“And you think I would?” he fired back. His lack of a fighting response had me pausing and rethinking my stance. I had expected more blowback but the power of his words was not lost on me.
I had no idea how to answer him because as truth had it, I couldn’t be sure. In the beginning, yes. He’d sworn no harm would come to me, but he hadn’t extended that same courtesy to my aunt, quite the opposite in fact.
In the beginning, I would have sworn my life on him killing my aunt without a second thought. I might not have even questioned it. But something has changed between us, it’s what inevitably happens when you’re forced to spend time with someone in as intimate a situation as living with them. Maybe it was the Stockholm syndrome finally setting in, but I couldn’t deny that my opinion of Nikolai had changed.
He wasn’t the monster I thought he was, not one that I should’ve feared anyway.
I turned in my seat, my anger had dissipated, exhaustion starting to creep in. The thought of fighting with Nikolai made me want to crawl up into a ball. My eyes scanned his face, which gave nothing away as per usual. I hated that I couldn’t read him as easily as he seemed to always read me.
WhatdidI think?
“You want to walk away? Okay.” Our eyes locked, I refused to back down, but I was scared of what my stubborn streak would get me. A backhanded slap? A week of solitude? I wondered. What was the catch? One life lesson I could thank my father for, there was always a catch.
“Edmond, change of plans.”
Without anything else needing to be said, Edmond shifted gears, turning the car around. I was scared, shivering inside with the fear of the unknown. What was he planning on doing with me? Where were we suddenly going? And why’d he have a backup plan to begin with? Was I just that predictable?
We drove around in a tense silence for another twenty minutes before my eyes caught sight of something familiar. My eyebrows scrunched as we drove past the bar where I used to work and further down the road - further into my old neighborhood. What were we doing here? I wondered before our driver signaled to turn into the parking lot behind my apartment building - myoldbuilding. We pulled to a stop.
“What are we doing here?”
“Get out.”
“What?”
“Get out. There’s nothing stopping you from walking away.”
“Nik,” Shit. I’d never called him that before, I didn’t think right now was the time to be testing it. I quickly rectified, “Nikolai. I don’t understand. You’ve spent the last two months trying to convince me that you want me by your side.”
My head spun at the new development.
How the fuck did we get here?
Things between us had just started to settle, things had been comfortable. Remembering that he kidnapped me, I felt like I’d been an easy hostage - compared to what I could’ve been.
Had my antics pushed him too far? Had my drama scared him away? I turned my cheek and clenched my jaw to keep its wobble hidden.
The breath against my neck was sudden, shocking me in place. Nikolai’s arm reached across to open my door, pushing his body firmly against mine. Tears that I was holding back seemed to evaporate at our sudden proximity. Nikolai’s whispered words had a shiver running down my spine.
“You want your freedom so badly? You think I’m a cold-blooded killer? Then, you’re free to go.”
‘Cold-blooded killer’ caught my attention. It made me think… of how untrue that statement was. I didn’t think that at all. He was fiercely protective, and so help me god, that only made me love him more.
Nikolai King was the kind of man that women spent their whole lives dreaming about. He was the full package, and I hated him for it. I bet he knew exactly what he was doing, how hard he was making this for me. He wasn’t a bad guy but it would’ve been so much easier if he were, I could’ve easily walked away and not looked back. It would’ve made everything so much simpler.
Now, I worried that if I stepped out of the car, I’d flinch. Or worse, he’d drive off leaving me to my freedom. Freedom which I would’ve traded in a heartbeat just for his attention. He remained silent as I pondered my next move. Did I dare try to bluff my way out of this one? I didn’t think so, too risky a move.
My hand skimmed his as I reached down to unbuckle the seatbelt. As graceful as I could in a dress and heels - not my usual attire - I climbed out of the car. I turned around to see he hadn’t moved, “Five minutes.”
I rushed up the stairs to my floor, praying that my apartment was still intact. The door came into view and I pulled out my keys, I needed to be as quick as possible. I only wanted to grab some essentials, the very few personal items I had.
When Nik collected me from my fathers’ funeral, I had a small clutch with my phone, house keys and some cash. It’d be nice to have my own clothes back, Heather had done a great job at keeping my wardrobe and bathroom well stocked but nothing compared to having your own clothing.
Looking around, I made a quick check that the coast was clear. I half expected Mike to materialize at any moment. He had always seemed to have a knack for showing up at the worst possible times. Another very good reason why I needed to be in and out.
I wonder what he thought happened, was he told some elaborate lie to cover up my mysterious disappearance?
If I’d had more friends or family I would have worried about them too, of course, it was just Nikolai’s luck that I’d always been a loner. No one to look for me, except my aunt, but she was the only person I had personally talked to - reassured that I was okay.
