Gavriil shakes his head. “No need. She’ll go peacefully. Won’t you, Alina?”
I nod. There’s still no point in making a run for it if Dominik is stuck in a cell and the house is surrounded with guards.
Gavriil walks away from me to open the cage door. He motions for me to go through.
My stomach flip-flops as I oblige, brushing past him on my way out and feeling a tingle on the back of my neck. Something just feels off.
This feels like bait. I just saw Dom not even hours ago.
Valentin follows me out of the bedroom and down the two flights of stairs to the prison. He nods to Simeon, who leans against the wall with a bag of chips in one hand and his phone in the other.
They certainly stay busy.
Simeon digs around in his jacket pocket and tosses a key to Valentin. “Again?”
“Don’t know what he’s up to,” Valentin mutters before leading me over to Dominik’s cell.
Dominik pauses his pacing, his eyes locking with mine.
I expect him to smile or rush to the door, but he doesn’t move a muscle or speak a word as Valentin opens the door and pushes me inside.
My stomach drops as a crushed, confused look fills Dominik’s face.
Something is wrong.
“I know what happened between you and Gavriil,” Dominik says.
The floor drops out from under me.
A shaky exhale leaves me, along with all the air in my lungs. “What?”
Dominik looks away from me, his voice sounding strained. Hurt. Betrayed. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I was just about to. How did he…
Cold realization slams into me.Gavriil.
No wonder he seemed so damn smug. No wonder he offered to send me down here. It was planned all along.
“I’m sorry,” I whisper as a lump lodges in my throat. “I just…it had just happened, and I felt so guilty and confused. I didn’t want to hurt you.”
Dominik draws in a deep breath through his nose before lifting his eyes to mine. “Did he force you?”
His words pierce my heart like an ice pick. Even after what he found out, his main concern is still my safety and wellbeing.
I swallow hard. “Petrov is back down here, right? He was alive and well. Gavriil brought him into the room, and I knew what could happen to him if I didn’t agree to the shower,” I admit, watching his eyes widen in shock and fury. “I didn’t want him to suffer.”
Dominik nods, remaining silent as he waits for me to continue.
My mouth wilts. This is thereallyhard part.
“But what happened after the shower started…” My voice breaks. “That part wasn’t coerced.”
Dominik’s expression stiffens. “And what exactly happened?”
As much as I don’t want to dive into all the details, I’m afraid that Gavriil fed him a bunch of lies that makes the situation sound even worse than it was. Granted, I’m sure this sounds like a total nightmare to Dominik, regardless.
“I let him touch me,” I say, the words scraping my throat raw. “And I touched him back.”
