He leaves the room while I sink onto the edge of the bed, replaying our kiss in my mind. My finger traces my swollen lips. My tongue darts out instinctively, and I hate that I still taste the faint mix of whiskey and cigar smoke he left behind.
I despise myself for craving more of it.
I don’t know how much time passes, but I straighten up when I hear the sound of keys clanking in the metal door.
The door creaks open. I expect to see the middle-aged man who’s been delivering my food for the past couple of days, but instead a young woman steps into the room, holding a tray.
She looks like she’s around my age, with clear, pale blue eyes that look like the sky on a sunny day. She’s beautiful, even with her eyes wide in shock, as if she wasn’t expecting to see me here.
After a moment, she seems to realize she’s gaping at me, because she quickly closes her mouth and smiles. “Hi.”
I’m not sure if I should reply, but I force a greeting out anyway. “Hi.”
Her eyes gleam with unadulterated happiness. She closes the door behind her, locks it from inside, and walks toward me. When she reaches me, she places the tray of pasta and meatballs on the nightstand, then sits on the mattress next to me.
“I’m…Tatiana,” she says, dragging the words out as if she shouldn’t be saying them. She scrutinizes me through narrowed eyes when I don’t respond. “Who are you?”
“Elena.” I let my gaze sweep over her face, noting how she looks nothing like Leonid. Her eyes are a different color from his, and her chestnut brown hair is a contrast to his raven black.
Unlike Leonid, whose very presence feels sharp enough to cut, Tatiana looks gentle in a way that immediately puts me on edge. She radiates an almost disarming softness.
I wonder what role she played in my kidnapping…and more importantly, who she is to Leonid.
Jealousy creeps into my chest. Could she be his wife or girlfriend? But I haven’t seen a ring on his finger, and what girlfriend would be fine with her man holding another woman hostage and kissing her?
She nods toward the tray. “I brought your meal.” She leans in and whispers, “I saw Petrov heading to this room. I intercepted him and threatened to make up a lie about him if he didn’t let me see what was inside.”
“Oh.” I honestly don’t know what to do with that information, but I’m curious as to why she went through the trouble. “He fell for that?”
Her smile feels like a breath of fresh air after dealing with stone-faced men for days. “Petrov knows my brother will kill him without a question if I accuse him of even looking at me funny.”
“Brother?”
She bobs her head proudly. “Leonid. Haven’t you met him?”
“I have.” A strange wave of relief crashes into me that she’s Leonid’s sister, not his lover. “How do you think I got into this basement?”
She stops smiling and purses her lips. “I’m so sorry about all of this. My brother can be a dickhead sometimes, especially when he’s paranoid about business. But I promise he doesn’t harm women…or children.”
I let out a short laugh that holds no humor. “Well, the fact that I’ve been locked up here for days proves otherwise.”
Tatiana sighs, fidgeting with the sleeve of her sweater. “Okay.” She throws her hands up. “In my defense, he usually kidnaps men.”
I stare at her. “Do you think that’s normal?”
She grimaces, her eyes glinting with a mix of innocence and amusement. “I don’t know. That sounded less alarming in my head. Did it make you feel better?”
I shake my head. “No. Not at all. It’s deeply concerning.”
She scratches her head. “Ouch. Looks like I have to do better at comforting people. By the way, I wasn’t actually going to accuse Petrov of anything, but the old man’s a scaredy-cat, so I took advantage.”
A laugh slips out before I can stop it.
Tatiana joins in on the laughter and points at me as if she just won a prize. “There. That’s better. You looked like you were planning my murder two seconds ago.”
I stop laughing, but I’m still smiling. Tatiana’s nothing like her brother. She knows how to light up the room. She’s still part of whatever criminal enterprise is going on here, so I should be wary of her, but oddly, I feel relaxed with her here.
It’s better than being alone. If I’d met her on my first day, I wouldn’t have been so afraid. She’s like a breath of fresh air in all this chaos, despite being Leonid’s sister.
