Fuck. I know he’s right. I just wish like hell he wasn’t.
“Will you keep a lookout?” I ask. “There’s a payout in it for you.”
Gallagher swallows. “Then I’ll definitely keep an eye out.”
I dismiss him with a nod and he ambles off towards his cruiser. Kruger turns to me looking grim. “What’s the next plan of action, sir?”
“I need you to look into any international ring with a footprint in Los Angeles. It’s possible that Sobakin sold her to some foreign fuck just out of spite.”
“I’m on it, boss.”
“However fast you’re going, speed it up by ten,” I growl. “We don’t have time to waste.”
Correction: Polly doesn’t have time to waste.
15
ALYSSA
Halle-freaking-lujah!
I’m out of the basement at last and freedom tastes so sweet. I wander around the house looking for Nikolai so I can thank him, but he’s nowhere in sight. When I ask Svetlana where he is, she says only that he’s working and he’s going to be away from the house most of the day. I figure the same is true for Uri, because he’s nowhere to be seen, either.
I’m not sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, avoiding him seems crucial for my mental sanity. On the other hand, there’s an ache for him that I can’t seem to kill.
I roam the gardens until my legs get tired. But even when I sit down underneath my favorite oak in the center of the lawn, I can’t stop thinking about Lev. He used to keep me company when I was out here, but like his brothers, he’s a ghost.
Which is how I end up back in the house, tiptoeing through the hallways, searching for clues that he’s okay.
I run into George on the third floor when he steps out of a room with a brass door handle. “Alyssa!” the physical therapist says, his eyes going wide with surprise. “I didn’t expect to see you here.”
I glance towards the door. “Is Lev in there?”
“He—er—well, yes.”
“How’s he doing?”
George sighs and crumbles forward. “Good days and bad, I suppose. H-he… asks for you a lot.”
My chest tightens. “Has he been cooped up in his room all day?”
“Try ‘all week.’” George snorts. “He hasn’t stepped foot out of that room since he was brought back to the estate.” He passes a hand over his face and I realize suddenly that he seems impossibly tired. Like he’s holding Lev together with his own bare hands. “The abduction really did a number on him. He doesn’t feel safe anymore. I think staying in there soothes him.”
Oh, the guilt. It’s like a jab to the stomach.
“Can I see him?”
I know I’m probably gonna be in a world of trouble with Uri for even asking, but I can’t just walk away knowing that Lev is hurting. If George turns me down, I’ll walk away and deal with it.
“Well… I probably should clear it with Nikolai or Uri first. But…” I hold my breath. “I’m worried about Lev. He hasn’t regressed this badly before. Maybe seeing you will help.”
“Y-you’re gonna let me in?”
“No.” My heart starts to fall before he adds, “I’m going to go to the kitchen to get some lunch and forget to lock the door behind me. And if someone just so happened to wander in while I was eating my sandwich—very, very slowly—well, then, I’d just have no way of knowing about that.”
Whistling happily, he saunters off down the hall, very determinedly not looking back for even a second. When he rounds the corner and his whistling starts to fade, I turn to the door with the brass handle.
Putting one palm on the cool wood, I push it inward just enough for me to slip through the crack.
The room I walk into is massive. Bigger than the basement, though with almost exactly the same amenities replicated in almost exactly the same spots. The most obvious difference is the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows. Or rather, that would be the most obvious difference, if each and every one of those windows didn’t have the blinds drawn tight so no sunlight can sneak through.
I spy a familiar shape on the bed. “Lev?”
He’s sitting with his back to me. He jerks violently when he hears my voice. “A-Alyssa?”
I take a tiny, cautious half-step forward. “It’s me.”
He leaps to his feet and turns to face me. His movements are as slow as mine. It’s almost like neither one of us wants to spook the other. His eyes are wide and his jaw is hanging open. For a moment, I wonder if I’ve done the right thing. Just because he’s been asking for me doesn’t mean he wants to see me. Doesn’t mean he needs to see me. Doesn’t mean seeing me won’t tear his fragile mind to pieces.