I follow Raya to the doorway, then she turns around and says, “I get a feeling I’m about to have a lot more freedom, now that you can focus your obsession to protect on someone else.”
“You wish.” Chuckling, I shake my head. “I’ve just been through hell, don’t give me a heart attack by telling me you want to date.”
“Hmpf.” She shoots me a playful glare, then walks toward the stairs. “I’ll check in on you tomorrow night after work.”
Turning around, I lock eyes with Nina, who’s still standing in the exact same spot, her body tense.
I stay where I am as I tilt my head. “You’re not feeling any better, are you?”
“I’m fine.”
Sure, and I’m a virgin.
Letting out a sigh, I ask, “Have you finished unpacking?”
She shakes her head. “Not yet.”
“Take care of it, then come down to the living room so we can talk.” Nina nods, but noticing she’s looking even more scared, I add, “We’re just going to talk, Nina. Nothing else.”
“Okay,” she whispers, but she still doesn’t move, her eyes glued to me as I pull the door shut behind me.
I head back down to the kitchen and open the medicine cabinet. Tossing two painkillers into my mouth, I down them with water before I walk to the living room and gingerly lower myself onto a couch.
Fuck. What a day.
Scratch that. What a fucked-up week.
My eyes fall on the new phone lying on the coffee table with a sticky note.
I peel it off and read the message.
Call if you need me. No matter the time.
Love you, Mom
When I unlock the device with the code Mom provided, I see it’s already been set up. Rosie probably did it while they were waiting for me.
Christ, I have the best family.
I go into my emails, and seeing the long list, I let out a sigh and get to work.
Chapter 18
Nina
With Simi fast asleep in the big bed that looks as soft as a cloud, I open the trash bags and begin to unpack our belongings.
I go through all of Simi’s clothes, hating that she has so little. I’ve never had money to buy her anything.
Not like Boris would allow me to leave the house.
Even something as simple as choosing clothes for my daughter has never truly been mine.
The past nine years of being a prisoner in my father’s house have worn away the girl I was before my mother died. I’ve become a woman who only knows how to survive.
Still, a fragile hope sprouts through the darkness.
What if Georgi meant it when he said he wouldn’t separate us? What if, as his captives, Simi and I might be allowed more than just the basics to survive?
