“So much blood.”
“I know. Just close your eyes. I’ll protect you.”
And I wholeheartedly believe him.
After Sam arrives, Alek brings me to a new house. A new mansion, I should say,
“What about your previous house?” I ask as we get out of the car.
“Dimitri found out about my old house. I needed to get a new one. I bought this one when we were in Paris.”
I shake my head in disbelief. Dimitri always had a lot of money but since I was in my room, I never saw much of it. But seeing Alek’s money now is making me realize there’s a whole world out there and I want to be a part of it.
Alek hovers over me as I sit down on the couch. “You’re all right?”
“Yes.” It’s still a marvel that he cares so much but he truly does. My kidnapper. Now my savior.
“Good. I need to call Maria and make sure Nina and Susanna are all right. I don’t believe Sasha when he said he didn’t hurt them.”
“Of course.”
Alek calls Maria and they talk on the phone for a while. I don’t listen in. It’s not for me to know.
Once he’s done, he tells me that Nina and Susanna are coming over.
“Why?” I ask. It comes out a lot more blunt and rude than I mean for it to.
“Because they want to make sure I’m doing all right. They missed me while I was in Paris. I should talk to them.”
“Do I have to talk to them?”
“You’re my wife now. They need to learn to accept you. The only way that’s going to happen is if you’re present. So, yes. I need you there.”
“All right.” I know I’m not getting out of this one.
I change into new clothes before Nina and Susanna arrive. The doorbell rings while I’m in the bedroom. When I head downstairs, I can hear Nina and Susanna talking to Alek.
“Is the whore not here?” Susanna asks. Clearly, she means me. I stop on the stairs so I can listen in without being seen.
“She is here,” Alek says in a tone much more patient than I could muster. “She’s just changing. We had a long flight back from France. She wanted to freshen up.”
“Because she’s so stinky?” Susanna asks and then laughs like what she said was the funniest thing. Nina joins in.
“Girls,” Alek scolds. “Katya is my wife. Do not call her a whore. No other insulting names. No longer. She’s been through a lot. Mostly because of me. She doesn’t need you two being rude to her.”
“We’re not being rude,” Nina says.
“Yeah,” Susanna agrees. “We’re just being honest.”
After everything I went through, between Alek kidnapping me to Rocko kidnapping me to Jack trying to put his hands on me and finally to those men trying to whip me, I have had enough.
I storm into the living room. “You are rude,” I say to Susanna and Nina. “You ruined my wedding dress. I was nothing but kind to you. And you’ve been nothing but rude.”
Nina, to her credit, looks a little bashful. But Susanna only digs her heels in more.
“I don’t like you,” she says point blank. “So because of that, I don’t have to be nice to you.”
“Yes, you do,” Alek says. “Katya is a part of our family now. Be nice to her.”
