Surprise flickers across her face so quickly she can’t hide it, and relief follows a second later. “Thank you.”
Hearing gratitude from her hits harder than it should. Warmth stirs in my chest, unfamiliar and deeply unwelcome. I hate how it makes me want to close the remaining distance between us and pull her into my arms.
I don’t let it reach my face, though. I can’t let her see how strongly she affects me.
Instead, I give her a single nod and turn toward the door before I do something reckless.
Like lose control entirely.
Chapter Nine
Elena
It’s my wedding day.
The door opens before I’m ready for it to. I expect one of Leonid’s maids to come in, but Audrey enters the room instead.
My best friend’s wearing a gold silk dress with waves of her brown hair falling over her shoulders. Her pupils dilate when they meet mine.
My chest tightens and I fly to my feet. Emotions I’ve been suppressing since I was kidnapped hit me all at once. It’s so intense that despite the weight of my wedding dress, I run into her arms.
She wraps her arms around me, hugging me tightly. “Oh my God, Elena.”
“Audrey.” My eyes burn as tears spill over, a broken sob tearing out of me. “I missed you so much.”
“I missed you, too,” she says, her voice trembling. “I was so afraid I’d never see you again.”
“Me too.”
When Leonid took me, my biggest fear was never seeing my best friend or my parents ever again. I’d been so afraid I’d die here and no one would know what happened to me.
Audrey would’ve been so devastated. My father would blame himself…and my mother? I don’t think she would’ve survived it.
I pull back. “Where are Mom and Dad?”
“They’re sitting outside, waiting. Your mom cried during the entire ride down here. She didn’t think we would really get to see you. We looked everywhere, even went to the cops, but they couldn’t do anything.”
Another wave of tears blurs my vision. “I’m so sorry all of you suffered because of me.”
She pats my back gently. “It’s not your fault. We’re just happy you’re okay.” She leads me back to the chair I was sitting on when she arrived. “What happened, and why are you suddenly getting married to this Russian guy who made us sign an NDA?”
I sniffle and wipe my face with the back of my hand. “He made you sign an NDA?”
She nods. “I found it really weird. Who is he?”
“Some guy from the mafia. He owns a yacht on the docks I work at.”
“Mafia?” Her brows crease with worry. “Elena, are you in trouble?”
Drawing in a breath, I brief her on everything that happened, all the way from the day I was kidnapped until now.
Her mouth is wide open with shock when I’m done.
“Elena,” she whispers, though her tone is sharp enough to make me hear the seriousness in her voice. “Are you insane? You can’t marry this guy.”
“I don’t want to,” I whisper back. “But I don’t have a choice. He threatened to kill Henry.”
I skip the part where I’m deeply attracted to him and how I melted against him when he kissed me.
