Reality slapped me in the face harder than the fluorescent lights digging into my retinas.
In the silence, Roman’s mocking words rang in my ears.
Once Dmitri got bored and threw me out, I was screwed. I’d be forced to suffer the abuse of my parents’ house while I struggled to find something that I could afford.
At the reminder of money, I raced to the loose floorboard where I’d kept my secret stash of cash.
I yanked it up…
An empty hole stared back at me.
I stared into the dirty hole, willing this to be a dream. Instead the darkness stared back at me, mocking me. I pressed my sweaty forehead against the cold floor and dry heaved.
“Are you okay?” the super asked. I blearily watched him glance out the door as if he wished he could be anywhere else.
I started to laugh at the absurdity of the question, but instead coughed on the acidic liquid burning in my throat.
Of course, I wasn’t okay. My parents were paid all my earnings instead of me, and now the only cash to my name was gone along with any possessions I had left.
How could I possibly get Gemma into a safehouse without any money?
“Where’s my stuff?” I said raspily, doubting that the movers had been generous enough not to snatch the hidden trove of cash.
The super shrugged uncomfortably. “Some guys took it.”
It took everything in me not to scream. My life savings were gone, and this guy looked likeIwas the one inconveniencing him.
“Who?” I said after sucking down the scream.
The super finally looked me square in the eyes. His shoulders sagged as he stared at the desperation permeating off me.
“Look, all I know is that a new owner hired our management company to come run this place. They showed us your canceled lease, and then some scary-looking dudes hauled your stuff away.”
I blinked at his description of the movers. Still, kneeling I raised my head off the ground.
“Scary looking dudes?” I repeated, my mind racing through the possibilities. “Did they have tattoos like this?”
I flicked through photos of tattoos that were common within my branch of the Bratva. When he nodded, I dry heaved again.
I opened the door to Dmitri’s apartment, and was immediately enveloped in the heater's warmth. The pleasant feeling evaporated when I stared into Dmitri’s cold gray eyes. His body was deceptively relaxed, but the icy fury on his face made my legs instinctively backpedal.
“Where the fuck were you?” he said. I took another step backwards, and the metal doorknob jammed into my back. “Why the fuck would you leave when I told you not to?”
“I-” I swallowed, staring down at the floor.
As I tried to find the words to explain everything that had happened over the last few hours, the weight of the day suffocated me. I sagged against the door, trying to swim to the surface.
Dmitri blinked then strode towards me, eating away the distance in a moment.
“What happened?” Anger dominated his tone, but something flickered across his face before I could decipher it.
“I went to my apartment.”
As the words left my mouth, the fear from earlier threatened to leave me gagging. Had Roman stolen everything from my apartment to remind me I was powerless against him if I spoke out? Were my parents finally forcing me back? But a final thought seared my insides.
The Pakhan.
My breaths came out in short bursts as all the horrifying possibilities played out in my mind.
