Chapter 27
White hot pain ripped through her body. A tingling of nerves that were awaking after a long sleep as Katya tried to move her limbs.
“Katya?”
The deep Spanish accent sent tingles down her spine. Was she dreaming or was that really Matias?
“Matias?” Her voice sounded like nails against a chalkboard.
“Shh. Don’t talk. I’m here, Katya. You’re safe.”
Katya tried to sit up, wincing as her body protested. “Help me,” she whispered to Matias. He slipped his hand behind her back and eased her up to lean against the headboard.
“Where am I?”
“Antonio Anastasi’s house. One of Miguel Angel’s men found you and brought you here.”
“How long?”
“How long what?”
“Have I been here?”
“You’ve been unconscious for three days. Catarina Anastasi has been tending to you.”
“I think I remember her. She helped me in the shower.” Katya pulled the sheet closer to her body. “And another woman was there, I think.”
“Yes, Madison. She is Massimo Anastasi’s fiancée. She held you in the shower as they washed you off. How do you feel? Should I call her?”
“No.” Katya closed her eyes. Memories of Jorge assaulted her mind. “Jorge. Where is he?”
“We don’t know, but we won't stop looking for him. I’ll kill him myself for what he’s done. Katya, what happened to you?”
“I...” She swallowed. “Please don’t ask. I can’t talk about it yet. Can I have something to drink?”
Matias stood and pulled out his phone. Katya listened as he called someone requesting Catarina and some food. She knew he had a million questions, but she wasn’t ready to show him how broken she truly was. For now, he wanted to be here, but once he learned how damaged she was—he would walk away.
“Catarina will be here in ten minutes to check on you, and Antonio is going to bring you something to eat.”
“Thank you.”
“Katya.” Matias pulled her hand into his as he stepped up to the bed. “I will do everything to make sure you are happy. When we return to Chile, your place will be by my side.”
“I’m not going back with you. You deserve better than me, Matias. I’ve done nothing but bring your family trouble. You're better off leaving me here. My father will keep coming for me. I can’t risk putting you or your brothers in danger again.”
“My brothers agree with me, Katya. You’re part of our family now. There is nothing that will stop me from making you mine, forever. Say you want that. Say you still believe we have a chance.”
Katya swallowed, her throat aching from the days spent pleading for her life. She wanted nothing more than to say yes, but first he deserved to know how tainted she really was.
“Matias, I…” She was interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
“I see the patient has finally awakened.” Catarina’s voice filled the room. “Let’s see how you're doing.”
Matias moved to give Catarina space to work. He watched as she checked over Katya, ensuring her vitals were where they needed to be. Antonio slipped in and left a plate of food on the table, smiling at her before leaving the room again.
“I’m glad to see some swelling has gone down. Your three days of rest seem to have done your body good. Now that you’re awake I need to ask you a couple of questions. Matias, can you step out?”
“What? No, I’m not going anywhere.”
“Look. What I need to ask her is going to be hard enough without you in here.”
“He can stay,” Katya whispered. “He needs to know why I can’t go back with him.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Matias sat by the bed and listened as Katya recounted every gory detail of her imprisonment. With each horror she told, his anger grew. It got so bad that he jumped up abruptly, knocking his chair to the floor.
“I need to go.”
Katya watched as he fled from the room. Her tears fell unabashedly down her face.
“See. I told you he would leave. Why would anyone want me after that?”
“Stop. That man was beside himself for the three days you laid unconscious. He left, I suspect, to find and kill Jorge. That man deserves far worse than death, and if my brothers have anything to do with it, he’ll get it.
Now,” she said, picking up the plate of food Antonio had dropped off. “Let’s see If you can hold this down.”