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Between his refusal to talk and the permanent scowl etched on his face, I found myself getting caught up just watching him. The way he moved, the way he stood. He was huge and he knew it. He filled up every space with his hulking form, exuding alpha vibes simply by breathing. It’s probably why he didn’t have to say anything at the bank that day until the very end. A whistle was all he needed to summon people to his side, because even the criminals bowed down to him.
Ishouldhave focused on details that would help me escape, or something I could tell the police when I finally got out of here.
Ishouldn’thave noticed how the muscles in his neck tightened every time I talked to him, making the tiger’s head tattoo practically snarl. I shouldn’t be hopeful whenever I caught a whiff of cigarette smoke, wondering if he was nearby. I shouldn’t have been able to feel his gaze on me, even from a distance. But I did. And, like a fucking masochist, I wanted more of it. I didn’t miss the way his gaze lingered on my mouth, even while he manhandled me with the worst bedside manner known to man. In spite of myself, I was fascinated by him, trying to figure out why the hell he wantedme.
I was beginning to think he’d left for good when the sound of his heavy steps returned.
Unlocking the handcuff from the chainlink without a word, he dragged me back to the front of the kennel. Instead of stopping at the door and pushing me in, he actually walked in first and pulled me in after him, like he was leading a horse into a stall.
Once I was inside and he was effectively blocking the opening, he unlocked the cuff from my wrist.
He started to turn when I stupidly reached out and touched his left forearm. “I just wanted to say—”
Before I knew what was happening, he grabbed my hand and wrenched it behind my back. His other hand clamped around my throat from behind, ready to strangle me or crush my windpipe at a moment’s notice.
“Don’t you fucking dare,” he growled in my ear, bringing about another wave of goosebumps. “I am not here to make your life easier. I am not your friend. Don’t think for one second good manners will spare you.”
My mind processed what he was saying — not to mention the sheer volume of words he’d actually spoken. My body, on the other hand, was more concerned with the fact his chest was pressed into my back. Being tossed around wasn’t something I was used to, but I was too awed by him to be pissed, not to mention warm. His hands felt like fire on my skin and after days of living with a perpetual chill, it was a twisted form of relief.
“Spare me from what?” I asked, trying to look over my shoulder. His fingers tightened, putting the kibosh on that idea.
“Fate.” His lips brushed the shell of my ear. A shiver ran through me at the ambiguity of his answer, or maybe it was his breath, a surprising burst of wintergreen.
Shoving me forward, he exited the cage quickly and locked the door before disappearing with thundering strides.
As soon as he was gone, the girls in the other cages started whispering, like a messed up game of telephone. A couple of them were crying again, while the others shushed them.
I turned my attention to the blonde Yuri was tormenting and knelt next to our shared wall, shoving all thoughts of Mr. Black out of my mind. Christ, the girl couldn’t have been any older than twelve or thirteen. Her face was bruised and she gingerly touched her scalp, probably where that asshole ripped her hair out.
I laced the fingers of my right hand through the chainlink and cleared my throat quietly. “Hey. Are you ok?”
She scooted over to me, wiping her face with the edge of her jean jacket. Her answer came in a flurry of Russian. By the inflection alone, I assumed she was asking questions. Even if I knew the language, I sadly had no answers to give. As she spoke, she covered my fingers with hers, her blue eyes flooded with tears.
I shook my head with a wince. “I don’t speak Russian.”
Either she didn’t understand, or she didn’t care, because she said something else, gesturing helplessly to our shitty surroundings.
“I’m Roan,” I said, touching my chest with my left hand. People were people, no matter what language they spoke. If the only thing I could give this poor girl was a little humanity, that’s what I was going to do.
“Roan?” she repeated it back, brows furrowed.
Nodding encouragingly, I gave her a small smile. “Yeah, Roan.”
She tucked a lank of hair behind her ear, blinking back her tears and frowning. I empathized with her frustration with me, with the situation we were stuck in the middle of. At least I had the so-called wisdom of adulthood to fall back on and try to make sense of it all. What did she have? Every fairytale and childhood hope had been smashed to pieces.
Mimicking me, she laid a hand on her chest and cleared her throat. “Katya.”
“Katya,” I repeated with a nod.
A small smile flashed over her face. She shifted and leaned against the chainlink, pulling her bare legs beneath her. Unlike me, she didn’t have the luxury of a blanket. If I was cold in full-length jeans, she had to be freezing in a miniskirt.
“Here.” I leaned over and grabbed the blanket.
Thin as it was, I was able to slide it under the metal base of our wall. She pulled it up on her end and wrapped it around herself. Resting her head against the chainlink, Katya wormed her hand through one of the diamond openings and held it out to me.
I leaned back against her, lending whatever warmth I could through the metal and took her small hand. She clung to me tightly for the rest of the night. Even after I lost feeling in my ass from sitting on the concrete for so long, I didn’t dare move. I stayed right there, singing every relaxing song I could think of, clutching her hand between both of mine and praying we made it through another day.
14
