Total pages in book: 67
Estimated words: 68102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 341(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 227(@300wpm)
Rogan nodded back. But Colm just kept staring at her. If she could feel much, she might have been concerned by that look.
It felt heavy and possessive.
“Sofia? Any news? How is he doing?” Rogan asked.
She glanced up, surprised to realize he was talking to her. It was hard to resist moving her gaze to Colm. Her feelings for him were so mixed up.
Even though she’d been the one to tell him no, to push him away, she still felt hurt that he hadn’t texted her or been into the restaurant to check in on her.
Ridiculous. Sofia knew she was being stupid.
But she couldn’t seem to stop feeling this way.
“He’s doing fine,” she said with as much confidence as she could muster. “The doctor is a hundred percent certain he’ll pull through without any complications.”
That was an exaggeration.
But she knew the drill. Never show weakness.
Never admit that anything was wrong.
Hide all pain.
“That’s good.” Rogan watched her closely, but she couldn’t tell whether he believed her.
When she turned her gaze to Colm, his eyes narrowed as he took her in.
It was as though he could see all of her.
She gripped hold of the side of the bed, feeling another wave of dizziness hit her. She really had to sit down. And that juice sounded good right about now.
“Has he woken up?” Rogan asked.
“Oh, yes. He just needs to rest and recuperate.” She snuck a look at Viktor, who gave her a slight nod.
Right.
She was doing the right thing, even though lying felt wrong.
God, she was so sick of the lies and secrets.
Colm’s face showed little emotion, but his eyes were burning into her. She swallowed heavily.
What did he see?
“Have you seen Oleg?” Rogan asked abruptly.
The change of subject startled her and she spun her head back to him, the world spinning for a moment.
Shit.
How long had she been staring at Colm for?
“Uh. No. I haven’t.” That was the truth. “Not for a couple of days.”
“We have been searching for him too,” Viktor said.
Rogan scowled. “If he contacts you or you see him, I want to be the first to know.”
She nearly nodded, but at the last moment, she shot a look at Viktor, who was staring at Rogan thoughtfully.
“You’ll be the second to know,” Viktor said.
Rogan didn’t look happy, but he turned and walked out. Colm stared at her for a beat or two longer before leaving as well.
“You need to sit down,” Viktor told her.
“I know,” she said faintly.
He quickly moved a chair behind her and she sat, placing her head between her legs. She took several deep breaths as she fought back the nausea and dizziness.
A heavy hand was placed on her back. “You did well, Sofia.”
Did she?
She didn’t know what she was doing anymore. Weeks of nightmares and poor sleep preceded by months of subterfuge, lies, and abuse.
She was cracking. She knew she was.
“I just need you to hold it together. We have to represent him now. So I need you to be strong so that everyone else knows he’s fine.”
“I know. I know the drill.”
“I know you do,” Viktor told her. “Just like I know you’re strong. That you’ll do what you need to do for the Pakhan.”
That was her. Always doing her duty by the Pakhan. No matter if he was her father or cousin.
The trouble was that it never left any room for Sofia to break down. To do what she wanted. Be who she needed to be.
Stop wallowing in self-pity.
Sacha needs you.
She straightened up and glanced at Viktor with a nod. “I just felt a bit dizzy from donating blood.”
“And the stress and not sleeping. I know this is hard.”
“It’s fine. It’s what I need to do,” she said woodenly. She tried to bring that feeling of being numb back. That barrier had started to crack when Colm had walked into the room.
“Is there something going on between you and Finlayson that I need to know about,” Viktor asked bluntly.
Fuck.
He was too observant for her own good.
But she knew that Sacha had noticed things too. She’d caught him watching her a couple of times when Colm was near. So he’d likely said something to Viktor.
“Nothing. I haven’t even seen him in a while.”
“I get the attraction of the forbidden, Sofia. But that isn’t something that could ever work.”
She eyed him coldly. “You’re not my brother, father, or cousin, so I don’t need a lecture.”
He raised his hands. “Fair enough. Just remember. Stay strong. Put on a good front. We have to protect Aleksandr now.”
She’d always protected him. Even when he didn’t know it.
11
Sofia stepped into her small house.
All she wanted was to close her eyes and climb into bed. To sleep for days.
That wasn’t going to happen, though.
Aleksandr had woken up yesterday. He’d been drowsy and kind of out of it. But today, when he’d woken up, he’d been far more lucid.