Page 63 of Mine To Possess
“Amelia, you had a gun pointed at you in this house only a few hours ago. Do you really feel comfortable here now?”
I consider his words. It doesn’t make sense that I do feel comfortable here after what happened, but I actually do. I nod slowly.
“I feel comfortable being wherever you are,” I say.
Viktor smiles at me. “You’re one brave lady. Okay, go on upstairs and I’ll join you in a few minutes. I think we both could use an early night. I’ll just let Jerome and Lenny know we’ll be staying here,” he says.
34
AMELIA
Iclimb the stairs, feeling weary deep down in my bones. He’s right about an early night. I’m covered in blood though and I decide to take a shower before bed. By the time I’m done in the shower and go to the bedroom, Viktor has washed the blood off himself and he’s already in bed waiting for me. He pulls the covers back and I slip into bed beside him. He wraps me up in his good arm and holds me.
“Amelia, listen,” Viktor says. “I’ve been thinking and there’s something I need to talk to you about. And you’re not going to like it.”
I pull myself away from him far enough to look into his face. His expression is completely serious, and I feel dread eating away at me. I sit up and Viktor sits up beside me. We lay back on the pillows and Viktor puts his arm around my shoulders. I turn slightly, leaning into him, and then I steel myself for whatever bad news he’s going to drop on me now.
“Like I said downstairs, I killed Igor’s father, and he isn’t going to stop coming for me until either he gets his way and destroys me, or I end him. You understand that, right?”
I nod calmly, but my heart is racing in my chest.
He sighs. “You have to understand the most obvious way for Igor to get to me is through the one I care most about. And that’s you.”
“You think he’ll grab me or something and use me as bait to lure you in?” I ask.
“Maybe,” he says. “Or maybe he’ll hurt you so I suffer. Either way, I’m not taking that risk. You have to leave.”
“What are you saying?” Does he want us to break up? I feel confused. Is this Igor guy seriously controlling my love life right now?
“I’m saying I have a safe house you can stay in. One that’s not associated with me publicly. We won’t be able to have any contact with each other, and to the outside world, it will look like we’ve split up. Igor isn’t going to go after my ex-girlfriend and…”
Ok, it’s not as bad as I imagined. He’s not breaking up with me. He just wants everyone else to think he has. It’s bad enough though. It still means we’ll have to be apart.
“I don’t want to do that, Viktor. No matter what happens, I want to be with you. I go crazy with worry for you if I’m away from you.”
“I know,” he says gently, moving his fingers on my arm, caressing me. “And trust me, I don’t want to do this either, but if it’s a choice between spending some time away from you and you being safe or having you with me and putting you in danger, I will always choose the safe option.”
“You can keep me safe, Viktor,” I argue. “Look at the fire. Or tonight. You kept me safe.”
“We got lucky tonight, Amelia, and you know it. If I had been two minutes later getting back, it might have been too late.”
“We don’t even know Igor will go after me. He didn’t seem to know who I was earlier. He just demanded to know where you were.”
“Well, if he didn’t know who you were before, he does now. He knows I’m willing to risk my life for yours. So, I’m not willing to take the chance that he won’t go for you,” Viktor insists. “I once made a mistake like this before. I assumed something would be safe and it wasn’t. My fiancée paid with her life, and I won’t let that happen to you, Amelia. Not now, not ever.”
I bite my lower lip. There’s a sharp prick of jealousy to think of his ex. Even though she’s dead, she was pregnant with his child. He must have loved her. There is still feeling in his eyes now. “How did she die?”
“She was shot. The bullet wasn’t meant for her, but me. She got caught in the crossfire. She died in my arms,” Viktor says, his voice breaking slightly.
“Oh my God, I’m so sorry,” I say, snuggling more tightly against him.
“It’s okay. It’s all in the past now and it took a very long time, but I’ve made my peace with it. But like I say, I won’t let it happen again. I can’t lose you, Amelia. I can’t.”
I think for a moment. The last thing I want is for Viktor and me to be apart, but I can hear the raw pain in his voice as he talks about his fiancée’s death, and I don’t want to be responsible for bringing all of that back and making him feel like it could happen again.
“Ok,” I say. “We’ll act like we’ve split up. But I don’t think a safe house is the answer. I’ll go back to my mom’s place. That’s what I would do if we really broke up and it’ll make the whole thing seem more believable.”
“Your mom’s place?” Viktor asks surprised. “I thought you two hadn’t spoken since you left.”