Page 95 of Silent Heart

“Yes, Luka, I’m sure! Now shut the fucking door and let us alone.”

“But—”

I didn’t want to alarm Kolya any more than he already was, but I couldn’t keep back the exasperated groan that passed through my teeth.

“You can get my cell number from Cami, and I’ll text you updates every hour,” I capitulated, because I had to give them something.

Relief filled Luka’s voice. “Oh, we already have your number, but that’s a great idea!”

Are you freaking kidding me right now?!

When we had a handle on the situation, I was going to demand how they had that bit of personal information. Of course, if they were capable of switching rooms with their college studentcousin without the university batting an eye or the current occupants raising a fuss, then this was probably nothing.

Russian royalty, my ass. No, this family had darker, far more terrible secrets.

But none of that mattered right now.

Because the door finally was closing.

I looked behind me, down the length of the hall. Another room was at the far end.

“Hey, what’s back there?” I asked, gently placing my hand on Kolya’s shoulder. He stiffened at the touch but didn’t pull away. “Can you show me, big guy?”

Just because he wouldn’t answer didn’t mean I would treat him like he couldn’t understand. Maintaining physical contact, I took a careful step backward.

Kolya mimicked.

“That’s it, one step at a time.” I smiled through the terrible feelings running through my mind. How had things gotten this bad? At the lake house, Kolya ran about, but was never caged. This was his own family! And they were terrified of him.

No wonder he didn’t want me around when he had episodes.

I let out a silent sigh.

At the end of the hall was a small room with nothing but a mattress. Through another door was a stainless-steel toilet, bolted to the wall like something from a prison movie.

“Oh, Kolya,” I moaned, because it was simply tragic.

The beast stood silently beside me, watching me as it took it all in.

“Alright, here’s what we’re going to do.” I pushed aside the inner agony at seeing how he was penned up and took charge of the situation. “I’m turning on a rom-com on my phone. Once I check in with your brother, I’ll probably fall back to sleep because it’s the middle of the night, and I’ve been up early cramming assignments for school.”

As I spoke, I proceeded to fold myself onto the mattress. While it was clean, it wasn’t very comfortable. I patted the spot right next to me.

“School is going great by the way,” I said brightly. “I’m going to be a veterinarian in a few years like I always dreamed.”

Kolya sank onto the mattress, movements stiff and robotic.

I continued to ramble as I pulled up a cute movie about a local girl who kept running away from her wedding, and Richard Greer was the handsome reporter come to write about her.

Once Kolya finally lay beside me and the movie played in the background, I rolled into his side. “I know you won’t remember what I say in the morning.”

His chest rose and fell in a steady rhythm.

“I fucking missed you,” I whispered. “You leaving was one of the worst things that’s ever happened to me.”

Up and down went the chest. In and out came the breaths.

“We were a fling, a summer romance, but what I felt—what Ifeelis a lot more powerful than I expected, and I can’t shake it off, Kolya.” I pressed my cheek on his rib.

---