“I told him to stop whining like a big baby.” He watches me toss the bacon in the air and laughs when Ruslan snatches it out of the air with his big jaws. “I’m going to have to watch you. You’re going to spoil him.” He says something in Russian, making Ruslan run off like he’s just been called back to duty.
“What was that about?”
“I told him to go walk the perimeter.”
I stare at the dog who’s now fully in guard-dog mode, sniffing the ground and looking around for any sign of a threat as he walks around the spacious yard before disappearing into the woods that butt up against the side of the house.
“Seriously?”
Vasily smiles. “He’s very well-trained.” He raises a dark brow at me. “And usually doesn’t beg for scraps.”
We eat our breakfast with the warm ocean breeze hitting us, and it feels like heaven. Ruby’s seems like a lifetime ago, but it also feels like I just left that damn place. A pang of guilt hits me when I think about Mindy, and I know I won’t get any real peace until I get her out of there.
“Want to talk about it?” Vasily asks. He already reads me so easily, noticing the slightest change in my face or demeanor.
“I was just thinking that I’m going to get Mindy away from that place. I don’t know how I’ll do it, but I can’t just leave her there.”
He scratches at the stubble on his face and stands up, reaching for my hand. “Come on. I want to put some more ointment on your tattoo.”
I take his hand and follow him upstairs to our bathroom. He opens one of the drawers and gets out a tube of antibiotic ointment. When I push my sleeve up, he eyes the dark bruises around my wrist but doesn’t comment on them. While he gently rubs the medicine onto my skin, he says, “I need you to not do anything stupid, Nina. I know you want her out of there, and I’ll do my best to make that happen, but it’s not going to be right away. You said yourself that Ruby’s waiting for her to turn eighteen, and Mindy had nothing to do with me getting you out of there, so there’s no reason for her to take her anger out on the girl. If you show up there, it will cause a lot of problems for a lot of people, my Bratva included.”
“Why? I mean, can’t you guys just go in there and free all of them?”
“Ruby’s Lounge is in what’s considered neutral territory. The Irish run the southern part of the city, and we own the northern part. If I go in there, I will be starting a war, and I refuse to jump into that lightly. My men’s lives are my responsibility, and I take that very seriously.”
His fingers run lightly over my skin, brushing over the bruises in a feather-light touch that has goosebumps rising along my arm.
“Taking you is going to cause enough of a backlash. Let me get this under control before we start making plans for anything else, okay?”
“Okay,” I say, knowing I don’t have much of a choice.
“I hope you don’t mind, but I’ve asked a doctor to come over and examine you.” He notices my body tense and quickly adds, “I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“Ruby tested me for everything while I was there,” I say in barely more than a whisper. I keep my eyes down, unable to face him when I say, “They all had to wear condoms. That was pretty much the only rule, and they couldn’t hurt us so badly that we couldn’t be used.”
Vasily mutters something in Russian and throws the tube into the drawer before slamming it shut. The noise makes me jump, and I quickly wrap my arms around myself. His hands are on my shoulders in the next second as he leans down to meet my face.
“Look at me, please.” He waits for my eyes to meet his. “You don’t need to fear me, Nina. I’m pissed, yes, but not at you, and I will never take my anger out on you.”
We both look towards the direction of the stairs when the doorbell rings.
“For my own peace of mind, please let the doctor examine you. I just want to make sure you aren’t hurt.”
I nod my head because I know he’s right. Ski mask guy was so rough I could barely walk afterwards. I don’t even want to think about the possible damage he could’ve done. As much as I don’t want another person touching my body, I know I need to do this.
“I’ll do it.”
“Thank you,” Vasily says. He kisses my forehead, surprising me yet again by how gentle and kind he is with me. I’m beginning to think that all those rumors are a load of bullshit. This can’t be the same man everyone calls a devil.
He grabs my hand as I follow him down the hall to one of the other bedrooms. “I’ll tell her to come up here to examine you.”
“Her?” I ask, looking up at him.
“I thought you might be more comfortable with a female doctor.”
Before I can think better of it, I wrap my arms around him in a hug, resting the side of my face against his hard chest just like I did last night while I slept. “Thank you,” I whisper. He wraps his arms around me, holding me for a few seconds before kissing my head again and taking a step back. His fingers graze my cheek in the briefest of touches before he turns and leaves.
I pace the floor nervously, and when there’s a soft knock at the door, I force myself to take a breath before saying, “Come in.”
