7. Lucia
7
LUCIA
“You’re not to leave this house, do you understand me?” Mikhail orders the moment we step over the threshold into his townhouse.
I whirl, my hands landing on my hips. “You can’t be serious.”
“I’m deadly serious.” Mikhail’s expression is one of cold fury, but I refuse to be intimidated by him, not when he’s threatening to lock me away.
“I can take care of myself.”
“I never said you couldn’t. But you’re still not to leave this house,” he states before stalking past me.
I ball my hands into fists at my sides as my eyes start to sting with tears as I watch him disappear.
The adrenaline from the attack has worn off, leaving me a shaking mess.
I bury my face in my hands as I try to take a deep breath, but all I can picture is the two lifeless forms on the cold ground after Mikhail was finished with them.
They had my picture .
I can’t just stay here and do nothing. That feels like even more of a death sentence.
I grab my phone out of my coat pocket and dial my father. There’s no way he’ll agree to let Mikhail Koslov keep his little princess hostage.
“Lucia?”
“Papa.” I lean back against the front door. “Did Alexei already call you?”
“Yes. Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, just…a little shaken,” I admit. “But really, I’m fine.”
“It’s lucky you were with Mikhail.”
I bite my tongue, not wanting to admit that I fought the men off first. Mikhail just happened to finish the job.
“Papa, seriously, it was nothing. These guys were amateurs?—”
“It sure as hell was not nothing!” my father barks, and I flinch at his tone.
“Can we talk about this at home?” I pinch the bridge of my nose with my thumb and forefinger. “It’s been a really long day.”
“Not right now because I need to look into this.”
“Well, can you at least send a car to come and pick me up? Mikhail’s insisting I stay with him, so there’s no way he’s going to give me a ride back to the penthouse.”
“You’re not going anywhere.”
“Excuse me?”
“I agree with Mikhail.”
“What?”
“You’re to stay with him until this blows over. I’ve already got people looking into this, so hopefully, we can find whoever is behind this soon.”
“I’m not a hostage!”
“No, but you do have a target on your back, Lucia. And I’m not going to risk your safety.”
I roll my eyes, though I will admit it’s nice to hear my father so worried about me. Most of the time I come second to his work, so it’s nice to feel like a priority for once.
It’s just a shame it takes me almost getting taken or murdered to get him to finally put me first.
“Fine. I’ll stay with Mikhail. But can you at least have some of my stuff sent over? If I’m destined to be a hostage, I’d at least like to be a well-dressed one.”
By the time I hang up the phone, Mikhail reappears, looking just as pissed.
I scoff. “Seems you’ve already managed to get my father to take your side over mine.”
“Good.” He folds his arms over his chest. “It’s the right decision.”
“Whatever. Can you show me to a guest room? I need to wash off this day.”
Despite the insanely comfortable bed, I barely sleep a wink. I would normally use my normal trick of an orgasm to help me drift off, but with Mikhail across the hall, I find I’m a bit self-conscious.
I’m not sure I could be quiet if I’m reliving our hot sex in the haunted house. It was the most incredible sex of my life, and it was up against a wall .
I dread to think how good it would be if he had me on my back, or front, or whatever way he wanted.
“Not happening.”
An ache starts to build between my thighs. Unfortunately for my lady parts, I doubt Mikhail would want me to go sneaking into bed with him in the middle of the night in search of the real thing, not after we almost got killed.
So, staring at the ceiling it is, until the clock strikes five, and I decide enough is enough.
I’m sitting at the kitchen table, nursing my second cup of coffee and looking like a hot mess, when Mikhail strolls in looking just as pissed off as yesterday.
He freezes when he notices me, his eyes flicking over my messy hair.
A smug sense of satisfaction gets hold of me when I catch his throat bobbing as his eyes flick to my breasts that are barely contained by my silk cami.
Which is exactly why I wore it.
I make a mental note to thank whoever it was my father sent over here with my things because they definitely packed plenty of items that can be used to tempt Mikhail.
“There’s coffee if you want some,” I offer, watching him closely.
He’s as immaculately dressed as ever, with not a hair out of place or a dark circle in sight.
Asshole .
“I’m going to meet with my brothers.”
“Can I come with you? Seeing as I’m the topic of discussion.”
“No,” Mikhail states without even looking at me. “I’ll be back in a few hours.”
I sit, staring after him, silently seething, until Mikhail’s G Wagon roars outside.
Like hell am I staying locked up in this townhouse. It might be massive, but a gilded cage is still a cage.
Opening up my phone, I shoot my cousin a quick text.
Thankfully, Elle is all too eager to meet up at our favorite coffee shop, which happens to only be a few streets over from Mikhail’s place, so I tell her to meet me in an hour.
Elle is already sitting at our usual table by the window when I arrive.
Seeing her brings a huge smile to my face. Hanging out with her never fails to cheer me up, and that’s exactly what I need after the couple of days I’ve had.
“I ordered you an almond croissant as well as a matcha,” Elle says as I take a seat opposite her.
“You are the best.” I curl my hands around the cup.
“So, do you want to tell me why the hell you bailed on me the other night?” Elle asks, a knowing smirk tugging at her lips. “I had to pull a lot of strings to be able to get the girls into Vision . I may be a Conti too, but it seems I’m the wrong one.”
I take a sip of my drink while I try to decide how much to tell her.
The truth is, Elle is so much more than just my cousin. She’s my best friend. Being the same age meant we spent a lot of time together growing up, and even more so when her parents died in a house fire when she was eight.
My father took her in and raised her, so I consider her more of a sister than a cousin.
She made the times when my father was working late a lot less lonely.
Elle chuckles. “You’re going to tell me anyway, so you might as well spit it out.”
“Buckle up, my friend, because this is one hell of a story.”
Elle nibbles on her croissant while I fill her in on the details of the past two days. Everything from my surprise dinner with my new fiancé, to our naked excursion in the sea all the way through to last night where I was attacked in the park.
The only thing I fail to mention is the fact that I fucked Mikhail in a haunted house.
Even some details are better left unshared.
“So yeah, that’s why I bailed,” I finish, picking up my own croissant and taking a huge bite.
Elle just stares at me with wide eyes.
“It's fine if you need a minute to process,” I say between mouthfuls.
“How serious are you being right now?” A deep frown appears between her dark eyebrows.
“Oh, I’m deadly serious. Don’t let the lack of diamond on my finger fool you. I’m marrying a Koslov whether I want to or not.”
“We can circle back to that little detail in a minute.” Elle glances around, clocking the other customers sitting nearby, before leaning across the table. “I’m more concerned with the fact that these men had a freaking photo of you, Lucia. Should you be out in public right now?”
“Probably not.” I shrug. “But Mikhail’s place is seriously lacking in breakfast foods of the flaky, buttery variety.”
“This isn’t funny,” Elle hisses. “Surely, whoever wants you dead isn’t going to give up that easily.”
“I appreciate your concern, I do. But I can look after myself.”
I’ve been through this before. But unlike last time, I’m prepared.
Last night proved just that. I am more than capable of taking down two grown men, and if Mikhail hadn’t gotten there before me, I would have been the one to put a bullet in each of their skulls.
I can do this, even if everyone around me thinks I can’t.
Little do they know that I completed four years of martial arts training, along with weapons training with one of my father’s guards.
I can defend myself better than anyone, but it’s not me I need to convince.
It’s my father and Mikhail.
She leans across the table to take my hand. “How are you after the attack? You know…mentally? It must have brought back a lot of memories.”
Something flashes in her eyes, and my chest tightens.
If anyone can understand what I’ve gone through, it’s Elle. God knows she’s experienced her fair share of trauma.
But it’s because of that that I’m hesitant to fully disclose how I’m feeling, not to protect myself but to protect her. The last thing I want is to trigger any unwanted memories that might keep her up at night.
“I’m handling it.”
She doesn’t need to know the true extent of my suffering. Being locked up in Mikhail’s townhouse isn’t helping, but she doesn’t need to know that either.
I shrug. “I’m fine, really.”
Elle looks at me for a moment, as if she’s worried I’m suddenly going to have a meltdown. But when she’s satisfied that I’m not going to burst into tears, she lets go of my hand.
“Well, you can call me anytime if you need to talk.”
“Thanks.”
”Okay, enough of the heavy stuff. Which shops do you want to hit first? I, for one, am in desperate need of some new winter boots.”
Time always seems to run away with me when I’m with Elle. We just have such a good time together, and it doesn’t help that I managed to increase my credit card limit without my father knowing.
Shopping really does help a girl get over a near death experience.
Though from the look that Mikhail gives me when he opens his townhouse door to me a few hours later, I can’t help but think that perhaps I would have been better off being murdered in the park.
“You better have one hell of a good excuse,” he growls, heading inside to the kitchen.
I hold up my armfuls of shopping bags and give him a winning smile.
“I needed some supplies. But don’t worry, I got you a few things too. Didn’t want you feeling left out .” I wink as I drop the bags on the table.
His dark eyes darken as he gets to his feet and stalks over to me.
I arch my neck to look up at him, my eyes lingering on his mouth.
“I got something for you too.” The muscle in his jaw flexes as he stares down at me.
“Oh, yeah?” I try not to focus on the memory of what his lips felt like on my neck. “Can I guess?”
“You can try.”
“Hmm, is it sparkly? Ooh, no, is it something dirty ? Did our little trip to the haunted house give you some ideas?” I bite my lip, but his expression gives nothing away.
“Why don’t I show you?”
“Uh, sure, okay. ”
Is this Mikhail’s way of calling a truce? If so, I’m all for it.
Mikhail grabs my bags off the table and leads me out of the kitchen.
I follow behind him, trying my best not to stare at his ass in those black pants as we head up the stairs.
He comes to a stop outside of my bedroom and opens the door.
“So, it is dirty.” I step inside my room, glancing around. But I frown when I don’t notice anything that wasn’t already here this morning.
I frown.
“Can I have a clue?” I turn around, but then I spot a glint of gold out of the corner of my eye.
“What the hell is that?” I point to the padlock on my door.
“ That is a consequence.” Mikhail drops my bags of shopping onto the floor.
“You’re joking.” I look from the padlock to Mikhail.
“In case you haven’t realized, kisa , I don’t have much of a sense of humor.”
“You’re locking me in my room?”
“You disobeyed me, Lucia. You broke my trust.”
“Bullshit. Cut that crap, Mikhail. I never had your trust to start with. You’re just doing this so my father doesn’t cut off your balls. So, quick pretending you actually give a shit about my safety.”
Tears start to sting my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I won’t give him the satisfaction of seeing me cry.
“I told you yesterday that you need to start thinking about your actions and the consequences they might bring. But, as the spoiled brat you are, you decided to be selfish again and just ignore everything I said. So, since I can’t expect you to listen to anything anyone tells you and act like a rational adult, you’re staying in here until this situation is dealt with.” His face is like stone. There’s not a hint of warmth in his features and nothing but cold fury in his eyes as he glares at me.
I’ve seen that look before.
I stumble backwards as a dark memory hits me out of nowhere, trying to claw its way into my mind.
I clutch a hand to my throat, trying to take a breath as I fight against the rising sense of panic building in my chest.
It’s happening again .
“No,” I breathe, screwing my eyes shut.
Mikhail isn’t like them.
He’s different.
He won’t hurt me.
“This isn’t how this relationship is going to go, Mikhail,” I whisper, shaking my head. “I won’t allow it.”
“Then it’s a good thing we’re not in a relationship.” He slams the door in my face.
I’m so stunned that I don’t even have the capacity to yell after him. To demand he open the door and let me out.
He might be right that I broke his trust. But he has no idea what this does to me.
Mikhail Koslov can try his best to lock me away, but I vowed a long time ago that I would never feel helpless again.
I will do whatever it takes to make sure I am the one in control.
Even if it means pissing off my future husband in the process.