Chapter 6
6
“ S ofia!”
She glanced up at Sacha as he strode into his office, Viktor behind him. She was sitting in an armchair. Sacha’s face was a mask of cold anger, but she could also see the flash of concern in his eyes.
Sacha glanced around the room. Miller was lying on the sofa with Colm crouched down next to her. Dima had struck her hard on the head.
Arseni was standing next to her.
“Are things taken care of?” Sacha asked Arseni.
“I called one of the cleaners. They’re taking care of everything.”
Of Dima, he meant. The cleaners would take care of Dima’s body.
“Good. Go and make sure that is being done. Then check back in with me.”
Arseni nodded and left.
“What injuries does Miller have?” Sacha asked Colm.
“That asshole hit her on the head. She’s dazed and confused.”
“You’ve called MacGuire?” Sacha asked.
“He’s on his way,” Colm said, standing.
“Good. Pick her up and take her into my private room. The doctor should be here at any moment. My men are keeping watch for him and MacGuire.”
Colm eyed him for a long moment like he wanted to argue. She held her breath.
Please don’t argue with Sacha.
Please.
Then he nodded and helped Miller up.
Sofia should offer to go with them. To help. But she couldn’t seem to move. She still felt so removed.
As though all of this was happening to someone else.
She barely caught the look Colm sent her... she couldn’t quite decipher it.
Was he upset? Mad?
Why?
“I will wait outside for the doctor,” Viktor told Sacha.
As soon as they were on their own, Sacha moved, crouching right in front of her.
“ Kotyonok , are you all right? What happened?” he asked in a soft voice.
A shiver raced through her. Suddenly, she was so cold.
Swearing quietly, he jumped up and grabbed a blanket from a cupboard.
It was her blanket, the one he kept in here for her. It was light blue, soft, and fluffy.
She sighed slightly as he tucked it around her. Then he clasped hold of her knee through the blanket, his concern warming her slightly.
“What happened?” he asked again.
She slowly went through everything, her words stilted and quiet.
His frown grew, but he didn’t interrupt her, letting her get everything out. “That asshole. Who hired him?”
“Boris.” She didn’t even think of trying to lie. Why would she? It was the truth.
Although she thought Oleg was really the one behind that decision. She couldn’t tell Sacha that, though.
“I’ll take care of Boris,” he said ominously. “Do not worry about this, understand? This is not your fault. You did not do this. Miller will be fine. I will see to it. It is not your fault she was harmed.”
Shit.
He knew her so well. He knew that her primary concern was for Miller. But also that there was be a dark pool of guilt in her stomach, threatening to pull her under.
To drown her.
Miller worked for her.
She’d let her take the garbage out on her own. Why hadn’t she gotten Dima to do it?
Such an idiot.
“Sofia? Kotyonok , I need you to hold it together for a bit longer, all right? I will help you through this, but MacGuire will be here soon, so I’m going to need you to keep yourself under control.”
Why would he think she wouldn’t do that?
Did he think she was going to collapse? To cry? Scream?
Perhaps that would make her feel better... but it wasn’t happening anytime soon.
“I can do that.”
He squeezed her knee, looking like he was in pain. Lord, how had she become so selfish that she hadn’t noticed he was in pain?
“Sacha? What’s wrong?” she asked.
“Wrong?”
“You look like you’re hurting.”
He placed his hand on the side of her face. It was so reminiscent of what Colm had done the other night that it made her jolt in surprise.
“I’m hurting for you,” he said quietly. “He deserved to die, but I know you. I know you will still feel guilty despite what he was going to do.”
He was hurting for her and what she’d done.
But the strange thing was... she wasn’t feeling guilty about killing Dima.
At least not yet.
“You are a hero tonight, Sofia. While part of me wishes to scold you for putting yourself at risk, an even bigger part of me is fiercely proud of you, mladshaya sestra .”
Little sister.
It was enough to cut through some of the shock and have tears filling her eyes.
She pushed the blanket down so she could clasp hold of his hands. Hers were chilled and shaking, but he didn’t say anything.
“ Ya lyublyu tyebya, starshiy brat ,” she said back.
I love you, big brother.
He closed his eyes and nodded. A knock on the door made him sigh.
“I don’t like that you had to do this. That you were so close to this asshole. I’m going to have Arseni stay close to watch you for a while. All right?”
It might have sounded like a suggestion, as though he wanted her agreement. But she knew that wasn’t actually the case. Her job was to nod and agree.
Which is what she did.
As the doctor came in, she slipped back into that strange headspace.
Oleg wouldn’t be happy that Arseni was staying close by. But she couldn’t bring herself to care.
The door opened once more, and in walked Rogan MacGuire. She quickly glanced up at him, then away.
Rogan was a good-looking man, although he wasn’t as attractive as Colm. Tonight, he radiated a furious energy that she just couldn’t deal with. So she kept quiet, her mind going back to that sickening crunch that Dima’s head had made when her bat hit it.
God.
Don’t be sick.
Keep yourself calm.
That’s what Sacha needs from you. Not for you to freak out on him.
She tuned back into what they were saying just as Sacha grabbed Rogan’s arm.
Oh, this wasn’t good.
And yet, she couldn’t seem to find the energy to be scared. Rogan yanked his arm from the other man’s grasp.
“The doctor is checking her over,” Sacha told him intently. “Colm’s with her. She’s safe. I promise.”
“She should be at the hospital.”
Hmm. Did Rogan have feelings for Miller? It was difficult to tell, although he certainly looked upset, and Miller always having Colm with her also suggested that he did.
“Can’t.” Sacha stared at him steadily, his face giving none of his emotions away. “Sofia killed the man who attacked her.”
Yep, she was going to be sick.
Keep it together.
Rogan glanced over at her, but she deliberately kept her emotions in check.
“What happened?” he asked.
Sofia fought the nausea bubbling in her stomach.
She’d killed a man.
She was a murderer.
Stop it. Think about something else.
For some reason, the image that floated through her mind was Colm.
Images of Colm insisting she wore his jacket. Checking that her belt was secure. Colm watching her from across the restaurant.
Almost as much as he watched Miller.
“Miller was taking the trash out when she was attacked by one of the kitchen hands,” Sacha told him. “Sofia went out to check on her, saw Dima attacking Miller, and hit him with the baseball bat.”
“I keep it by the door to the alleyway,” Sofia said, staring at the wall. “Never had to use it before, but better safe than sorry.”
Sacha walked over and crouched in front of her again. He took her hand in his. That was surprising. He didn’t usually show affection in front of others. “You should have grabbed one of the men, Kotyonok , and not have risked yourself.”
Sofia turned her head to look at her cousin. “I wasn’t thinking. I just had to help Miller. He was hurting her.” Finally, she looked up at Rogan. Her eyes were now wide, filled with horror.
“He’s dead?” Rogan reiterated.
The door to the back room opened and the doctor walked back in, looking at Sacha.
“How is she?” Aleksandr asked.
“A few bruises and scratches. She’s dizzy and dazed, so I would say she has a slight concussion. I will give you a list of symptoms to watch out for. If she develops any of these symptoms, she needs emergency care.” The doctor handed over a hastily scrawled list. “I’m more worried about the trauma of being attacked. She’s calm now, but I doubt that will last. She’ll need looking after.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be taking care of her,” Rogan vowed.
He disappeared into the back room as the doctor left.
Looking around, she noticed both Sacha and Viktor giving her concerned looks.
“You want me to take Sofia home?” Viktor asked quietly.
She tensed.
Sofia liked Viktor, even trusted him to some extent. He would always side with Sacha. That was what her cousin needed. But she also knew if she did something he thought Sacha wouldn’t approve of, then he’d rat her out quicker than Oleg could lose money on the horses.
“No, I’ll take her home shortly.”
She breathed out a small sigh. Sacha understood her. He knew Sofia wasn’t talking because she was scared that if she opened her mouth, every emotion she felt would pour out.
The door opened again before Colm walked out.
Her stomach tightened at the look on his face. He appeared so coldly furious that it took her a moment to remember to breathe.
Look at me.
See me.
But he turned to her cousin and she felt her heart shatter slightly.
She was being stupid. Of course he wouldn’t fall all over her, checking that she was all right.
It might have been nice if he’d at least asked her, though.
“Is it all taken care of?” Colm asked Aleksandr.
“Of course,” her cousin replied coldly. “Although I would like to know where you were.”
She bit her lip against defending Colm. She knew better than that.
“Miller went out back,” Colm said. “But I wasn’t expecting her to go outside. That won’t be allowed again.”
This time, Colm shot his gaze at her and she gulped. Was he... was he blaming her?
Oh, God.
“You better not be blaming Sofia,” Sacha said in a low, warning voice.
Why did it always feel like she was on the edge of disaster? As though her world was only one word away from imploding.
“Of course I don’t blame Sofia,” Colm replied. “Why would I blame Sofia? What I want to know is why that fucking asshole was hired in the first place?”
“I’ll sort things.”
Colm nodded. She got the sense that he wanted to say something else but held back. Turning to her, those blue eyes studied her piercingly. She felt like he could see right into her soul.
She held her breath, her gaze caught by his. Viktor cleared his throat, breaking whatever spell she’d been in.
Colm gave her a subtle nod before leaving.
What did that mean?
“Viktor, can you take Sofia out to the car? I’ll be there shortly.”