Chapter 28
twenty-eight
It amazes me how the week flies by.
The days are spent with me practicing my dancing with Leon, and now Matthias, who has decided to partake in teaching my two left feet to work.
The pair of them dress me in heels and drag me across the living room floor like a sack of flour.
There is nothing but praises and laughter at how far I’ve come, but I know the honest truth.
I suck at it.
Once dance lessons are over, I am then passed off to Vas, who takes over where Seamus left off on my knife lessons. The man is much more fun to learn from, especially since nothing he teaches comes with a history lesson.
He builds on the fundamentals I’ve already been taught as he moves from one step to another, and by the end of the week, I start to finally hit moving targets.
The feeling of accomplishment that courses through my veins is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.
No one believed in me before, not like my brothers or Vas do.
I’ve always felt under accomplished and stunted due to my lack of knowledge and know-how.
Sure, I have a degree, but that degree was achieved online, and although I aced almost every class, I graduated without any real-world experience.
Plus, teaching isn’t something that is useful in Matthias’s and my father’s world. They don’t need someone to give the enemy a history lesson; they need someone who has their back and who can think under pressure.
Vas assures me that what I bring to the table is the most useful information they’ve had on Ward in years, but what happens when we tear apart his empire and I no longer have the information they need?
I don’t have dirt on anyone else. Just them. So what use will I be?
Not that I have much time to ponder that, because the moment I step out of Vas’s knife-wielding badass club, Matthias is on me.
So far, we’ve christened the kitchen…again…the living room, the hallway, the elevator, the pool…it is an ever-growing list.
The man has become insatiable, and I wonder at the sudden change.
Has Jimmy’s attempt on my life rattled him enough that he’s forgiven me?
Or is it because he’s seen what Christian did to me?
I try not to be suspicious of the sudden one-eighty he’s pulling, but the part of me that knows things are too good to be true can’t help but linger in the back of my mind.
I shove those thoughts away as I stare at the brilliant white of the bedroom door before me.
Her room.
Jesus, I can’t believe I’m going to do this. I don’t want to, but for once, the penthouse is completely empty. Even Mia is out for the day. Matthias and his men are up in their formal offices, securing everything we need for the gala tonight.
Meanwhile, I am trying to face my demons.
Seeing as how I’ve been standing outside her door for the past hour, it isn’t going well. I feel like David facing Goliath, except the door in front of me is much more daunting than a biblical giant.
It’s more like Hydra from the Legend of Hercules. Each time I convince myself to open her door, another piece of guilt or doubt shoves itself forward, preventing me from grasping the handle.
I’ve tried to call Kenzi.
No answer.
I’m starting to worry. She never goes this long without trying to contact us. It is the reason I am standing here, heart racing, body shaking, hands trembling on the golden doorknob of regret. If anyone knew what has been going on with Kenzi, it was Libby. The two shared everything.
Taking a long, slow breath, I turn the knob and swing the door open.
The scent of her gentle perfume washes over me, the tears burning at the back of my eyes. I got her and Kenzi that perfume one year for Christmas. Dante had generously lent his credit card to me, telling me to buy them whatever I wanted.
The unique and enchanting design is what caught my attention originally.
I wasn’t looking for perfume, but one of the ads from the site I was surfing caught my attention.
It was a limited-edition bottle created by Viktor it was something she always wanted to pursue but knew she would never have the chance.
Women are a bargaining chip to people like Elias. A commodity to be traded for the betterment of the family.