Chapter 31 - Laurel
In one moment, a river of masked men flowed from a gaping black cavern, faster and more deadly than lava, waving long guns. Bullets sprayed, mowing down everyone around me until I was the only person left in the world, alone. Weak. The danger closing in as I tried to run, but I was frozen in place.
The next moment I was drowning in wine, coppery and hot. Like blood. It never stopped, and no matter how I tried to wipe it from my face, it continued to pour down, the sound of glass shattering all around me, the shards cutting my skin.
I woke up with a gasp, unsure of where I was, until I saw Mik working at a big corner desk on the other side of the room. It was only a nightmare. Mik was real, larger than life, and sturdy as the marble statue holding a potted plant by the window next to him. I instantly felt safer.
But only until I remembered fleeing in the wee hours of the morning to Lev and Jenna’s house to hide out, effectively putting them in danger if Mik’s driver’s efforts to elude anyone following us didn’t work.
I would never be able to forgive myself if Rand escalated even further and made trouble here.
“Oh, good morning, Sleeping Beauty,” Mik said, turning from the computer he was working on to notice I was awake. He turned his phone over and looked at the time. “It’s still technically morning, anyway, by about fifteen minutes.”
Great, I slept for hours again. It was almost as bad as passing out. I opened my mouth to say I was sorry, but Mik hurried over and kissed me soundly.
“How about I get you some breakfast in bed?” he asked. “This is still our honeymoon.”
I shook my head. “I already ruined the trip. And possibly your life. I’m not letting you serve me breakfast, too.”
He gripped my shoulders, looking at me for a long time as if he wanted to say something but didn’t know how.
“Nonsense,” he finally said. “Nothing’s ruined.
The vandalism at the hotel wasn’t your fault.
We’re safe, and you’re more than welcome here, so don’t start acting like you’re putting anyone out. ”
That was a lot. And vandalism was a pretty tame way to frame what actually happened there.
As for being safe? I knew better. Rand would only continue to escalate.
I ducked out of Mik’s grasp and got out of bed, looking around for something to wear other than the luxurious robe I fell asleep in.
No more letting Mik take care of me or baby me.
He pointed toward the dresser, where some jeans and a t-shirt rested, and I hurriedly put them on. “Get back to whatever you were doing,” I said. “I’m perfectly capable of making my own breakfast, or lunch, by now. And I’ll bring some up to you.”
He seemed to mull it over, finally recognizing I needed to do this to feel like I wasn’t as wispy as cotton candy under pressure. Kissing me on the forehead, he pointed me in the direction of the kitchen, saying he wouldn’t mind something to eat.
“Your choice,” he said. “Breakfast or lunch. I could eat an ox at this point.”
So he had been sitting in the room with me for the entire morning, ignoring his own needs in case I woke up disoriented and afraid. Would a sandwich make up for that?
The hallway was lined with family pictures of people I recognized from the family dinner in LA, with an entire gallery of an adorable little boy ranging from an infant to about four years old in the more recent snapshots.
That very same little guy jetted past me at the bottom of the wide, curving stairs, followed by someone I assumed was a nanny as he made for the garden outside.
I followed in that direction until I came upon the kitchen, even bigger than the one in Mik’s mansion, and smelling like fresh cinnamon rolls.
I breathed deeply, glad I was no longer plagued with that awful red wine smell that had turned my stomach the night before.
Entering through the archway, I looked around to see a cozy nook tucked away in the corner beyond the long granite countertops and kitchen island.
Both Jenna and CJ were working on laptops, with plates full of crumbs sitting beside them and half-empty coffee cups.
“Oh, Laurel, it’s so good to see you again,” CJ said, as if it wasn’t just a day ago. It actually felt longer than that to me, too.
“Are you okay?” Jenna asked, jumping up to rush to the coffee machine.
“Can I get you some of this? Or tea? There are cinnamon rolls, nutty bread if you want toast. Or I could scramble some eggs?” With a glance at the round silver clock on the wall, she changed her suggestions to include grilled cheese or chicken salad.
I was sick to death of feeling like a victim and didn’t want to be treated like an invalid, either. “How about I make lunch for you two?” I offered. “If you don’t mind me going through your fridge. I promised Mik I’d bring him something.”
They both squawked indignantly. “He should be making you something.”
“No, he’s done enough. Poor guy was trapped in the room while I was wasting the morning away.”
“No one thinks that, least of all Mik,” CJ said. “He knows what your ex is capable of, and he knows how important it is to keep you safe. Did you think he’d marry you just to let you deal with him on your own?”
As soon as the words were out of her mouth, her face turned beet red, and she swallowed hard, glancing at Jenna. “It’s okay,” Jenna said. “It’s not that easy to keep a secret in this family, but you can count on me to keep yours and Mik’s.”
“Sorry,” CJ said. “I thought they should know how serious this is.”
If I thought I felt pathetic before, I was wrong. I hated lying to them, but now that they knew that Mik married me to keep me safe from my nasty ex, I felt about as empowered as a gnat in front of these two women who were worshipped by their husbands.
Not pitied.
It was that awful prickling feeling of uselessness that had me blurting out my side of the arrangement.
My mouth just took over to save my last shred of pride.
“If Mik’s dad weren’t so old-fashioned that he insisted on an arranged marriage in this day and age, he wouldn’t have a target on his back.
I wanted to help out and made things worse in every way. ”
Probably like CJ when she let it slip that she knew why Mik proposed this arrangement in the first place, I already regretted it. But they didn’t seem to know what I was talking about.
In fact, Jenna laughed. “You mean how Konstantin’s always threatening to marry Sofiya off to one of his business partners?” she asked.
CJ looked at me for a long moment before adding, “Isn’t he mostly joking when he does that?”
Were they confused or was I? It couldn’t be that Mik had made that up about his father, could it?
Talk about feeling pathetic. That last shred of pride fluttered away like a dust mote in a tornado.
How badly did Mik pity me that he made up a story like that to get me to agree to this fake marriage, solely to protect me when there was nothing in it for him?
“Please don’t look so sad,” CJ said in an undertone while Jenna hurried to run outside at the sound of her son calling for her.
“Mik cares about you, that’s plain for anyone to see, no matter how you two ended up together.
One day I’ll fill you in on how I ended up married to Mat.
That’s how I know Mik truly cares. He looks at you the same way Mat looks at me. ”
In any other circumstance, her reassurances might have made me feel better. But they only made things worse, because I knew what was in Rand’s twisted soul. He couldn’t allow me to be happy, and that meant destroying anyone who might become part of my life.
“Okay,” I said, hiding the tremble in my voice and forcing a smile. “Don’t let me get in your way. I’ll make Mik his sandwich and take it up to him.”
She tried to get me to see I wasn’t in the way, and refused to let me make her or Jenna something while I blindly pulled out whatever lunch meat I could find and slap it between two slices of bread. My mind was lost in a cycle of fear that wouldn’t stop churning up horrible scenarios.
Now Mik was in Rand’s sights, and while I knew exactly what the monster I used to live with was capable of, I didn’t know how to stop him.