Page 21 of To Keep

“Eat your food.”

“Do you always eat like this?

“No, never. My entire diet has gone to the dumpster because of you.”

“We could go to the grocery store and cook together, you know.” She took another bite of her burger and reached out for a few fries. Anyway, what does that mean now?” Skye asked.

“What?”

“Well, their plan didn’t work, did it? I’m alive, you’re alive, and Viko knows what happened. There’s no sweeping this under the rug. What happens next?”

Galen didn’t tell her. Petrov killed Seth, in the assumption of passion. However, before that happened, Seth had visited Petrov. In just a couple of meetings, secrets could have been spilt.

The Circle of Monsters’ secrets put them all at risk, and he needed to talk to Viko, right fucking now.

Seth knew a lot of shit. Petrov wasn’t as powerful as them, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t do lasting damage if given the chance.

****

After eating their food, Galen didn’t stick around. He left the table, leaving the mess for her to clean up. Skye didn’t mind. It was the least she could do. He hadn’t killed her yet, so she might as well earn her keep, trying to show him that he did in a way need her.

She had no idea what she was talking about. She was just taking things a day at a time. There was no real way of knowing if she was right or if Galen was right. Either way, she was happy she was still breathing. If, however, any of her theories were correct, she was screwed.

She cleaned up the kitchen and not feeling tired at all, she filled the kettle with some water and placed it on the stove, igniting the gas. Staring at the flame for a couple of seconds, she tried not to allow the panic to fill up inside her and threaten to burst. She wanted to forget the world.

In fact, there was a lot she wanted to do—scream, panic, fight back. It was all useless. No one would listen to her. There was no rescue coming her way.

Running her fingers through her hair, she felt sick. The burgers were a little on the greasy side and had upset her stomach. She placed a hand on her belly, and then stepped away from the stove, looking through the cupboards. She found a couple of cups and grabbed one for herself, only to pause. Should she get him a drink?Yeah, Skye, offer the coldhearted killer a nice cup of tea.

Skye grimaced at her own thoughts and closed the cupboard. She found the bags of tea, and it made her smile to see he had tea in the first place. Shaking her head, she put the tea bag into the mug. The kettle still hadn’t whistled, and she waited. Tapping her fingers on the counter, she watched.

In the back of her mind, she traveled back to that moment where her life had changed forever. There had been a muffled sound, raised voices, and it had pulled her out of her sleepy state. Petrov never brought that kind of business to the house.

Reaching up, she rubbed at her temple, but no matter how hard she tried to think, nothing more came to mind.

The kettle whistled and she was so happy about it, she quickly poured out her drink. Her hand shook a little and she ended up splashing it onto the counter. Gritting her teeth at her own stupidity, she wiped it up. She grabbed a spoon from one of the drawers and started to swirl it around the cup, darkening the drink. She added a few splashes of milk. It was a nice dark amber.

Sitting at the kitchen table didn’t appeal, so she picked up her mug and walked back in the direction of the spare bedroom where she was now staying—for a limited time.

Skye had always tried to find the silver lining in everything. Life would be so miserable without it, and it was easier for her to think of the best possible outcome. She had tried to avoid thinking about her future.

Galen told her she was going to die. So had his boss. If they failed and didn’t take out Petrov, she was as good as dead. Either way, her future was no longer filled with a loving husband, a picket fence, children, or the house of her dreams. None of her dreams would come true. She didn’t want to feel sad about that, but she was.

Skye stared at the bed, but she didn’t want to risk spilling her tea. Instead, she sat at the base of the bed on the floor so her back rested against the footboard. Legs spread out, she stared at the door.

She had to wonder how Galen would do it. Would he kill her when she wasn’t looking so she didn’t see it coming? Would he look her in the eyes as he ended her life? What would he use? A gun? His hands? A knife? Some rope?

She picked up her drink and took a sip. The tea was good. She was about to take another sip when she heard her name being called.

Galen’s voice was close. If he was shouting for her, that couldn’t be good. She was so not getting up and going to him.

He barged into her room. “Why didn’t you answer?” he asked.

“You knew where to find me.”

Galen frowned, his arms folded as he looked down at her. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” she said.

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