Me
Not yet. I need to fix things with him first. I’ll call tonight.
Then a short message to my dad.
Me
It’s fine. Will call later.
I don’t mention anything else. He wouldn’t understand. Or he would understand too well. Neither option helps.
There is a knock on my door before I can spiral further. Micha and second guard appear with his coat buttoned. “Come on. Kidnapping class. Tactical day.”
If we were alone, I’d scream: Where the hell is Gustav.
But we’re not alone and I won’t appear weak around Sokolov enforcers if I can help it. Thus, I follow them to the training hall expecting another combat session disguised as self-defense. I nearly turn around when I see the walls lined with weapons. Guns. Knives. Staffs.
Bratva women are already stretching. I stand by Brutus. It’s weird after last night. He no idea I was picturing him in my… I suck in a sharp breath.
His warm brown eyes contrast sharply with everything else in this cold place. When he smiles in greeting, the expression is sincere.
“Peighton,” he whispers. “Ready for the new tests?”
“Oh boy. Sure am,” I say dryly, like an idiot.
He offers a respectful nod before handing me a knife. “We start with instinct.”
I barely have time to grip the handle before he attacks.
One sharp movement, fast and decisive. My knife is taken instantly. My back hits the mat. He pins my wrists above my head in a way that knocks the air from my lungs. The room blurs for a second.
My cheeks burn. Everyone is watching.
“This is your first knife lesson,” Brutus says in a steady tone, straddling me. The heat of his groin on my belly is unsettling. “Size doesn’t matter. Hesitation does.”
“Uh huh,” I whisper, jarred.
He releases me and rises, extending a hand to help me up. I take it. His grip is warm. His expression is kind.
“Sorry if that was too rough,” he says, as always.
A small smile touches his mouth. For a moment there is a flicker of warmth between us, bright and simple. A normal man showing normal kindness. It disorients me more than the takedown.
I straighten my shirt. “It’s okay. I needed the reminder.”
A reminder that I wish it was Gustav’s hand helping me up, his body heat that awakens my body. I beyond miss him.
Maybe I only notice things about Brutus because Gustav is wildly abnormal.
I shake off the thought and return to the line. The second round goes better. By the fourth, I manage to take Brutus to the mat. It surprises him. It surprises me even more.
I’m improving.
After class, Micha joins me for lunch in the cafeteria, quiet as always, sitting with a soldier’s posture that makes nearby wives straighten instinctively.
I push my food around on my plate. “Where did Gustav go?”
Micha doesn’t look up. “Home.”
