"Have you?" There's danger in his voice.
"Yes."
His thumb traces my cheekbone, just below the bruise. "I should have gotten there sooner."
"You saved my life."
He shrugs.
"I need to sleep." I pull back. "It's been a long day."
"Of course." He stands, moves toward the door.
Relief floods through me. He's leaving.
He stops at the door. Doesn't leave. Just closes it.
And locks it from the inside.
"What are you doing?" My voice rises in panic.
"Making sure you don't do anything stupid." He pockets the key. Moves to a chair by the window. "I'll sleep here."
"I'm not going to run?—"
"Yes, you are. The moment you think I'm asleep, you're going to try the window or the door or something equally suicidal." He settles into the chair, watching me. "So I'm staying right here."
"This is insane."
"This is necessary." His eyes are intent in the dim light. Predatory. "Get in bed, Seraphina."
"You can't?—"
"I just killed a man to protect you. I'm not letting you throw that away by doing something stupid." His voice drops. Dangerous. "Get. In. Bed."
Part of me wants to fight. To scream. To do something.
Instead, I climb into his bed. Pull the covers up. Try to ignore that he's watching me. That I'm trapped in his room. That every instinct is screaming at me to run.
"Good girl," he says softly.
I turn my back to him. Close my eyes. Try to breathe.
I should be planning escape routes. Calculating my options.
Instead, I find myself thinking through them. The window? We're too high up. The door? He has the key. My phone? Probably back at the clinic—or destroyed.
Even if I could get out of this room, where would I go? My apartment isn't safe. I have no money. No allies. And the Morozovs know where I work.
I'm trapped.
Not just by Adrian's locked door and watchful eyes in the dark.
But by reality.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow I'll figure out how to escape. How to find Gabe. How to deal with the impossible situation I'm in.
Tomorrow.
