Chapter 3
3
T hat was so sweet but completely unnecessary. Sacha would never hurt her.
“It’s okay, Colm.” She tried to step around him, but he threw an arm out, keeping her behind him.
“No, it’s not,” he replied without looking at her.
“Are you protecting my cousin from me?” Aleksandr asked incredulously.
“You do not speak to her that way,” Colm warned again.
Sofia wasn’t even sure why he was so upset. Sacha wasn’t saying anything that she didn’t know. She wasn’t supposed to lift anything really heavy.
Or be on her feet all day.
Oleg had forced her to give him a job. Something Sacha hadn’t been happy about. But she’d managed to convince him that Oleg would do a good job.
Which was complete and utter bullshit, of course. Oleg was useless.
So she found herself constantly covering for him. Which is why she was here, opening up and trying to put away the supplies that had just been dropped off.
Jobs that he should be doing.
All so Aleksandr didn’t get angry and fire him.
Aleksandr grew quiet, just watching Colm with an assessing gaze.
Not good. Really not good.
“He had a doctor’s appointment,” she blurted out, trying to distract them both.
Sacha glanced down at her. “What? Who?”
“Oleg. He had a doctor’s appointment. That’s why I’m here opening up.”
“A doctor’s appointment,” Sacha said slowly. As though that concept was something foreign.
For him, it kind of was.
She doubted Sacha ever made time for a check-up, only seeing the family doctor when it became dire.
“It was so urgent that he had to go when he’s supposed to be working? Isn’t that what days off are for? I hope we’re not paying him to go to a private appointment.”
Yes, of course they were.
Because he wasn’t even at a doctor’s appointment. For all she knew, he was still asleep in bed. However, there was no way she could tell Sacha that. If she made him look bad in front of Sacha, she knew he would punish her.
Fuck, her life was a mess.
It felt like she was walking a tightrope, and at any moment, the wrong move would send her plummeting to the ground below.
And she knew she wouldn’t survive that fall.
Guilt dug a deeper hole inside her. It was cavernous, empty; it felt like she would never be able to fill it.
“So, I have a lot to do before opening. I best get onto it.” She injected some impatience into her voice. “Why don’t the two of you get on with whatever you need to do and leave me in peace?”
She pushed Colm’s arm aside and stepped around both men to enter the restaurant.
Please don’t follow me.
Or fight.
She moved over to the bar and leaned her arms on it, resting her head on her folded hands. Christ, she was in a mess. One, she really couldn’t see her way out of it.
You could tell Sacha. Or Colm.
If Sacha found out that she was being abused. . . she shivered. Blood would run. The problem would disappear. Permanently.
But at what cost to their relationship?
At what cost to Sacha?
Because she knew that Oleg would bring her down with him.
Would things be any different if she told Colm?
Probably not. Especially not with how he’d just reacted to Aleksander scolding her.
His protectiveness of her wouldn’t be a good thing for Oleg.
It’s likely not a good thing for you either.
No, there was no way out of this unless she took care of it herself.
But damned if she knew how she was going to achieve that.
She tugged at her sleeve again.
Shit.
It just occurred to her that Colm might tell Sacha about the way she’d reacted when he’d touched her wrist.
Fuck.
Well, there wasn’t anything she could do if he did. Going back in there wasn’t an option.
Surely he wouldn’t tell him. Not when he’d have to admit to touching her.
Right?
Sofia wished she knew... but Colm Finlayson was still kind of a mystery to her.
And, unfortunately, he had to stay that way.
“You need to take better care of her,” Colm stated as soon as the door closed behind Sofia. She wouldn’t thank him for his interference, but he couldn’t just ignore the fear and pain in her eyes.
He knew he hadn’t grabbed her hard enough to hurt her. He was very aware of the differences in their strength. She was fragile.
But he was careful not to crush her. He never wanted to see her shatter.
Not that he didn’t want to touch her in a variety of ways and in many different places. He’d love to strip her clothes off and lick every inch of her pale body, kiss her plump lips, suckle on her nipples, and mold her small breasts with his hands.
Calm. Breathe in. Out. Ignore your raging hard-on.
“What right do you have to tell me how to care for my cousin?” Anisimov asked in a low voice.
Fuck. It really wasn’t a good idea to threaten the head of the Bratva. If Anisimov didn’t end him, then Rogan would likely kill him. But this was Sofia, and Colm didn’t think clearly when it came to the tiny, sweet woman.
Why had she flinched when he touched her?
Why did Anisimov have to show up just when Colm had been about to get her to show him her wrist.
Was it bruised? How?
Had someone hurt her?
He clenched his hands into fists at the idea that someone might have harmed Sofia.
He’d kill the bastard.
An image of Oleg floated through his mind. He didn’t trust that bastard. There was something about him that rubbed Colm wrong.
However, he’d never seen him harm Sofia. And she’d never said a word against him.
Surely, if he was harming her, then she would’ve told Anisimov. There was no way that Aleksandr wouldn’t kill anyone who harmed his cousin.
So Colm didn’t get it.
The thought that someone might be hurting her... it made him murderous.
Should he tell Anisimov what he suspected?
But what if he already knew? What if he was the one hurting her?
That didn’t make much sense, though. From everything he’d seen, Anisimov was incredibly protective of her.
And what if she wasn’t being abused? She could have just hurt her wrist.
Why wouldn’t she have told him that if she did, though?
Unless she’d injured it while doing something she wasn’t supposed to do. What had Anisimov been saying about her lifting things? Did Sofia have an injury he knew nothing about?
He didn’t like that either.
For the moment, though, he thought it better to stay quiet about her wrist until he found out what was going on...
Maybe he was wrong; perhaps no one was harming her. After all, who would be stupid enough to harm Aleksandr Anisimov’s cousin?
“She was trying to lift that crate by herself. With her back...” Colm added that part like he actually knew what he was talking about.
He hoped it might prompt Anisimov to talk more about her back, but he should have known better. You didn’t get to be in a position of power like Aleksandr without learning how to guard your secrets.
So, for now, her sore back remained a mystery. Something else to add to the list of things Colm didn’t know about Sofia. He was alarmed to find it was a rather extensive list, considering he’d been coming to her restaurant to eat almost every week for close to a year. And it wasn’t because of the food.
He just came to see her.
Anisimov eyed him. “Well, when I just tried to talk to her about that, you acted like I was threatening her.”
Yeah, he had acted like that. He hadn’t been able to help himself. It seemed he didn’t like anyone scolding her.
Anyone but him, that was.
Anisimov frowned slightly. “It’s not your job to worry about Sofia. I will take care of her. And Oleg.”
That last part sounded like an afterthought.
“Why do you let her date him?” Colm gritted out. Oleg wasn’t worthy of Sofia. Anyone could see that.
Anisimov raised his eyebrows. “Why? Because he’s not you? Because you think you are worthy of her?”
Anger stirred, but he kept it locked up. He wasn’t here about Sofia and he needed to remember that.
“I’ll go get the package the boss sent over.” Colm turned to walk out the back door. He took the time to calm himself. If there was one thing guaranteed to set him on edge, it was the idea of someone abusing a woman or child. But the thought that Sofia might be in trouble was almost more than he could bear.
Over the years, he’d learned how to hide his emotions. He was expected to be staunch, tough, and unemotional. Seen but not heard. So, he always tried to keep his actual thoughts and feelings to himself.
He’d do well to utilize some of that control now. With the A4 envelope Rogan had given him in hand, he walked through the back entrance and into the storeroom.
It was tempting to go through the front to try and catch a glimpse of Sofia. But he had to push that need aside. Right now, he had to concentrate on business.
Anisimov was on his phone, but he quickly hung up when he saw him. He opened the envelope and glanced inside, a satisfied smile crossing his face.
“Good, tell Rogan I said thank you and that I’ll settle up with him later.”
Colm didn’t know what was in the envelope. It wasn’t worth his job, or possibly his life, to look. He knew what Rogan did to those who betrayed him; they quickly disappeared. Not that Colm had it in him to be disloyal, anyway.
“I’ll tell him.”
“I heard he’s got a woman living with him.”
Colm just waited. It didn’t surprise him that Anisimov knew about Miller. Like Rogan, Anisimov knew that knowledge was power.
But what purpose did he have in mentioning Miller to Colm? Was it some sort of threat?
Because Rogan wouldn’t welcome anything that threatened Miller, so unless Anisimov wanted a war on his hands, he’d back off from the direction he was taking.
“No need to look at me so suspiciously.” Anisimov raised his hands. “I’m a friend, you know.”
In so far as it benefited him. Colm was under no illusions that Anisimov took care of himself and his own first. He’d throw Rogan and the Cavans under the bus if it meant saving his own hide.
“Really,” Anisimov stated. “It suits me with no purpose creating problems between us. I just heard a rumor and wondered if it was true.”
“She’s a guest. Nothing more.” Colm knew Rogan didn’t want Miller linked to him, even though their relationship seemed to go beyond just friendship. Miller had had an extremely tough time. “I need to get going.”
Colm turned to walk away.
“You should stay away from Sofia. She is not for you.”
Yeah, well, Colm tended to disagree. He planned on having her. Eventually.
And once he did, he planned on damn well keeping her.