Total pages in book: 83
Estimated words: 79312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 79312 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 397(@200wpm)___ 317(@250wpm)___ 264(@300wpm)
She's hiding. She hasn't had time to escape.
“I know you're here,” I say, keeping my voice quiet. “You know I'm going to find you. There's no point in hiding, Lydia.” I speak in a low voice, the timbre of it carrying through the garden. “There's no use hiding from me. You can try, but you're still going to end up right where you started—here, with me. And I promise it's not going to be as bad as you think it will be.”
I smile to myself. It’s a game. It’s all a game. “Come out, come out, wherever you are.” I stalk around the periphery of my garden, to my left, an area of thick rhododendrons. She's there. She's hiding behind the bush. Likely thought she had a hell of a lot more time than she did. Probably didn't suspect that the alarm would go off so quickly. Didn't know that there's no way she could get off my property without my knowledge.
She also doesn't know I have a tracker on her.
“If you come out now, it will go a lot easier for you, Lydia.”
She doesn't move or respond in any way, likely terrified, unsure of what's going to happen with me, scared to be with a man she doesn't know.
I walk quietly toward where she is, aware of the fact that my shadow casts over every inch of this place. Sometimes I wish I could make myself smaller, less menacing. Sometimes I wish I could magnify it.
“Lydia, you need to trust me. I am not your enemy.”
Something rustles in the bushes.
“Come out, Lydia. I know where you are, and I could reach out and take you. Or you can come to me of your own accord.”
It feels somehow symbolic, offering her this small chance to surrender on her own. She can't escape; she knows that now. Even if she fled the premises, I'd locate her. “You can't get away, Lydia. You know that. Even if I walked away now and you sprinted for the exit, I would track you down. I would bring you back here, and you would still be mine. If you run, I will always chase you. And I will always find you. You have to trust me.”
Someday… someday she will trust me. Someday, she will know that she's safest here, with me, but until then, I need to keep her with me in a secure way so that she doesn't hurt herself.
“Trust you?” Lydia stands, coming out of hiding, holding herself apart from me. “After you kidnapped me? Bound me? You're insane if you think I'll trust you.”
She turns her head away from me as fire engines approach my house.
Everyone exits as uniformed firefighters swiftly enter the building. One hooks up to the fire hydrant, and they efficiently get everything under control.
It's only a house. The house will be fine. What's important is that she's here with me.
I walk over to her, keeping my hands at my sides so I don't scare her. When I reach her, I stop short of touching her. “I know you're angry, but everything I've done is to protect you. You are in more danger than you realize.” I crook a finger at her. “Come here.”
She shakes her head and stands her ground. I take a step toward her, and when she looks as if she's about to run, I reach for her. Snatch her. Drag her to my chest and hold her to me.
I hold her shoulders and give her a little shake. “Listen to me, woman. For fuck's sake, Lydia, listen to reason.”
I take a deep breath and stop myself. I brush my thumb along her shoulders. “Yudin was going to murder you. You're safest with me and with our family. Now that our families are going to align, we're going to bring peace to the situation. None of this went down the way I would've wanted.”
“Do you have her?” Mikhail yells from a few feet away.
I nod and respond, “I do.”
“Bring her the fuck over here.”
I turn and stay and glare at my brother. He's all business, cold and authoritative, and I know why, but it doesn't make it any easier.
“I'm trying to talk with her. I won't have her treated like a prisoner. She deserves to know the truth.”
It's a gamble. If I give her some freedom, if I let her know that she can walk away if she wants to, she might choose to stay.
Lydia looks from me to Mikhail, her fury giving way to confusion and fear.
Her large eyes go wide. “If what you say is true, then why not let me decide what I want to do? Why control me?”
I don't want to tell her the truth. I want time to get to know her. I can't tell her that I can't imagine losing her like I lost my sister.