Page 53 of Captive

Grow up, sunshine, or you will die.

I allowed him to help me to my feet, pulling me toward the sink. He carefully took the broken piece out of my hand then turned on the water.

I couldn’t look at him, still reeling from what he’d believed and the horrible way he’d reacted.

“This is going to sting,” he said in an even more calming tone.

At this point, I didn’t care. He remained gentle as he eased my hand under the water. The sting was biting but I gritted my teeth. The sight of blood running down the drain was just as chilling as his accusations. I could taste it, coppery and slick.Nauseous, I did everything I could to calm my breathing, yet my heartbeat was pumping into my ears.

“You were lucky. You missed the artery by only centimeters. I also don’t see any shards. But wrap the towel around it as tightly as you can stand and keep the pressure. We need to make certain it stops bleeding.”

I did as he instructed, taking the towel from his hand, turning away before he noticed how badly my hands were shaking. When my body swayed, he wrapped his arm around my waist, keeping me steady.

“Take your time,” he murmured.

After taking several shallow breaths, I shifted forward, determined to find my resolve. He wasn’t going to break me. I’d done nothing to him.

“I need to ask you a few questions. Are you up for that?”

When I didn’t answer right away, he pressed his hand against my shoulder, squeezing in another attempt at saying he was sorry. “Fine.” I pulled away, moving to the table and sitting down. “Just don’t touch me.”

He exhaled but remained where he was, leaning against the counter and folding his arms. “As I said, I’m sorry for what just happened, Chloe. You have to understand that the situation is going to become even more difficult.”

“What I understand is that you remained angry because of your father’s death. While I can’t imagine the horror of finding him yourself or the method used to snuff out his life, I’m not your enemy. Neither are the majority of people in this country. You chose a life all those years ago. You allowed the greed and desirefor power to change you. But guess what? I’m not buying it. The real man is the one who taught his students every day, not the brutal soldier determined to exact revenge when you aren’t entirely certain who is behind this or your father’s murder. And it’s difficult to understand but so much when all I know about your past life is from the limited stories you told in class, but of course, they were all very true.” I could tell my words stung, just like his accusations had toward me. Good. I wanted him to feel as much pain as possible.

“I told you before. Don’t ask if you’re terrified of the answers.”

“I’m asking. I doubt anything could faze or shock me at this point.”

A full twenty seconds of silence ticked by.

Of course he wasn’t going to tell me. It was some crazy attempt to protect me.

Nikolai moved closer. “My buddy spotted a group of them in town. They are blanketing their search, which is one reason I’m being extremely cautious. They have methods of surveillance that would surprise you, let alone their reconnaissance abilities.”

“You have to be kidding me? They really want you taken out of the picture,” I huffed then reined in my own anger. “Where did he see them?”

“They went to the diner, likely asking questions. Don’t worry. My friend did tell me there were no incidents.”

“But? I know there’s something else. Just tell me. There certainly has to be another reason you attacked me for saying a few words in Russian.”

His anger flashed once again but he took a deep breath. “They went to your apartment. It was torn apart.”

Lights erupted in front of my eyes. “Then how could you think I would be involved if the bastards went after me?”

“They might have thought you betrayed them. That’s happened before.”

I laughed bitterly, the ache in my hand almost as substantial as the one in my heart. “Well, I guess you’re going to believe what you need to. There is no way of proving my identity to you. You took care of that as well.”

Another round of silence settled in.

“You are correct on all points, Chloe. Point taken. I overreacted.On budet vzyat. Is that what you heard? While I don’t deserve your help, I’m asking for it. The more information I know, the more likely it is I can stay ahead of them.”

“Yes. I think that’s what I heard, although the asshole was trying to be careful talking around me, which is why he spoke Russian. You should know I’m not fluent in Russian, no matter what you think.” I found it crazy I was still trying to convince him.

“As I said before, I believe you. Did a single one of the mercenaries mention a name?”

“No, but there was something about a Pakhan.” Mercenaries. I couldn’t get the word out of my mind.