Page 12 of Forget-Me-Nots

I checked the cameras quite often. Kira was acting differently than she did before. She acted like she had no idea she was a captive. Her face was filled with peace while she took a very long bath. Then she got up and got dressed. When I opened the door to her room, she was… dancing? There was no music, but she was moving while looking over the New York skyline.

“You really don’t act like a captive,” I said with a small smile.

She turned to the sound of my voice, startled. She also looked a little scared. Probably it was the normal reaction, but she was not acting normal. She seemed like she was enjoying this, but she was not enjoyingme. She was scared of me.

I didn’t like that.

Kira managed a smile despite her tense shoulders as she answered. “It is not my first time.”

Guess not.

I shook my head with a smile, and that made her smile a little more real.

I likedthat.

She looked down at her pajamas. She was wearing a plaid bottom and a black top with strawberry designs on it. “Where did you get these on such short notice?”

“They are my sister’s. She stays here sometimes.” I paused for a second, watching her nod. “It might be a little different for you. Would you have preferred a silk nightgown?” My sister had those too, but I didn’t want to give Kira one of those since it might give her wrong ideas about me.

To my delight, Kira shook her head and grabbed the hem of her shirt. “Not at all. I love this.”

It was nothing fancy, and because of their weight difference, they looked big on Kira. Still, she looked at it like it was the best gift someone had ever given her. I couldn’t understand why, so I just focused on how the sight of a happy Kira filled my chest with sunshine.

But then, something darker took over her expression. I felt her shoulders tense with the ideas filling her head. I wish I could just see what those were. “Why are you here?” she asked with a small voice.

I stepped inside the room but stopped when her body went rigid even more. She was terrified of me even though I didn’t give her any reason other than kidnapping her. It was a valid reason on its own, but for some reason, I could tell that was not it. “To talk,” I said simply.

“To talk?” She didn’t seem convinced.

I nodded. I had no fucking idea why wouldn’t she believe that. Maybe not everybody talked with their captives, but it was not a shackled-in-the-basement type of situation. I needed her help.

“You were locked up here all day. Let’s have coffee downstairs and talk?” I was hoping this little bit of freedom would put her at ease, and she did soften a bit, but there was more confusion in her eyes. So, I joked, “I would prefer the terrace, but I don’t trust you not to jump.”

She smiled, and I thought her smile must be the finest creation of God. It was pure perfection. “I would love some coffee.”

Chapter 5

Kira

What Gabriele meant by coffee was espresso. Black, thick, bitter espresso. Italians were really horrible. I just wanted some coffee with sugar and milk, but when I said that out loud, Gabriele looked at me like I was crazy.

Had to go without coffee, I supposed.

Thank God the lack of coffee was better than everything I had to live through with Aleksei. Gabriele even gave me pajamas. Proper pajamas. I was not allowed to own anything other than shorts in terms of comfy clothes back when I was with Aleksei. I was not allowed to wear anything baggy.

Now both the bottom and the top were big for me. I laced the waistband tightly but didn’t felt the need to tie the t-shirt or anything. It was so comfy. It felt safe. I knew if Gabriele wanted, he could just rip these off of me but being able to cover the lines of my body made me feel safe. I didn’t feel like an object.

Though a part of me knew the clothes were not the only reason. Gabriele could make me feel like a real person even when I was naked.

At least it felt like that.

When he came into my room, I got tense. I couldn’t help it. I didn’t know him. Anytime someone came to my room at my apartment, their wish was clear. Gabriele didn’t look at me with the same ugly hunger they did, but I could tell he liked the sight of me. His eyes lit up when I smiled. He seemed nice and seemed harmless, but at the end of the day, he was a man.

I took a sip from my horrible coffee. “What do you wanna talk about?” I was smart enough to know it was nothing random. He probably wanted inside information about Aleksei. Honestly, I would give it to him. Iwantedhim to ruin Aleksei. If there was someone capable of that, it was definitely Gabriele Falzone.

“I want to know what happened.”

That was not what I was expecting. “What do you mean?”

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