5. Kate

”Yeah, I know. He”s on his way.”

What does that mean? Is this man in the FBI with Liam, or do they expect Liam because I’m the bait, just like I was for Fiori and his Russian friend?

The man stands, and I flinch, wondering what he has planned for me.

He smirks as he puts his phone in his pocket. “You’re safe here. Now that you’re better, you might want to clean up. There are fresh clothes in the dresser and closet. The bathroom is through that door.” He nods toward a door not far from the bed.

“When will Liam be here?”

“Won’t be long.” He moves to the door. “Cherry will be up with some food shortly.”

He leaves, and I’m relieved, and yet, I don’t quite feel safe, either. I won’t until Liam gets here. It might be foolish, but I decide to take a shower. I’ve been in these clothes too long, and my hair feels like it’s plastered to my head.

In the dresser I find my underwear and bras, shirts, and jeans. The fact that somehow, my clothes have made it here makes me relax a bit more.

The only way they can have my clothes is that Liam arranged for them to have them. At least that’s what I tell myself.

As I head to the bathroom, I look outside the window. It’s nearly dark. If it had been unsafe to leave this secluded place with snow everywhere, it would be even more unsafe to do so at night.

I have to hope that Liam arranged for me to be here and not think too hard about why I had to be drugged for that to happen.

The bath is large, with a rain spout shower and a large garden tub. I want to wash away the horrors in my life in the shower and soak in comfort in the tub.

But I don’t want to take too long since I don’t know when Liam will be here.

I opt for the shower, savoring the hot water as it melts away the lingering aches from my captivity and the fog from the drugs.

I exit and find a plush robe hanging on the back of the door. Once I dry off, I put it on. It feels luxurious, which is a far cry from my normal life.

I grew up in a regular middle class household with my dad always telling me money was tight.

And yet, he paid for my college. He even helped me with my apartment.

That reminds me that my father was on the take. I want to think it was because he wanted a better life for me, but it’s still difficult to know my father crossed the line.

When I leave the bathroom, the scent of food makes my stomach growl. Cherry must have stopped in while I was in the shower as I find a tray with soup, thick, crusty bread, hot tea, and a glass of water on the table.

I’d been so afraid that I hadn’t registered hunger. Now that I do, I’m starving.

I sit down and try not to gulp down my food. It tastes homemade. The food along with the fire and cozy atmosphere… it feels almost like I’m on vacation.

I’m probably an idiot to think that. But if I’m about to die, at least I’m going out feeling warm and with a belly full of food.

As I dip my bread in the soup, I look around the room for a phone. I could call Liam. Or maybe Elena.

I think about how Liam isn’t the only person who can help me. Elena would send her husband Niko to save me, wouldn’t she? Lucy would send her husband Donovan too, right? They could rescue me and I can go back to my life, such as it is.

The door swings open, and I nearly drop my teacup. Liam walks in, shutting the door behind him.

I’m all at once relieved to see him and afraid because he looks… off. His hair is wild. He has a black eye. His expression is cold. Like he’s angry at me.

“What’s wrong?” My words come out on a squeak.

“You’re going to stay here for a while.” It’s more than a statement. It’s a command.

“What? What’s happening?”

“I don’t have time to give you all the answers. Just know that you’re safe.”

“Okay.” Normally, Liam made me feel safe, but right now, I’m mostly confused.

“Don’t leave this house without one of my men with you?—”

“You’re not going to stay?—”

“No using the phone. You can move around the house, and my staff will get you anything you need, but you cannot leave the property under any circumstances, is that clear?”

At first, I’m struggling to make sense of what’s going on. But when I register how he’s talking to me like I’m a petulant teen, I get annoyed.

“Why?”

He practically snarls. “Did Fiori hit you on the head and you lost your memory? You know why.”

His words are like tiny stabs to my heart. Why is he being so cruel? He’s so different from the man I met six months ago.

He lifts a shoulder as if he’s trying to work out a kink.

“You’re hurt. What happened?”

He studies me, and for a moment, I think I see the man I first met. But then it’s gone.

“It’s nothing.” He turns to leave, and I can’t help but think he desires to get away from me. At one time, he wanted me, and now it’s like he can’t stand me. What happened?

I reach out to stop him. “What’s going on? Is it Elena and Lucy?”

His brow furrows. “Why would you ask that?”

I’m about at my wits’ end. “I don’t know. I was drugged and brought here. I don’t know why you did that. I don’t know how long I’ve been out of it.”

Lethal. That’s the only word I can come up with as I look into his eyes. His hand cups my cheek, but it’s not the gentle, caring touch from the day at the warehouse. It’s more like he’s studying me and not liking what he’s seeing.

He tilts my head, looking at my neck. “Fuck.”

“What?” My hand goes to my neck. Is the mark infected?

He abruptly pulls away and exits my room.

What is going on?

Liam looks terrible. He’s acting cold and cruel. Why?

Tired of feeling like I’m on my back foot, I follow him out of the bedroom. He’s already down the stairs and talking to his men when I reach the railing overlooking the living area.

So far, I’d come across two men, and I knew there was a woman, Cherry. But downstairs, Liam stands with a group of nearly a dozen men. I recognize the man who was in my room, but that’s it.

“Alex.” Liam’s voice is low and dark, and I shrink back into the darkness, yet remain close enough to eavesdrop.

“Boss.” A man steps forward. I have a flash of a memory in the hotel. He had to be the man who’d drugged me. Kidnapped me.

“Did you drug her?”

Alex’s confident smile falters. “She tried to run?—”

“Did. You. Drug. Her?”

Alex clears his throat. “Yes. Just so?—”

Alex’s words end with a shot to the forehead. A shot that Liam delivers.

My hands cover my mouth as the image of Liam raising a gun and pulling the trigger like it was nothing sears into my brain.

“Kate is to be protected. Anyone hurts her, or even touches her, they will meet Alex in hell. Got it?”

I remember once reading a book or seeing a TV show about an evil twin. Is that what’s going on here? Is this someone pretending to be Liam?

“Clean this up,” Liam barks and then exits the group.

Something isn’t right. Fear nearly paralyzes me, but somehow, I creep silently back to my room and shut the door.

My dinner roils in my stomach, and I rush to the bathroom just in time to empty its contents into the toilet. I sink to the floor, tears streaming down as I live in the middle of this horror show.

“Are you okay?”

I jump at the sound of a woman. I turn to see a woman with light red hair and pink cheeks looking at me through a crack in the bathroom door.

She steps in and smiles. She’s pretty and around my age. Is this Cherry? And who is she to Liam and his gang?.

“Liam… he just… s–shot someone. Oh, my God.” My stomach hurls again.

The woman goes to the sink, picks up a glass, and fills it with water. “That’s what happens when you disobey. Alex shouldn’t have drugged you. Certainly not the amount that he had. You could have died.”

“What?” Why was she talking like it was no big deal for Liam to kill someone in cold blood?

“Here. Have some water.”

I take a sip and let her help me up. I rinse my mouth out with mouthwash she conjures up from somewhere, and then she guides me back to the bedroom where I sit on the edge of the bed.

“Are you with Liam?”

She laughs. “Don’t let Robbie hear you ask that. No, I’m not with Liam. I’m with his cousin, Robbie.”

I shake my head. “I mean the FBI. Are you?—”

Cherry bursts out laughing. “Ha! That’s hilarious. Robbie will get a kick out of that when I tell him. No. I’m Cherry Granger.”

I feel like an idiot that I still don’t understand what’s going on.

Cherry sits next to me and pats my hand. “This is the Rostova safehouse.”

“With the FBI?”

“No, honey. The Rostova safehouse.”

“Who are all the men?”

“They’re Liam’s men.”

I want to ask if she means his men with the FBI, but clearly, that’s not the case.

“They’re Bratva,” she says as if she knows I’m completely lost.

My head spins. I’ve heard of that before. I think from my father. It’s organized crime. But no. Liam is FBI.

“Bratva?” I ask, thinking maybe I misunderstood.

“Yes. It’s like the Mafia, only Russian. Liam is the Boss.”