Page 79 of Beast

God, I was losing it. Paranoia was a powerful, controlling thing. Once it took hold, it was hard to shake off.

It was that damn text. I needed to tell Adrik about it. I needed to warn him that I’d received another creepy message.

Was the guy really as close as he said, or was he just trying to put me on edge? Trying to scare the crap out of me?

“Sorry. I’m a little freaked out. This whole situation is just getting to me.”

Adrik sent me a sympathetic look. “It’s okay to be scared, Annika. Anyone in your situation would be.” He paused. “Tim and I are reviewing the video footage. I know you want to be involved in everything, so I thought I’d ask if you wanted to join us. We could use an extra pair of eyes.”

I jerked my head in a quick nod, thankful he was including me. Grateful I wouldn’t have to be alone with my terrified thoughts. “Yes. I definitely want to help catch this guy. But, um, before we go, I got another creepy text a few minutes ago.”

Worry flashed in his eyes. “Let me see.” Adrik held his hand out to me, motioning with his fingers for me to give him my phone.

I plucked it from the holder in my wheelchair, handing it over and waiting as he swiped the screen and read the text.

Slowly, he lifted his gaze to mine. “Fuck.” Adrik rubbed a hand over his face. “I need to tell Efrem about this.” He yanked his phone out of his pocket.

“I’ll meet you in the surveillance room.”

He nodded distractedly as I wheeled out into the hallway. When I reached the security room, Timofey sat in one of the chairs behind the long, narrow desk. A slew of monitors was arranged on the desktop, each sporting several different screens of video footage from the cameras around the property. In all the years we’d vacationed at the lake house, I had never been inside this room before. The room was tucked behind the garage, a small rectangular area I’d never even wondered about before.

I wheeled my chair up beside Timofey, glancing at all the different footage. “Wow,” I murmured, “that’s a lot of cameras.”

Timofey turned to me with a smile. “Sure is. Are you here to help, Miss Annika?”

I smiled back. “I am. What do you want me to do?”

While Timofey explained what they were doing, Adrik entered the room and pulled a chair up on my other side.

We worked in companionable silence for a little while, each of us scrolling through a different camera footage for any sign of an intruder over the past week. It was really late now. Around one a.m., and we were all exhausted. But under the circumstances, there was no way I could sleep.

Just then, Adrik’s phone rang.

“Yeah.” He answered it, listening for a moment, and from my position next to him, I could hear a male voice responding, though I couldn’t make out his words.

“Be right there.”

Adrik hopped to his feet. “Reinforcements have arrived. I’m going to let them in and assign them their positions. Be right back.”

Adrik strode out and Timofey and I went back to scrolling through the camera footage.

Suddenly, I felt Timofey’s gaze on me, scrutinizing. I turned my head and met his stare.

“He’s different,” Timofey murmured, a contemplative look on his face. “What happened while I was sleeping?”

Despite my best efforts to act normal, heat washed into my face. I dropped my gaze, embarrassment closing in. Could he tell we’d slept together?

Timofey chuckled. “I know Adrik better than anyone, and I can tell something’s changed between you two. Did you guys get it on?”

My face burned even hotter. “Why would you say that?”

He laughed, then lightly tapped my arm. “No need to be embarrassed, Miss Annika. It’s all right if you did. My lips are sealed. I’m all for people scratching that itch or finding happiness if that’s the case. Besides, Adrik’s been in lo–” He broke off abruptly, rolling his lips between his teeth and glanced down at his lap. “Ahem. Anywho, just be careful, you know what I mean? Your family won’t take too kindly to finding out he slept with his charge. Might even kill him for it, and I’d hate to see him die because of it.” He sent me a meaningful stare.

I blanched. “No. I don’t believe that. My family won’t harm him. I won’tletthem.”

Timofey sat back, eyeing me more closely. “Excuse me if this is out of line, Miss Annika, but girls like you usually don’t go for guys like Adrik. Women never look twice at him, unless it’s to do a double-take and flinch or gasp in disgust.” When I opened my mouth to protest, he lifted a hand. “Hold on, just listen for a moment. Now, I know you’re different and all, but you’re still a Bratva princess and he’s still just a thug. So, I gotta look out for him. He’s a good guy and I don’t wanna see him hurt. In his eyes, he’ll never be good enough for you, and I’m sure your family feels the same. I’ve seen the way some people treat him. I think he just expects it now, so don’t be surprised if he pushes you away. It’s just his defense mechanism. He’s afraid to hope because he doesn’t believe anyone could truly want him. If you’re serious about him, then be patient and don’t give up. It’ll probably take some convincing before he believes you truly want him.”

I could only imagine how cruelly people had treated Adrik over the years. “I really do care about him,” I assured Timofey. “He’s a special guy. Somehow, we just click.”

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