Chapter 5
Chapter Five
Saskia moaned, touching her pounding head as her eyes fluttered open. Sitting up, a wave of dizziness hit her. She glanced around, her eyes widening as she took everything in. Where was she?
She was on a bed in a room filled with shadows cast by a standing lamp in the corner.
This was definitely not her hotel room. The furnishings were rich without being opulent, the colours walnut.
The walls and carpet were white, stark against the dark furnishings.
There were no personal touches, giving it a hotel feel.
But definitely not the Silver Swan. So where was she?
Climbing unsteadily to her feet, she stumbled to look out the window, breathing a sigh of relief upon spotting the familiar cityscape of Pretoria at night.
A scuffling sound caught her attention and she realized there were people on the other side of the bedroom door.
She crept toward it, her heart speeding up.
She had no idea where she was or who brought her here.
The last thing she remembered was being attacked by two Russians in the hotel kitchen’s storeroom.
She pressed her ear to the door but couldn’t catch enough to determine who was speaking.
She turned the knob and cracked the door.
The first person she saw was Radik and she nearly gasped out loud, her hand going to her mouth to stop the sound from escaping.
He was half obscured by a wall, but she’d recognize him anywhere.
His massive proportions were unmistakable.
He was bigger even than Havel, Jozef’s second-in-command, and Havel was three hundred pounds of solid muscle.
Despite everything that’d happened to her, she was excited to finally, after years of waiting, be in the same room as her favourite stalker.
Heart pounding, she walked steadily toward him.
There were other people in the room, but she only had eyes for Radik.
He was speaking to someone, his tone low and deadly, his face set in rigid lines.
Then the talking stopped and he lashed out. As she slipped past the wall, she realized what was happening. Radik was strangling someone, dangling their body in midair as he took their life. When he was finished, he let them go, the body sliding sickeningly to the floor.
Maybe it was the blow she’d taken to the head, but it was like watching a movie. Distant, surreal, intangible.
“Radik?” she said, but it came out as a whisper. Strengthening her voice, she said louder, “Radik.”
He turned, his face a mask of concern as his gaze whipped up and down her body. He rushed toward her, but she leapt away. “Don’t!” she yelled, panicked, the scene she’d just witnessed finally registering. “Don’t touch me.” She backed into the wall behind her.
He slowed, but didn’t stop. A woman shadowed him, moving behind him, her hand held loosely at her side, ready to reach for her weapon. Saskia had seen enough, experienced enough, to know the stance. The woman was Radik’s personal bodyguard.
How very forward thinking of him.
She shook her head. She didn’t need to be impressed with the man who’d just murdered someone.
“Saskia.” The way he said her name, his deep rumbling voice caressing each syllable, sent a shiver down her spine.
“You should be in bed. How are you feeling?” His concern coupled with the tender tone in his voice calmed some of her fear.
If he cared how she felt, then he probably didn’t intend to strangle her to death.
“Like someone beat the sh-shit out of me,” she said unsteadily, glancing at the body on the floor. “Who is he?” Was, Saskia, was. Past tense.
Radik’s lip lifted in a snarl. “The man who sent hotel security home for the day and gave key cards to the men who attacked you.”
She nodded, any sympathy she might have felt for the man draining away. “You should have handed him over to the police.”
“That’s not how I do things.” Radik’s voice was hard, his eyes glittering with ice as he stared at her. “No one touches my woman and lives.”
Oh boy. So much to unpack there.
She closed her eyes against the throbbing pain in her head, jumping when a voice next to her said, “I’m a doctor. May I check the bump on your head?”
She looked at him, taking in his sleight size, fine clothes, glasses, and concerned expression. She nodded.
“Come, sit down.” He led her toward a chair.
She shuddered as she passed the body. Catching her revulsion, Radik snapped, “Get him out of here.”
His bodyguard nodded, calling two men into the room who carried the former hotel manager away.
She collapsed into a plush chair, her gaze on Radik, who stood behind the doctor, his arms crossed as he watched the other man bend over her, brushing her hair aside as he inspected the bump on her head.
“I’m not your woman,” she said to Radik.
His expression didn’t change. “You are.” She opened her mouth to deny him, but he added, “We’ll talk about it later. For now, you must rest and recover.” His face softened. “I’m sorry you saw that. I shouldn’t have allowed my rage to overtake me. It won’t happen again.”
Of course it wouldn’t, because she was out of there the moment the doctor finished examining her.
“I need to get back to the hotel,” she said, holding in a wince as the doctor probed her head. Then she realized she hadn’t seen her satchel since waking up. “Did you happen to see a laptop bag when you brought me here?”
“Yes, it’s here,” Radik replied.
“I want it,” she said quickly, pushing the doctor away so she could stand. “I’m leaving. I have to go back to the hotel.”
Radik looked concerned as he glanced at the doctor before repeating in a gentler, slower tone, “We have your things here. You don’t need to go back to the hotel.”
She shook her head, instantly regretting it. Putting a hand to her temple, she said, “I need to talk to the police about Aurelia. Make sure her family knows what happened.”
He frowned. “The dead woman?”
She flinched, her mind conjuring an image of Aurelia sprawled dead on a blood-soaked mattress. Tears burned and she nodded, unable to speak as she swallowed hard, pushing them back.
“I’ll take care of it.”
“You don’t understand,” she said, her heart pounding as she stepped up to him. He stood well over a foot taller than her, dwarfing her. “She’s dead because of me. I have to… I don’t know. Take responsibility or something.”
She couldn’t stop seeing the blood. Stop seeing her dead friend.
“How do you know she died because of you?”
“Those guys were after me, weren’t they?
” she pointed out. “They must be connected to Jozef somehow.” She gasped.
“Oh shit, Jozef! I have to call him. He’ll be frantic.
” She turned on the spot, glancing around, checking her pockets for her phone.
She’d had it with her when she was attacked. “Do you know where my phone is?”
Radik wrapped his hand around her bicep, anchoring her. “Stop, Saskia.”
She stared at him, everything and everyone else fading from the room. “I can’t,” she whispered. “It was my fault.” Again, the tears surged to the surface and she blinked rapidly.
He turned her to face him and gentled his grip, his thumb rubbing her arm. “It wasn’t your fault. Aurelia Novakova was killed before the Russians went after you, correct? They went to her room first, not yours.”
But what did that have to do with… oh. “If I was the main target, they would have gone for me first.”
“They went after both of you, her first, which made her the primary target.”
She stared at him, craning her neck as a trickle of relief went through her.
Maybe it wasn’t her fault. “But who would want both of us dead?” She turned her head, unable to think while his intense gaze was on her.
Her mind, body and heart were at war from his presence and she needed a clear head.
“We’re friends, but we don’t see each other much outside of work, so it must be related to our work for the Prime Minister’s office. But what could it be?”
“It doesn’t need to concern you now,” Radik said. “I will take care of it.”
She shook her head. “You can’t. I need to talk to her family, talk to Jozef and let him know what happened.” Her thoughts raced as she tried to pin them down. “I’ll have to find a safe way out of the country. Whoever did this is probably watching the airports. Once I’m home, Jozef will – ”
“No,” Radik said, steel ringing in the single word.
“This isn’t your problem. You’ve done enough.
” She stopped, realizing exactly what he’d done for her.
She touched his arm, a rush of excitement sizzling through her as she allowed her fingers to linger on his warm skin.
“You saved my life and I’m so grateful. If you hadn’t come for me…
well… never mind. I don’t expect anything else from you.
If I can just send a message to Jozef, he’ll send Leeza and Havel to collect me. ”
“You misunderstand,” he said, his tone sharp. “Perhaps on purpose. You’re a smart woman, I think you know what’s going to happen here.”
Her heart fluttered in excitement, then sank. Yes, she knew what was happening. She’d worked it out almost from the moment she set eyes on Radik strangling the hotel manager.
The only way he’d been able to get to the hotel on time to save her was if he’d had people tailing her.
They’d probably been on her from the moment she stepped foot on his home continent.
Maybe they were following her around Prague too, she didn’t know.
He’d called her his woman. Of course she knew what he wanted.
“You can’t keep me here, Radik,” she said, trying to infuse steel into her voice.
“I’ve no intention of keeping you in Pretoria. I’m taking you home with me.”
Again, a thrill of excitement went through her before being snuffed out by the feelings of dread beginning to build.
“Now who’s purposely misunderstanding who,” she retorted.
“You know what I mean. You can’t keep me.
Period.” She waved her hand in the air. “I have a life back home. I have a job.” And a plant, but she didn’t think he’d care about her Jade.
It probably sounded pathetic to a man like him, but she’d built a life.
One she wanted the opportunity to live. No one was going to take that from her.
“You’re staying with me,” he said, removing his hand from her arm. “It’s our time now.”