Chapter 15 - Lilia
I could barely sleep, tossing and turning and unable to stop thinking about that kiss.
It was more fiery than the first one, and even the fear I felt as Gavril dragged me upstairs couldn’t blot it out.
It was barely dawn when I gave up trying to sleep and got dressed in one of the new outfits in the closet.
I tried to pick the least expensive thing, but for all I knew, the simple jeans and sweatshirt could have gone for the price of a used car.
My door wasn’t locked, and it appeared that no one was lurking in the hall to keep me in my room.
Since I was allowed to go down to the library the day before, I decided to head that way now.
There was absolutely no way of escaping this opulent fortress, so that wasn’t on my mind.
However, there was a chance I might find a phone or a computer to get a message out to my family.
And snooping around was something I liked to do, starting from when I was a little kid and obsessed with detective stories.
I wanted to be like the intrepid sleuths in those books, and my family never lacked secrets I wasn’t supposed to know.
Sometimes I found out things I wished I hadn’t, which was what made me back off from snooping, but now this was life or death. Funny how I wasn’t so afraid last night when Gavril’s hands were all over me. Not scared at all.
And that was foolish.
No one stopped me when I left my room, and I peeked into the other bedrooms on the floor whose doors were ajar. They were only guest rooms, not quite as lovely as the one I’d been consigned to, but still very beautifully decorated.
Don’t start thinking you’re special just because he put you in the best room.
He also married me. To keep me safe, like he purported, or to better use me as a pawn? And really, why did I care? Right now, I had one objective. Not be here long enough to find out his true reasons.
On the way to the staircase, I overheard Gavril’s voice behind one of the closed doors.
So, I found his lair. His voice was raised in an angry manner, one I was glad wasn’t directed at me.
I suspected the argument had something to do with me since I was his most recent problem, and carefully pressed my ear to the door.
Suddenly, his tone shifted, and it sounded like he was agreeing with whoever was on the other end of the conversation.
“When you have a more solid plan for what to do with her, and how to deal with her family, I’ll hear you out.”
I stumbled back, clapping my hand silently over my mouth to keep from gasping out loud.
There was no doubt in my mind that he was talking about me.
My family was the one he was going to deal with.
Horror filled me. I had to work carefully to keep from hyperventilating.
Anger and helplessness threatened to make me start shaking, but I held my body stiff.
How could I forget who Gavril was, even for one evening?
I was so averse to confrontation that I could barely let a server know when my food order wasn’t correct, so I was used to stuffing my feelings down and going along with things to keep the peace.
That might have been an excuse to sit and watch a three-hour miniseries with him, but did I have to enjoy it so much?
Because I had. Not just because I loved the story, but because the conversation after was lively and made me think about someone else’s viewpoint. And I had no excuse at all for enjoying that kiss. So much so that I was actually disappointed when he left me alone in my guest room.
Admitting it to myself angered me as much as overhearing his plans for my family.
The man was my enemy.
I was still frozen outside his door when the handle turned. Jerking back to life, I hurried away down the hall as Gavril came out. I swiveled toward the stairs, pretending I was only heading toward the kitchen for breakfast.
“It’s awfully early,” he said, stopping me in my tracks. Better than ending up slung over his shoulder if I kept fleeing, or worse, cradled against his chest.
“I’m an early riser,” I said. “And I’m starving.” Neither of those statements was true. I liked working as an independent contractor so I could roll out of bed at ten and work well past midnight if I chose. A nervous yawn let him know I was lying.
“Well, come on, then,” he said, following me.
I was dying inside, wanting nothing more than to hide in my room until he was gone for the day. Maybe without his presence infecting the whole mansion, I could get some sleep. Did he figure out I was listening in on his conversation?
I snuck a peek, and he didn’t look overly mad. It was hard to tell under his ever-present scowl. Instead of interrogating me when we reached the kitchen, he only asked what I was hungry for.
A tiny devil on my shoulder made me blurt out something I knew wouldn’t be available, just to be difficult. “A shrimp breakfast taco from Dario’s taco shack. It’s on—”
“I’m aware of it,” he said. “I’m sure Varvara can make you something similar.”
I scoffed, committed. “Then you’ve never had their secret spicy sauce. They guard it with their lives. I’ve got chefs in my family, and they couldn’t recreate it.”
He rolled his eyes. “Shrimp and spicy sauce for breakfast.”
“Well, if you can’t handle the heat, you could always get the plain potato and egg.”
I originally only wanted him to admit I couldn’t have what I wanted so I could escape back to the relative safety of my room and bury my head in a book, but now I rather enjoyed the brief burst of outrage in his eyes.
“Can’t handle the heat,” he muttered, shaking his head. “Get your jacket on, we’ll head out right now and beat the long lines.”
I couldn’t hide my shock. It was barely five AM, the sun wasn’t even fully up.
But he was offering to take me out of the house.
Could this be my big chance to make a break for it?
I nodded, following him to the hall and reaching for any random coat in the closet.
My heart was racing, and my mind spinning a hundred miles an hour.
I had to take advantage of this opportunity I teased myself into. But how, and would I ever be able to dig deep enough to find the courage?