“Your brother knows about your disappearance. I assume it won’t be long until he comes looking for you. Don’t worry, Hana, I’m sure he’ll save you from me, and have you tucked in at home before the clock strikes twelve,” he murmured, standing over me. I shivered, and his eyes tracked the movement. Grabbing a soft blanket from a nearby chair, he gave it to me. I expected him to throw it at me, but instead, he loomed over me and placed it carefully over me, tucking it in, so a warm cocoon surrounded my body.
“Stay warm, it’s cold here,” he muttered, his eyes returning to mine, just as he straightened. “What’s going to happen?”
“Don’t worry, Hana. In case you haven’t realized, I couldn’t hurt you. I’ll give you back to your brother, without trying too hard to kill him,” Kon said and shot me a sardonic grin. Then he was standing and heading toward the door.
I watched him go, my heart in my mouth.
* * *
After half an hour,another visitor dropped in. I hadn’t even tried the door of the room Kon had put me in. I didn’t want to know if he’d locked me in.
A knock sounded shortly, and then a woman entered. She was as blonde as Kon and stunning in the same regal way. She narrowed her eyes at me, taking me in from the doorway. She held a tray in her hands and a bundle of dark clothes.
“I’ve brought you tea,” she said in a clipped, accented voice.
“Ok, thanks.” I shifted upright in the narrow bed. The woman placed the tray on a table beside me, and then, instead of leaving, plopped herself down into a chair and stared at me.
“I’m Kira. Are you hurt?”
I shook my head. “I’m Hana.”
“I know.”
Ok well, this stranger was clearly a real conversationalist.
Kira continued to stare at me, a look of interest in her gaze, then she dipped her head toward the steaming cup of black tea. “Drink that, it’ll keep you warm. Konstantin is worried you’re cold.”
Well, that titbit warmed my heart more than the tea. I reached for the cup and took a sip of the fragrant liquid. It really was warming. I cupped my hands around the glass mug and made another attempt at conversation.
“So, are you Ivanov bratva?”
Kira snorted inelegantly. For some reason, on her it looked good. “This disorderly rabble? No.”
“Oh, ok. Well, are you someone’s girlfriend?”
“Just ask what you want to ask, Hana Song. Why would I be here, if I wasn’t someone’s girlfriend, right? You’re right. I’m someone’s fiancé.”
“Oh, ok. Congratulations.” I didn’t quite know what to say to someone who was clearly tough enough to be engaged to any of the terrifying men I’d seen so far.
“Spasiba,”Kira smirked.
I drank my tea, and Kira watched me. It was unsettling. She didn’t seem to want to talk about anything, but she wasn’t in a hurry to leave. After a certain point, where the silence rose to such a deafening roar, I was about to start babbling away, she looked at her phone. The corner of one of her red-painted lips tilted up.
“Katya’s here. Let the games begin.”
She stood up before I could ask anything, and made for the door.
“I’m sure I’ll see you soon, downstairs. Kon’s Cinderella will only be a little late to the ball. Put those clothes on that I brought you,” she called to me from the door. What the hell? Then she turned on her heel and left.
This time I heard the lock turn.
CHAPTER8
Hana
The next thing I knew, Kira was back and taking me downstairs. The abandoned mall was creepy as hell, and the faraway sounds of the music from the pier, and the smell of old cotton candy only made it more so. I shivered in the borrowed clothes. As soon as we got to the lower level, I saw my brother, and his friend, Rocco, standing in the middle of the floor. Relief filled Jae’s eyes as he took me in. My heart filled with something too, but it wasn’t as easily defined. Relief? Maybe a little. Disappointment? Maybe a bit of that too, or maybe even a lot, I wasn’t ready to consider how much.
“Did he hurt you?”