Page 82 of Disgraced (Russian Sinners 3)

I went in search of Scarlett. I haven’t seen her since we had a conversation in my office. With all the news I received, it seemed like it was days ago. I had to ensure she was okay, that she was safe. It was almost dinner time, and I was just about to go search for her when my phone buzzed signaling a text message.

Glancing at it, I saw Nikolai’s name. I swiped it open. It was a short message. He planned on coming back to Russia in a few days. Nikolai put Olivia, the red-haired friend, in his house here, in St. Petersburg. Maybe the two friends could connect once it was safe for everyone. I shot a quick message back to my brother and offered help.

I imagined he worried about her safety, even more now that Anastasia was hurt. Just as I was worried about Scarlett.

Nikolai was desperate to bring down Malcome Schmidt, the man that killed his sister. The world was truly a small place, because that same man was engaged to both Scarlett and Anastasia’s other travel buddy. I could still remember her telling Scarlett to stop swooning over me.

She certainly stopped swooning over me. The way she spat back at me not to touch her in the car was a wound straight to my chest. I was like a puppy running after her, dying for her hugs, kisses and smiles.

And even as I scoffed at myself for being so weak, I went in search of her. Whenever I felt on edge or rage, seeing her or thinking about her helped. I found Michail outside, talking to the men on rotation.

“Where is Scarlett?” I asked him.

“She is not out here,” he replied. “Did you check her room? Need me to find her for you?”

“No, I got it.”

I went to her bedroom and noted all the bags still in front of her door. That was odd. I tried to open the door but it was locked. I knocked softly but there was no response. A cold fear ran down my spine. I reached above the door where spare keys were always kept. I quickly unlocked the door, put it back and went in to find her sleeping.

I came to the bed and sat on the edge. She looked tired and pale. I noticed she barely ate breakfast and no lunch either. It was unusual since self-admittedly Scarlett had a healthy appetite. I’ve seen it firsthand.

There was a strand of her dark hair on her forehead and I lightly brushed it back. My heart swelled with pride every time I looked at her. She was mine and I could never let her go. All the rumors surrounding Boris and his cruelty he inflicted after he lost the woman he loved finally resonated. There were moments when I sensed rage overwhelm all my senses and drown out the decent parts of me. In the strangest ways, Scarlett grounded me, calmed me. My father might have not given me his last name but he certainly managed to give me his bad traits.

I thought back to my conversations with Scarlett’s father. He wasn’t happy about the kidnapping. I felt like an asshole this morning when she begged her father to get her. Lately, I felt like an asshole all the time. I couldn’t wait till this whole mess was behind us. I was thankful she was here with me, where I could keep an eye on her. Her father trusted me to keep her safe and I intended to keep her safe. I hated to worry her father with dangers but the fact remained she was targeted back in Moscow, when they followed her to me. If Vlad was after Anastasia and he knows about Scarlett, he could be coming after her too.

Scarlett’s eyes fluttered open. “Hey,” she murmured sleepily.

Her brain must have not caught up yet because she was smiling at me. Just like she used to.

“Hey.” I cupped her cheek and she leaned into my touch. God, I loved her touch and feeling her close to me. I missed these little tell tales of her trust. I hated that I ruined it by not being upfront with her when we ran into each other. She was right to hate me for staging Michail to kidnap her. The intent was to keep her safe but she must have been terrified. Remorse was eating me up and I hope my actions didn’t destroy the feelings that started to flourish between us. I would fight for her, till she gave herself to me again. This attraction between us was real. But it wasn’t just that, I loved everything about her. Fuck, I loved her.

“It’s almost dinner time. You should try and eat something.” I kept my voice low, hoping that soft look in her eyes while she watched me wouldn’t diminish.

I worried she was sick. She usually had a very healthy appetite.

“I will,” she mumbled and her eyes shut again. “I’m just so tired.”

“Should I get a doctor?” She shouldn’t feel so tired. We barely did anything today.

“No, it’s normal. Just let me sleep a bit more.” I frowned. What did she mean by that? A sigh left her lips and she spoke softly. “It gets better later.”

Her words made no sense but it was probably because she was still sleeping. I’d let her sleep a bit longer. We can have dinner a bit later than usual.

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