like he would say something else but it was gone fast.

He motioned with his head towards the room. “This is your bedroom and there is a private bathroom. The bag your father sent is in there. Go get showered and changed. I’ll be right out here.”

I went into the room and locked the door. I didn’t care if it was rude or not. I wasn’t going to risk trusting anyone to just walk into this room while I was in the shower.

I dug through the bag on the bed and tears pricked my eyes. My dad sent all clean clothes, shoes, even my running shoes, toiletries, a new iphone, and headphones. They were small things but they meant so much.

I showered in record time. Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw a reflection that looked familiar but also very different. It was as if the last two weeks erased that girl I was at the nightclub and put this woman that looked like me, but wasn’t in my place. There was only one other time I felt such fear in my life, but my mother had been with me so I felt protected. This time there was nobody to protect me… til Dimitry and Nikolai came in guns blazing.

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