She isn’t seeing the rolling hills or the well-trimmed bushes.
She sees an escape route.
I won’t tell her the whole property is walled off.
Nor will I tell her beyond the hills is a small pond, then marshes. Marshes that are too thick to cut through.
It’s why I bought the land.
No one can get in…
Or out.
“Can we go out there?” she asks.
I hold back my chuckle. “You aren’t a prisoner here. I told you, you have free rein.”
“Then why…”
“I told you before, your brother was murdered, Sasha. Whoever killed him wants you dead too. You’re in danger, and Roman made me promise to protect you. I know it’s not ideal, but this is the only place I can keep you safe. Your apartment is a logistical nightmare.”
Her forehead furrows, and I can tell she wants to ask questions.
“I’m doing this for your safety,” I repeat, hoping to drive the point home.
Her lips form a thin line as she considers my words. “But for how long?”
Fair question. And one I don’t have an answer to. My men are still trying to work out who’s behind this. When they do, I’ll kill them. To keep my word.
To keep her safe.
“For however long it takes,” I vow, staring directly into her deep eyes. “Come on.” I pivot toward the door. “Let me take you outside. Let me show you the grounds. Once you see the place, you’ll know this is no prison. Not for you.”
“What am I supposed to believe? Huh?” Her cheeks suck in like she sucked a lemon. She doesn’t believe me and is having a hard time not launching a verbal attack on me.
I shrug one shoulder. “Think of it as a short getaway.”
“You can’t possibly believe that I’ll consider this a vacation.”
My eyebrow lifts in reaction to her snippy demeanor. I like it. The fire.
“Not just a vacation, firefly. An all-expenses-paid one.”
She huffs. “I need to work.”
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll handle everything.” I already have. Her rent is paid for the rest of the year. Her debt is cleared. She doesn’t need to know that. Not yet.
“What does that mean?” she asks.
I ignore her. Too much information is never a good thing, especially in this case. She’d fight against the gesture, not understanding that it was the least I could do.
When we reach the large glass door that leads outside, I push it open, allowing the fresh air to filter in around us.
What Sasha doesn’t know is that all the doors have actual biometric locks on them. But this morning, to fuel my plan of forcing her deeper into my domain, I had them shut off.
I allow her to head outside first, giving her space and allowing her to take in the large property.
Her eyes are wide and round as she spins in a circle.