Chapter Twenty-Nine
MILA
I came home from another midterm to find Bandit lying on the bed, his tail between his legs. When I crawled onto the bed to pet him, he moved away from me, but in slow motion, like he was in pain.
“Baby,” I soothed, “are you okay?”
I ran my hand over his body and when I touched his ribs, he growled in pain and then quickly started to lick my hand, as if apologizing for his response.
Anton had told me he was going to hang out in the guardhouse, something he seemed to do more and more frequently with my uncle and aunt around and Jordan gone. I pulled out my phone and texted him immediately.
Me: Something is wrong with Bandit. I need to take him to the vet.
I sat in the lobby of the vet emergency hospital with Anton by my side, while we waited for them to finish treating Bandit.
The front door of the clinic opened and Axel stepped inside. His face was calm, but he looked concerned.
“What’s going on?”
I was so emotional I almost couldn’t speak. “When I got home from school I noticed that Bandit was hurt, so we brought him here. They had to sedate him to take scans, and he has two hairline fractures in his ribs. The vet thinks someone kicked him.”
Axel looked between Anton and me. “Is he going to be okay?”
“He will be, but he needs to be on pain medication and rest for the next few weeks.”
“I’ll have the guard check the cameras so we can see who hurt him.”
“I already did.” My voice was cold with anger. I handed him my phone. “It was Lena.”
He watched the footage the guard had sent me. My aunt had walked up to Bandit, who had been drinking his water, and without warning had kicked him twice in the ribs before he managed to bolt upstairs.
Our eyes met.
Rage coursed through my body. I would burn the world down for Bandit.
“Mila,” he warned, looking at my face.
“Why would she do that?”
He handed me my phone back. “You need to let me handle this.”
I didn’t have a chance to argue because that was the moment they led poor Bandit out from the back. After being sedated for his treatment, he looked absolutely pitiful.
“Poor baby,” I cried as I crouched in front of him and put my arms around his neck. He leaned into me, sighing heavily.
We were given strict instructions not to let him jump, run or play hard for at least a month, while limiting him to the slowest of walks. He was also on a pain management regimen.
As we drove back home, Bandit lay in the back seat. Beside Axel, I didn’t speak. I just stared out the window. I couldn’t believe my old life had come back to haunt me. I had lived a nightmare with my aunt and uncle in Russia, and here I was again, cowering and fearful in my own home.
I hated it. I thought about Bandit. He had headed down to the kitchen to get a drink of water and, without warning, my aunt had attacked him.
What had gone through his head? How scared had he been?
The thought of him going upstairs and lying in pain, waiting for me to come home, nearly broke my heart.
“Mila,” Axel said beside me. “Talk to me.”
“There’s nothing to talk about.”
“You need to let me handle this.”
I turned to him. “What are you going to do? How can you make sure Bandit doesn’t get hurt again?”
He thought for a moment. “To ensure his safety, we’re going to keep Bandit in the guardhouse with the day guard while you’re at school.”
That was actually a good idea, and I was pissed I hadn’t thought of it before. But I had underestimated the cruelty of my aunt. It hadn’t even crossed my mind that she would hurt Bandit.
“Tell me what you’re thinking,” Axel said.
I was too emotional to talk about this right now. The thought of her deliberately hurting my dog enraged me to levels I had never felt before. “I’m fine.”
We pulled into the driveway.
“Come on,” he said gently. “I’ll help Bandit get settled.”
Axel carried Bandit upstairs while I moved directly to the kitchen to get his food and water dish.
My aunt was standing in front of the island, and she watched me move around the kitchen.
When I moved to walk past her, she gave me an insincere smile. “I thought you’d be putting down that filthy animal. Next time he might not be so lucky with his health.”
I carefully set Bandit’s dishes and food on the island beside her. Then I turned to face her, keeping my expression serene.
Her eyes widened with interest as I took a stand in front of her.
“You hurt my dog.”
She didn’t even try to deny it. “He’s a disgusting animal who should only be outside eating scraps.”
I didn’t think. I didn’t rationalize. I balled up my fist, swung hard and connected with her cheek.
She cried out in pain.
“My god,” she gasped, holding her face, but I could hear the tears in her voice.
I leaned in so my mouth was next to her ear. And I spoke in a harsh, measured whisper. “If you touch my dog again, you’ll regret it.”
“You think you can hit me?”
I moved until my face was uncomfortably close to hers, so close I could see the makeup caked in the pores on her face. “You’d better make sure Bandit stays safe, because if something happens to him, I’m coming for you.”
Her fear was palpable. “Your uncle will hear about this.”
“And I will tell him that you are retaliating because I saw you kissing Sergei.”
“That’s a lie. How dare you!” But she looked at me with terror. My uncle wasn’t a big believer in giving someone the benefit of the doubt. He tended to act on his emotions and ask questions later. And we both knew it.
I gave her a cold smile. “I’m thinking my uncle would be overwhelmed with rage and grief. You never know what could happen.”
I could see real fear in her eyes. As if she had just woken up to the fact that I could and would strike back. “What is wrong with you?”
I pointed at the cameras. “Don’t even look at my dog, or I will find out.”
I picked up his dishes and, without looking at her, swept out of the kitchen. My entire body was trembling with emotion and adrenaline.
Axel was coming down from the stairs as I walked up to our bedroom.
He stopped me, real concern on his face. “What was going on downstairs?”
“What?” I looked up at him with my most innocent expression.
He studied me closer. “I thought I heard something.”
“I was just talking to my aunt.”
His eyebrows shot up. “About Bandit?”
“She’s not going to hurt him again.” I started to move up the stairs.
“I thought I told you I’d handle it.”
“No need,” I said breezily. “It’s been taken care of.”
He stood there and watched me head upstairs, but he didn’t ask any questions.
Later that evening, I had safely tucked Bandit into his bed, where he was snoring beneath the blanket I had pulled over him. Then I stepped out onto the balcony that overlooked the pool.
I don’t know how long I stood there, but eventually I heard the door behind me slide open.
Axel came to stand beside me.
“I saw her face.”
I didn’t look at him. “Huh.”
“She told your uncle she tripped and hit the counter.”
We made eye contact. Concern clouded his gaze. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine.”
His voice went even quieter. “I never wanted this life for you.”
“You mean the life where I became as bad as them?”
He turned to me. “The life where you have to hit anyone.”
“I couldn’t stand the thought of anyone hurting Bandit.”
“I know.”
He reached forward and put something around my neck. It was a thick silver chain that hung almost to my breasts, and on the end was a short key with a black plastic handle.
I picked it up and inspected it. “What is this?”
“This is a key to the safe deposit box that holds your passport and all your papers.”
My eyes flew to his. He looked so solemn. “Why?”
“I don’t want anyone to have access to them, not even me. I don’t want you to have to leave this country unless you want to.”
My eyes widened at his implication. “What are you talking about?”
“Your uncle wanted to send you back to Russia.” He held my gaze. “If something happens to me, he might try to do that.”
“What do you mean, if something happens to you?” I could hear the fear in my own voice.
“Nothing is going to happen to me, but I’m just taking precautions, okay?” His eyes dropped to the key. “Keep that hidden, and don’t tell anyone.”
“How do I know where the box is?”
“Someone by the name of Viktor will bring you there. You can trust him.”
He pressed into my hand a paper with a single phone number on it. “Memorize this number.”
My eyes widened. “Who is he?”
“Someone I trust with my life, and yours.”
“You’re scaring me.”
He put his hands on my shoulders. “I just want to make sure that no one ever has control over you again.”
Later that night, when we were lying in bed together, I couldn’t stop the fear that washed over me.
I was terrified, yet desperate to be brave for him.
I knew bad things were coming and I could tell they were really bad by how much he was preparing for them.
I fingered the key that lay nestled between my breasts.
I spoke out in the dark, my voice sounding pitiful. “Axel?”
“Yeah?” His voice was steady and warm beside me.
My heart was pounding, mostly from fear that this was the moment he would reject me. But I couldn’t stop the words from coming out of me. “I need you.”
He rolled over in one easy move, and then he was on top of me, his legs kicking mine apart, his elbows resting on either side of my head, and his face only inches from mine.
His mouth was so close I could feel his warm breath on my lips. “What do you need, doll?”
I needed him to tell me that it would be okay. I needed to crawl into his arms and have him never let go.
Even more importantly, I needed him to want to do that.
And I wasn’t even sure he did.
I just needed to be part of him in the only way I knew how. I reached down and pushed his soft sleep pants down over his hips.
Without touching him, I reached down and pushed my own underwear off my legs.
I could feel his hard, engorged cock brush against my naked stomach.
I needed him inside of me. Not for pleasure.
For something else. Something I couldn’t explain.