“That sounds like a question. Is it?”
I square my shoulders and infuse as much confidence into my voice as possible. “I’m going to go to my room.”
He shrugs. “Not very convincing, but it’s a start.”
I grit my teeth. “I stand by what I said earlier: you are an asshole.”
He chuckles as I turn around and storm away from him. The moment he’s out of sight, I run up the stairs and to my bedroom. I need to get this call in quickly in case he changes his mind.
I dial in Mia’s cell number first and hold my breath. It rings four times before she answers.
“Hello?”
“Mia!”
“Jesus!” she gasps. “Liv?”
I laugh, but it sounds more like a sob. “It’s me. It’s me, Mia. How are you? Is Mom alright? Have you seen Rob?”
“Jesus Christ, why are you asking about us?” she demands. “How are you? Is it true what Rob told us? Are you married?”
“It’s a long story… but everything Rob told you is true.”
“Fucking hell, Liv. I don’t know why we can’t just go to the police.”
“Our brother is the police, remember?”
“Right, but he’s still our brother. We should get more people involved. He can’t just—”
“Mia!” I interrupt. “Calm down. I know there’s a lot to discuss, but we both need to take a breath.”
I hear movement on the other line. I know she’s walking around. I check the time and try to remember what day it is.
Tuesday. Shouldn’t she be at work right now? She always has shifts on Tuesdays.
“Where are you?”
“At home with Mom. Actually, I’m always here now,” she says. “I gave up my apartment and moved in here. She… she needs me.”
“Seriously?”
“The attack really rattled her, Liv,” Mia explains. “She wasn’t comfortable living alone after everything that happened. Honestly, I can’t say I blame her.”
I don’t know why I feel so guilty. It’s not as though I was responsible in any way. But somehow, the fact that I’m now Aleks's wife makes everything seem a little more complicated.
“Of course. I understand.”
“Rob’s saying that he needs to cooperate with the motherfucker who took you,” Mia says. “He doesn’t talk to me a whole lot about his plans… but I do think he is planning something.”
“Sounds like Rob.”
“He’s more determined than ever,” she says. “It reminds me of how he was after Isabella disappeared. I’m worried.”
“Try not to be,” I say. “I don’t want any of you to worry. I’m actually okay. Really.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, I know he abducted me and all that. But it’s not like I’m a prisoner here.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Of course you are!”
“What I mean is, I’m not treated like one,” I rush to explain. “Seriously, Mia, I have a massive room with a balcony and a private bathroom. And a walk-in closet. And I get all these gourmet meals and stuff.”
“Are you trying to tell me you like being his prisoner?” Mia asks incredulously.
“No! No, of course not. That would be crazy. It’s just—”
“Oh, God.”
“What?” I ask.
“I didn’t think I needed to worry about this, given how things went down.”
I frown. “What exactly are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that you have a thing for bad boys—”
“Are you serious?” I snap defensively.
The fact that she’s right on the nose about this makes me all the more defensive. Whatever happens, I can never admit to my feelings for Aleks.
What kind of woman develops feelings for the man that threatened her family, beat her brother, and forced her into marriage?
Not me, that’s for damn sure. This is just lust. That’s all this is.
And lust is shallow. Temporary. It’ll pass.
I hope.
“I know you, boo,” she sighs.
“Which one of the guys I’ve ever dated qualifies as a ‘bad boy’？”
“You chose safe because you didn’t want to get hurt,” she points out. “So you picked men who didn’t have a chance of hurting you. But that doesn’t mean it’s what you craved. This guy is different. He’s your wet dream come to life.”
I shudder. “Stop that.”
“I’ve seen him, Liv, remember?” she reminds me. “I saw the man clearly. I may have been bound and gagged, but I wasn’t blindfolded. He’s hot.”
“Mia—”
“But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s a freaking Bratva don, honey. He’s dangerous. So believe me, I get that that’s part of the appeal—”
“Stop,” I say forcefully. “Just stop. I don’t… I’m not attracted to him, and I’m not okay with this situation, either. All I was trying to do is reassure you that I’m okay. I’m not being tied up or tortured or anything crazy like that. That’s all.”
She sits with that for a moment, but I know she’s not totally satisfied. “Has he… Have you… He hasn’t forced himself on you, has he?” she asks tentatively.
“Jesus, no,” I say firmly. “He hasn’t forced himself on me.”
“Okay, good. Glad he’s keeping his hands to himself at the least.”
I keep my mouth shut. It’s not totally a lie, and besides, she doesn’t need to know about what happened. Nobody does. If I had it my way, I’d wipe it from my own memory, too.
I hear shuffling on the other end of the line, and then Mia’s voice gets fuzzy in the background. She’s talking to someone else.
“It’s Liv… I know… She called me… Wait, Rob! I haven’t finished talking to her yet! Rob! Don’t—”
“Olivia?” Rob says, his deep voice filled with concern.
“What’s up, big head?” I say as cheerfully as I can, using the nickname I’ve had for him since I was a little girl.
He’s supposed to respond with Nothing much, chicken feet. But instead, all he does is growl, “Are you okay?”
I sigh. So much for faking happiness.
“Yeah, I am. I told Mia everything already. I can’t leave the house or anything, but I have freedom of the compound now. I’m treated decently.”
“Has he tried to force himself on you?”
“God, why does everyone keep asking me that?” I say. “No, he hasn’t. He’s been… fine. Distant. Aloof.”
“But has he tried to threaten you? Has he hurt you in any way?”
“He hasn’t hurt me at all,” I assure him. “It feels a little bit like living in a hotel, to be honest. There’s a maid that comes in to clean my room. There’s a chef in-house that’ll cook me whatever I want…”
“Fuck me,” Rob breathes.
“What?”
“You understand what he’s doing, don’t you?”