Page 13 of Trapping His Angel

Our arrival in Russia took me by surprise. I thought for sure it would be a longer trip, but one week later and here we were, docking in Russia. I stayed in my room, knowing that it was about to be chaos.

I didn’t do well in crowds.

I don’t know how I knew that information, I just did. Chalk it up to the many lists of things wrong with me. I hadn’t seen Benedikt around either, but I could feel him. Like he was watching me, or like he was in the room with me.If I disappeared, would anyone even notice?

Especially when I was alone at night.

But that was just me being paranoid. I looked everywhere, and didn’t see any signs of Benedikt. I thought for sure he would hide his gigantic frame underneath the bed, but I checked every night and my search came up with nothing.

He was never in any of the rooms with me. I just had an overactive imagination. Sometimes when I was detached, I forgot what was happening in the actual world, and stayed fully cemented in my delusions.

A therapist once told me that.

So, I would ignore the pestering feeling that someone was watching me. I would focus on the future. What would that look like for me? I wasn’t sure. I knew Russia would differ from anything I was expecting.

My door flung open, and Valentina waltzed right inside. “Morning, betch.” She had a coffee in each hand.

“If one of those is for me, I’ll be ready to marry you any day now,” I grumbled. I loved my morning coffee.

“Don’t go proposing to me yet. I still haven’t figured out how the stove was working to begin with.”

I laughed for what seemed like the first time in a century. Valentina looked a bit taken aback. I guess she would be, because I wasn’t uncomfortable in her presence like usual.

She handed me a cup of the lord’s goodness and I took a big sip, humming my satisfaction as soon as it hit my tongue.

Valentina coughed. “Like I said, I would wife you in a heartbeat. Now that I have more influence, maybe I can help pave the way in case of any trouble this time.”

I nodded. “Thanks, I wish we could. Are they already freaking out about who they are going to be forced to marry?”

“They don’t know yet.” Valentina frowned. “Let’s not think about that. Let’s go see Russia.” Valentina forced her face to smile. It looked unnatural, but I said nothing.

My heart grew a few pounds heavier. I wanted to learn more about this place, but would it make a difference in the end? I couldn’t tell what my future was going to bring, but I hoped it wasn’t painful.

A man cared for me. That should make me elated, however, the truth was much darker. When I realized he was the first one to ever have done so, I couldn’t help but feel sad about the course of my life.

I stood on shaky legs and got dressed. Maybe Valentina knew the area better than me. I threw on a t-shirt and jeansfrom the wardrobe provided for me in the closet. I didn’t know why I was treated differently than the other captives.

I guessed it had to do with my friendship with Valentina. I was going to ask her while we were out.

I headed out of the room, and met Valentina in the hallway. We walked together as I questioned the situation.

“Where are the other students from The Academy?”

Valentina frowned. “Some were hurt and are in the infirmary, others are being assigned a Bratva soldier.”

“Why would they need a soldier?” We headed down the stairs.

“Because they need to be guarded before being sent home. That’s how Roman explained it to me.” Her eyes darkened.

I think she was lying. But I didn’t call her out on it.

“Where are we headed?”

I noticed there weren’t many servants.

“Tiffany Petrov is in her garden, and I thought we could head out there and meet her.” She smiled a little.

“Was that the important man’s wife?” My head throbbed as I tried to remember what she told me earlier.