But that man was dead and gone, along with his ability to provide comfort. He wasn’t that man now and he never would be again.
So, all he said was, ‘You have no belongings?’
She shook her head wordlessly.
She has nothing and no one.
Something tightened in his chest. He ignored it. ‘No documentation?’
Another shake of her head.
‘Do you have anywhere to go?’
Again, she shook her head.
Nothing. No one.
It wasn’t a surprise. If Ivan had bought her as a child and she’d never left the compound, then of course she’d have nowhere to go.
He regarded her huddled in her seat, clutching at the leather, her jaw set in hard lines as if she was determined not to show her fear. But he could see it. She looked very small sitting there and very alone.
He rubbed at his chest absently, trying ease the unfamiliar ache that had settled there. ‘So, what were your plans when you finally escaped?’ he asked, because surely she must have had some idea about where she was going to go and what she would do.
She was silent a moment. ‘I...thought I might go to Paris,’ she said at last. ‘I always wanted to go there.’
Paris. She wanted to visit Paris.
‘And how were you going to get there?’ A tugging sensation had joined the ache, along with the anger he’d felt just before in Ivan’s study. ‘With what money?’
She shook her head and glanced down at her lap.
No, she had nothing. No money, no documents. No belongings.
‘What about family?’ It came out sharp, but the anger hadn’t gone away, and he didn’t like it. He didn’t even know why he was angry since she meant nothing to him. ‘Do you have anyone you can contact?’
She kept her attention on her hands, every line of her tense. ‘No. Or if I do, I don’t remember them.’
No family either.
She truly was alone in the world.
Ares rubbed at his chest again, the ache persisting.
‘I’m sorry.’ She spoke so quietly he barely heard her. ‘How did you... I mean, did you...’ She paused yet again. ‘Are you... Are you my owner now?’
The words made him feel as if there was a sullen fire burning behind his breastbone, outrage joining the heat of his anger.
‘No,’ he growled. ‘I do not own people. I did have to pay Vasiliev money for you, but it was the quickest and easiest way to get you out. You are free, Rose.’
Her head lifted slowly, big golden eyes almost lost in the darkness. ‘But you did have to buy me.’
The sullen fire burned higher. He ignored it. ‘It was not my first choice. But freeing you by force would have taken some time.’
Her jaw hardened. ‘I have no money, nothing to pay you back with—’ She broke off suddenly, her expression tightening, fingers clutching at the seat as the helicopter shifted, lifting off the pad.
She was afraid, he could see that, but she was trying to hide it.
‘There is nothing to fear,’ he said, letting her know he saw it anyway. ‘My pilot is the best in the business.’