She's ignoring me; her eyes are locked on the orange sky, silhouetted by the tree line.
It's really gorgeous out here. The sunsets over the city are beautiful, especially from the highest buildings and across the ocean. But this is different. It's an entirely different energy. We're in the wild. The sense of freedom becomes more intense when nature puts on these artistic displays. Storms, sunsets, wild, rushing rivers. Whenever I witness these things, it reminds me how small I am. How insignificant I am as a human being on a planet of chaos and unpredictability.
My eyes drift over her, wondering if she would understand these thoughts if I told her. I imagine she would. She's got that same fierceness in her that I have in me. She isn't fearful. She isn't timid or weak. She's actually really surprised me. It takes a lot for people to surprise me these days.
"Shall we get up early tomorrow morning and try another escape? Or were you maybe thinking late tonight after I've gone to bed. I don't mind. Either time works for me," I say casually.
She steals a quick look at me, her top lip curled into a sneer. She rolls her eyes and sighs loudly.
"I'm done with that," she huffs.
"What do you mean you're done with that?" I ask, confused.
Nikita shrugs and sets her half-eaten food on the coffee table. She turns to face me with both brows raised. "What is the point of wasting my time and energy on things I don't have control over? This whole situation is not in my control, and I'm no longer interested in playing your games."
"I don't understand," I muse, my brows furrowed.
"I'm clearlystuckhere. And I've spent every day focused on one thing. Escaping. And it's been awasteof energy. So I quit. I'll just relax, do nothing. Wait it out. I don't know. I don't really care anymore."
I watch her for a long while, studying her expression and the piercing brightness of her eyes.
"Alright… " I say cautiously, knowing full well this is a trick to get me to drop my guard. I've already accepted that she will do and say anything to manipulate me. She proved that in the car on the way here.
"Alright," she sasses, almost sarcastically, as she turns back to the sunset and picks up her plate of food again.
***
Of course, I continue to keep a very close eye on her. But over the next few days, she doesn't make a single attempt to get away again. And me keeping an eye out for her escapes, turns into me just watching her. I become the voyeur as she goes about her daily routine in the cabin.
The more I watch her, the more she impresses me.
I expected to kidnap a Bratva princess. A helpless girl who doesn't know her left from right. The princess part… Sure, I'll give her that. She's beautiful, delicate, elegant, and packed full of attitude. But she's also smart and far more capable than I would have given her credit for. Her delicacy is in her beauty, not her attitude.
She clearly hasn't been pampered her whole life because she cooks—exceptionally well, I might add. She cleans, she does her own laundry. She keeps herself busy without needing external attention and validation all the time. She moves about quietly and never asks me for anything.
"What are you reading?" I ask, finding her lying curled up on the sofa in the living room.
"A book," she answers coolly.
I roll my eyes. "Can you ever just give me a straight answer?"
"Can you maybe let me go home?"
"No," I huff.
"Then my answer is also no," she sasses.
Shaking my head, I lean over the back of the sofa and grab the book from her hands.
"Hey, that's rude," she complains.
"An autobiography. Interesting," I mutter, handing the book back to her.
I enjoyed that book. It's about a man who got lost in the Everglades and survived for over three months out there alone with no gear at all. "Are you studying for your escape?" I ask.
"I already told you, I'm done with that," she says, not looking up from the page.
To her annoyance, I sit down next to her, getting into her space on the sofa. She grumbles and pulls her legs closer to her body, shifting away from me.
