Page 17 of Paved in Venom

“That’s us.”

“Us?”

“I live here with my four brothers and my sister-in-law.”

Her face pales at my words, and as soon as the elevator doors open, she squeezes herself into the corner, trying to put as much distance between us as possible.

“Are you planning on sharing me?”

Her voice is nothing but a whisper, and I hate how terrified she sounds.

“What? Fuck no I’m not going to share you.” I don’t bother mentioning that she already feels like mine and that there’s no way in fuck I’d ever share her with another living soul, but I figure that might just scare her even more. “It’s not like that,” I try and tell her.

The doors open, and when she sees all the family photos, she looks more confused than ever. Roman told me to go ahead and let her get changed and cleaned up before we spring all the heavy shit on her, so I guide Simona to the set of stairs in the corner. She takes one look at them and shakes her head.

“I’m not going down into your fucked-up dungeon room.”

She looks around the penthouse, looking more scared with each passing second.

“It’s not a dungeon. I just want to show you the bathroom. You can shower and put on some clothes if you want. I thought you might feel better to get out of that,” I say, motioning to the nonexistent dress that’s currently hidden by my jacket.

“Why do you have a gun?”

“To keep myself safe.”

“Why do you need to keep yourself safe?”

I sigh and start walking down the stairs. “I promise I’ll answer all your questions once you’re out of the shower.”

She hesitates, waiting at the top of the stairs before finally taking a cautious step. When nothing bad happens, she takes another, slowly climbing down. She follows me to my room, stopping in the doorway. I grab the clothes that Roman said would be waiting for her and hold them out.

“Emily, my sister-in-law, left these for you to wear. You look about the same size. You’re a little taller, but they should still work. We can order you anything you want later.”

“Will you let me go?” Her blue eyes search mine, looking for some scrap of humanity, some hint that I’m the good guy. I may not be the same kind of monster as the men who took her, but I’m a monster nonetheless. I don’t want her to see that side of me, but I’m also not going to pretend to be something I’m not.

“We can talk when you get out,” I tell her.

She grabs the clothes on the way to the bathroom, and when I hear the door lock, I run a hand through my hair, wishing I’d been able to get more sleep. I’m fucking exhausted, and this night isn’t even close to being over. Part of me wants to wait until she gets out in case she needs anything, but I know I need to talk to my brothers more than I need to stand here and think about her taking a shower.

I leave my messenger bag at my desk and go back upstairs. They’re all waiting for me in the living room. Emily is sitting in Roman’s lap, eager for an update just like the rest of them, so I stick to English as I give them a rundown of everything that happened.

“She must be scared to death,” Emily says.

“She is,” I tell her, “but she’s strong. I get the feeling she’d put up one hell of a fight if anyone tried anything with her.”

“I like her already,” Lev says with a grin.

“Does she know anything about the men who took her?” Matvey asks.

“I haven’t talked to her about anything yet. I told her we could talk after she got changed. The dress they had her in was ridiculous. I thought she’d feel more comfortable talking once she wasn’t practically naked.”

“She’ll definitely feel better when she has some actual clothes on,” Emily says. “Do you think the ones I picked out will fit her? I can find something else.”

“No, I think they’ll work. She’s a little taller than you, but it should be fine.”

“What was it like?” Vitaly asks. “Did you see anyone?”

“No, they’ve got it set up perfectly. Every bidder is brought in separately, and there’s a man standing watch outside every room. I didn’t see any of the other men who were betting. Each room has a large window facing the stage, but you can’t see in any of the other windows. Simona was the last girl, and I had to outbid some other fucker to get her.”

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