Page 42 of Captive

“And now?”

Sighing, he hesitated before answering, “I doubt anything can.”

“What if they find us?”

“Then we run.”

“Where? You already said they won’t stop.”

“No, they won’t.”

His short answers pissed me off.

“Where are your parents?” he asked. The question threw me off guard. Were we really going to have a basic conversation?

“They don’t matter any longer.”

“Parents always matter, Chloe. Family is the most important thing in life.”

I huffed, shaking my head. “Maybe that’s what you think but I was tossed out at eighteen, told to find my way in the world. I couldn’t care less if I ever see them again.”

He issued a soft growl, the sound exciting me, my body reacting almost instantly. I squeezed my thighs together in an effort to ease the ache in my pussy.

“I’m sorry. Whatever you went through I imagine was traumatic.”

Damn him. His words were entirely perfunctory. Where had all the passion gone? “Maybe not as traumatic as what you went through in your life, but in mine, I was a scared kid with very little money and few choices. I regrouped, finding a couple jobs and saving my money for college.”

“They would be proud of you.”

“No, I doubt they would. What does it matter anyway?”

“Maybe it doesn’t to you, but when you had nothing but the clothes on your back, being able to have a family even if in name only becomes very important. It’s worth dying for.”

His conviction was overwhelming, “What about living?”

“That’s what I tried to do,” he huffed then shifted his attention to the perimeter of the property, scanning the darkening trees, his tenseness keeping me on edge. Several seconds passed.

Then a full minute.

The ugliness of the silence settling between us continued to drive me crazy. “Is Nikolai your real name?”

This time, he laughed. “Yes, I chose not to hide. As I said, I was stupid enough to think that no one would give a shit aboutfinding me. Besides, no one had ever heard my real last name. Not even Papa.”

“So you were a Federov? Did he formally adopt you?”

“From the day I stepped foot in his car, I was Sacha Federov. There wasn’t such a thing as adoptions for Bratva members, but there was never a question to him about whether or not I was his son.” He took another swig before rising to his feet, his heavy boots thudding on the deck boards as he walked closer creating dancing vibrations.

I jumped every time his foot landed, my grip on the glass tightening. “Is that who you are right now?”

“That’s a good question and one I don’t think you want to hear the answer to.”

“Maybe I do. I liked Professor Lenkov. He was passionate and engaging, obviously enjoying every minute of teaching. He could light up a room when he walked into it. I just don’t know what to think about Sacha.”

“Then don’t. He’s not a good man. He’s the kind of person who was born without a soul.”

“Then why should I trust him?” I turned my head, my breath shallow as the scent of him filtered into my system.

“Because somehow, he will get you out of this.”