Chapter 37
ISABELLA
For the past four days, Slade and I have been staying at his house.
His siblings don’t drop by and neither does his mom.
We cook together and read together.
We lay down in bed and sometimes do nothing but talk.
There is tension between Slade and I and I can feel it and I’m sure he can too.
I don’t tell him how much I miss Grams or that I want to leave and he doesn’t tell me how he’ll do anything to keep me here.
There is a boundary that we’ve set for each other but it does feel like something is missing.
He keeps cumming inside me. No matter how much I tell him not to, he still does it and doesn’t care.
He’s crazy.
It’s like he’s trying to trap me and make sure I stay stuck with him.
We’ve maybe had one argument since I got here and that was about how I wanted to go out and explore.
He got mad at me because I was putting myself in danger by wanting to leave. The black hooded man is still out there. I asked Slade about him and all he said was that his name is Georgino. The name doesn’t sound familiar and I don’t know why this man would want to hurt me.
I don’t know what his mission is or what he wants to accomplish.
All I know is that he wants me because of my father.
But after my argument with Slade yesterday, he said I could go to a local bookstore today with Angel and a guard.
When he mentioned Angel I was shocked because I thought she didn’t like me.
He told me she likes reading so she would want to come and it would give us a chance to talk and possibly become closer.
I walk down the hall from the foyer to Slade’s office.
I’ve been in here once when Slade was giving me a real tour and showing me everything in the house.
The library is by far my favorite room. There is a large window above the shelves that gives you a beautiful view of the backyard and everything beyond it.
Slade built a beautiful house and you can tell it’s his vibe.
I knock on the closed office door and hear him say, “Voydite.”
Which means come in in Russian.
He’s been speaking to me in Russian a little bit more.
Small demands or sayings.
I walk in and he is behind his desk looking through files.
He lifts his head up and his eyes catch mine.
He always stares at me so intensely that I feel nervous when standing in front of him.
Slade puts his files into a folder and he sets it to the side before beckoning me with his fingers. “Prikhodit'.”
I do as he says and walk towards him. When I get close enough he wraps his arms around my waist and places me on his lap.
“You’re still going to the book store today?” he asks. “Fuck, you smell good. I’m tempted to make you stay.” He presses a soft, teasing kiss to my neck. “Vanilla and fucking roses.”
“Yea. Angel is already here, waiting for me in the car,” I say, resting my hands on his arm wrapped around me.
“Okay.” He leans away from my neck and stares up at me. “Call me if you need anything. I’ll be here with Landon and Ryker.”
He presses his lips to mine softly before thrusting his tongue in and devouring me.
I slide my arm around his neck and lean into the kiss, not getting enough of him.
I don’t think I ever will.
“And tomorrow, me and you are going on a date,” he mumbles against my lips.
I lean away, smiling. “Really?”
Slade nods. “Yes. You will love it, trust me.” He pats my thigh. “Now go before I make you stay.” I kiss him, helping myself, showing him how happy a simple date makes me.
I’ve never been on a date before and the fact that Slade, a brooding serial killer wants to take me out, gets me excited.
I stroll out the front door and a black Cullinan is parked out in the driveway. The guard stands outside the door and when I walk up to him he greets me before opening the door.
Angel is on her phone when I get inside the car.
“Hi,” I say softly, trying my best to be nice even though she is the complete opposite.
She turns her head and smiles. “Hey. I didn’t know you were a bookworm.” She pockets her phone and gives me her attention.
Angel seems like such a completely different person from the one I met when I first got here.
“Yea. I’m an author so books are my specialty.”
“Slade never told me any of this. Honestly it’s hard to find girls to hang out with who like books, especially since I rarely talk to anyone at school. I’m careful with the type of people who I hang out with,” she says and I feel like I’m getting whiplash with how she’s acting with me.
We talk a little more throughout the drive to the bookstore.
I’m trying not to be in awe because of the car we’re in.
I’m not used to the nice houses and nice cars, or the grand wedding I had. I was never poor or anything and I’m grateful for the things I have but then I look at Slade’s lifestyle and realize how far money can take you and that there are different levels to wealth.
The bookstore we go to has some Russian name so I don’t know what kind of books it will have.
Angel says that this is her favorite one to shop at whenever she needs new books. They have a good English section but she reads almost all of her books in Russian. If they don’t have the book in Russian that’s when she'll get the English copy since there are good English books she said.
This bookstore isn’t huge. It’s a nice, small, cozy shop. They have a café in this shop which I love since it would be a perfect place to read books while having a cup of coffee or a pastry.
“What kinds of books do you read?” I ask Angel, trying to make conversation as we look at books.
I learned that the guard who is watching over us today is named Boris and he has been a trusted guard of Angel for a while now.
He is just following us around while also keeping his eyes peeled at everything around us.
“I mostly like romance books. Mystery and thriller are good too but I’m a true romance reader at heart.”
“I have a friend who writes dark romance books. I wonder if you’ve read any from her.”
“What’s her pen name?”
“Rebecca Grim.”
Angel’s eyes light up and she smiles before nodding. “Yes, I have a few of her books. She writes really good plots. I sometimes get bored of romance stories and I wish there was a little action in them and her books give me just that.”
“She’s great. I love her books. I rarely read romance but hers I’ve always been a fan of.”
“What kind of books do you like reading?”
“Probably the same as you. I mostly write psychological thrillers but I do love a good romance from time to time. I think a lot of people do because they wish to have the kind of love that exists in books.”
“Oh my god! Yessss! I totally agree with you. I love my boyfriend and he does a lot for me but god, the things I would do for a fictional boyfriend.”
I almost laugh because of how ironic that is.
Slade reminds me a little of a fictional book boyfriend.
I mean I technically wrote about him as if he was a fictional character in my book. A lot of girls want a guy like Slade to spend their whole life with.
Slade has a dark and mysterious aura to him. He has tattoos, muscles on every part of his perfect body, his hair is not too short or too long. He’s rich and has a possessive personality that girls would die for. And let’s not forget about the scar that makes him look deadly.
Not to mention he kills people which tends to happen a lot in dark romance books.
“I find it ironic how you live this life and still want a badass fictional boyfriend,” I say.
“I’m pretty sure for every reader, no matter who you are or what kind of life you live, books will always be better than real life.
You don’t have to think in books because it’s fiction and in a fictional world, there are no consequences,” Angel explains.
“I love my boyfriend but he isn’t who I want to marry.
He’s my first boyfriend and he treats me well but I don’t see him being my future husband. ”
I nod, understanding her a little bit.
I like knowing how readers think so I can see if they think like me or not. Everyone has a different point of view on things.
Angel and I spend a good fifteen minutes walking around the bookstore and talking.
She’s actually a pretty nice person when she doesn’t hate you or act like a bitch.
She tells me bits and pieces about her childhood and how her and Slade got into a lot of trouble as kids.
They were closest in age so of course they are close with each other.
“I’m going to go buy these and then I can meet you at the car?” she asks.
I nod and she leaves.
I’m not buying any books because I would feel guilty using Slade’s card, even though he gave it to me.
He said because we are now married, I basically own everything he owns and what’s his is mine.
As I scan the books on the shelf my phone buzzes.
It’s an unknown caller making the blood in my body freeze. I slowly swipe my screen to answer and put the phone against my ear. “Hello?”
“Little Rossi,” Georgino says on the other end. My heart starts racing and I look around to find Boris. He is in front of the bookstore doors, scanning everywhere. “Do anything stupid and Angel Rykov dies.”
A tear falls from my eyes. “What do you want?”
“I wanted your boyfriend in jail and you dead but because you didn’t listen to my directions and covered for him at the police station, you got away. That’s bad, little Rossi.”
“I don’t want any trouble. Please,” I beg but he doesn’t care.
“Then you should have done what I said.”
“Why are you trying to kill me?”
“I already told you this. Your dad took something of mine. So I had to return the favor and take everything from him. And I’m not stopping until I have his only daughter. If you give yourself up now, I’ll spare the Rykovs.”
I shake my head and tighten my lips.
I need to be brave. I can’t have him see me acting weak.
“Please.”
“I will get to you Isabella. I will just have to kill people along the way,” he says before hanging up and a few seconds later a shot rings in the air and the glass window shatters.
People scream and take cover.
My eyes go around the bookstore trying to find Angel.
The guard is protecting her and getting her out of the building to the car.
I need to leave.
I run towards the front door and another shot rings out as a bullet grazes my arm. I wince and cover the wound with my hand.
My arm stings from the bullet and blood won’t stop dripping down my arm.
There are people yelling in Russian around me and screaming but all I try to focus on is getting the hell out of here without dying.
There is only one reason why this bookstore was shot up and that’s because of me.
“Ms. Rossi.” I flinch as an arm covers my back and I realize it’s Boris. He brings me to the car while still shielding me.
When I get into the car I feel a huge relief.
Angel looks like this is an everyday thing for her.
She doesn’t seem that affected.
Angel is staring out the window as police cars drive by.
Boris gets in the car and speeds off, already hitting 130 kph.
“How are you so calm right now?” I ask, still keeping pressure on my arm so that I don’t faint.
I’m surprised the bullet didn’t pierce through my arm but it graze my pretty good to the point where my arms on’t stop bleeding.
“I’m used to the threats.” Angel shrugs.
“One time we had a home invasion because of a spy and I remember my dad taking all of us to a safe house,” she says casually.
I forget that this is literally her life.
She is used to this and knows that she’s safe and protected.
“But also remember, it isn’t me they are after. ” She gives me a knowing look.
The drive to the house is quick since Boris is speeding. He is also speaking Russian over the phone, probably to Slade or Niko.
When we arrive, Slade is on the porch waiting for us.
Once Boris parks the car, Slade comes over to us and opens the door, his hands on my face immediately.
“You’re okay. I’ve got you.” His eyes go to my hand that’s holding my arm.
“She’s been hit.” He gives Boris a furious look.
“Ty grebanyy idiot.” He curses before picking me up bridal style and rushing toward the house.
I cover my face in his chest and try to calm my racing heart. “Are you okay?”
I shake my head. “He called me, Slade. He wants to kill me.”
He takes the steps up to our room. “I won’t let that happen, don't worry.”
“He said he’ll go after your family if I don’t surrender myself.”
“Shut the fuck up, Isabella. You’re not surrendering yourself.
” Slade grunts and when we get to his room he kicks open the door and gently places me down on the bed.
“I told you a thousand times already. I’m not letting you go.
” He holds my jaw and makes me look up at him.
“I’m not letting that Georgino fucker get you and I’m never letting you go.
Do you understand me?” I lick my lips and nod slowly while trying to contain my emotions.
Slade goes to the bathroom and comes back with a first aid kit. “Take off your shirt.”
I lift my shirt, leaving me only in my bra.
He asses my entire body, making sure there are no other injuries He sits on the bed next to me while I silently watch him as he takes care of the wound.
I wince when he presses an alcohol wipe to my arm. He stares at me with worry before continuing.
“Is this what your life is like?” I ask.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean this whole mafia thing. Angel seemed so calm in the car.”
Slade shrugs. “I’ve had worse things happen to me. It takes a lot for something to faze me.”
“Like what?”
Slade looks up at me, his hands pausing. “Like losing you.” He sighs and puts the alcohol wipe and band aid down. “I feel like if I lose you, I’d go insane.”
“Even if it means you’d lose yourself in the process?”
He scoots closer to me and puts his hand on my cheek.
“I’m prepared to lose everything for you, Isabella.
You say I’m controlling you but you have no clue what kind of control you have over me.
” He strokes my cheek and his eyes go down to my lips before meeting my eyes.
“You have to trust that everything I do for you is for a reason. I don’t do it just because I want to have some weird control over you, it’s because I want to make sure you stay alive. Because I can’t lose you.”
I lick my bottom lip and I see Slade’s eyes go down before meeting my eyes again. I don’t say anything so he lets go of my cheek and works on my wound, silently.