“And you want to put cameras up around outside as if this person is capable of causing actual harm. Who the fuck is this person and what the hell do they want with my girl.” Alina says angrily as she stands and begins pacing back and forth. Willow still hasn’t spoken and just stares straight ahead, unblinking still hugging her knees to her chest.
“Willow, are you okay?” I ask gently and I bring a hand up to touch her knee. She still remains frozen when Alina stops dead at the bay window.
“Is that the car?” She says shakily while clutching her stomach and chest. Lev and I rush to the window and see a fully blacked out Mercedes, exactly as Willow described and the exact match to Andrei’s car. The headlights are on full beam as it drives past the apartment and our cars, the driver clearly not caring that we are watching from the window.
It’s as if they are taunting us, knowing we don’t know who it is and knowing we can’t do anything. If it didn’t mean leaving the girls here alone before we have a camera installed, I’d be out there to ram the car off the road with my own to find out who this motherfucker is.
They clearly have no idea who the fuck I am if they think they can stalk Willow and get away with it.
“How soon can the cameras be installed?” I hear Willow say from the sofa, void of emotion, still sitting in the same position and not turning her head to look at us.
“I can call him right now and his team can be here in thirty five minutes.” I reply as I make my way to her and crouch down in front of her.
She’s terrified, shaking and looks like she’s on the verge of another panic attack. I grab her hands and press my thumbs intothe pressure point between the webs of her thumb and index finger.
“Do it. Please.” Is all she says and I shout to Lev to call Nikolai and have him send over some men to install the cameras. Lev strides out of the room to call him leaving Alina sitting at the bay window while I remain crouched in front of Willow. I continue pressing my thumbs to the pressure point in her hand while she continues to stare blankly, her eyes glazing over.
“I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you Willow. You have me to look after you now and I promise I won’t let anybody come close to causing you any harm.”
Chapter Eighteen
Willow
There are currently five Russian men in our apartment, not including Lev and Dragna. They are installing security cameras around the outside of our place and I’m just sitting on the same spot on the sofa drinking a cup of tea that someone placed in my hand.
How the hell have I ended up with a stalker. How the hell have I ended up with a man like Dragna to protect me and not only that, but he said he would cover the cost of the cameras, that he would just take care of everything.
There’s chaos going on around me with Alina shouting at Lev for not telling her sooner about the situation, him trying to plead with her that he only found out today and Dragna is shouting at the other men in a combination of Russian and English. So far I have only made out that he’s telling them to hurry up and to make sure everything is working correctly and all I can do is sit frozen as I finish my tea.
Everything feels so surreal, it’s too much to be happening to me all at the same time. I decide to stand from the sofa and make my way to the kitchen to wash my cup just to do something.
“Are you okay?” Alina asks from behind me as she comes to wrap her arms around me.
“I don’t know Ali. How am I supposed to feel when it doesn’t actually feel like any of this is real?” I lean on the counter and let my head fall between my shoulders and Alina wraps her arms tighter around me.
“Lev said after they’ve finished with some meeting tonight at the club, we can go there and hang out with them in their lounge if we don’t feel safe being here alone. It won’t be partying, just chilling with them and then they can bring us back here and stay the night, only if you want Dragna to stay obviously.”
“I don’t know girl, I don’t want to cling to him for safety but I also don’t want to stay here just us. Even with the cameras I feel like this place doesn’t feel safe anymore. I don’t know what to do.”
“I’ll go talk to Lev and ask what time he thinks they’ll be done by tonight and when they leave we’ll see how we feel being here on our own before we make any decisions, sound good?” I turn to face her and hug her back because she knows that if I stay here for too long, I won’t want to leave again.
Alina knows me better than I know myself sometimes, so maybe getting out to the club later to show myself I can still go out and have a bit of fun is exactly what I need. I’m not going to let some crazy stalker make me a prisoner in my own home.
“Just tell him we’ll meet them there later. It sounds like a fun night.” I say as I smile at her and her face lights up.
“This is all going to get sorted out girl, the police will find out who this guy is soon and we won’t have to worry.” She replies as she gives me a squeeze before walking over to Lev to tell him we’ll be there tonight.
I hear Dragna’s footsteps coming up the stairs and see him appear down the hall before he makes his way to me.
“The cameras are installed. I’m going to show you how to use the software on your phone to watch them. There’s audio as well as visual recording and live feed twenty four hours, seven days a week so even when you’re out you can check the cameras anytime and rewatch any footage from the entire day, does that sound okaymoya dusha?”
“That’s perfect, thank you so much. I honestly don’t know what I’d do right now without all this, so thank you.” I smile at him and he lifts my hand to his lips and kisses the back of it.
“I would do anything to make sure you’re safe. Anything.”
“Lev said about Alina and I coming to the club tonight to hang out with you guys after some business meeting. I think I would like that rather than sitting here worrying about things, if that’s okay with you?” I ask nervously, thinking maybe he doesn’t want to spend this much time with me.
“Of course, anything you want.” He replies while looking me in the eyes so deeply I feel like his name has been scorned onto my heart. I actually feel butterflies and I don’t know how I’ve found myself, or lost myself I should really say, in his web.
