Chapter 18 - Elena

I'm surprised when Arseny cuffs me to the bed and steps outside to call my father. I didn't think he would do it. He's been so possessive of me that I'm surprised he'd consider letting me go.

I have to admit I don't know if I want to go back to the life I had before. Arseny respects me, pleasures me, and treats me right. He values my opinion and hears me out without talking over me or cutting me off. That's more than my family has ever done.

I'm just a princess to my family, but to Arseny, I'm a queen.

He comes back inside a few minutes later and cuffs both my hands together. "Come on. I'm going to deposit you somewhere safe while your father and I talk."

"Somewhere safe?" I ask.

"Yeah, it"s a warehouse my brother owns. You'll be safe there. The meeting is about twenty minutes away, so I'll be back soon to fetch you." He leads me outside to his car. "I can't have you running off just as I'm about to negotiate with your family."

"If I said I wouldn't…"

"You entrance me, but I'm not stupid. I won't trust you again." His words cut deep, but I can't blame him. We had sex, and I could have stayed. I could have woken up the next morning, and we could have a normal day. Instead, I ran away in the middle of the night, risking my life repeatedly to get away from him. In reality, I'm safest when I'm with him. I know that now.

I don't push him. I simply get in the car and sit back while he clips my seatbelt in.

Once he's in, he revs the car to life and backs out of the parking, climbing on the main road nearby.

"What if I need the bathroom?" I ask.

"Do you?" he responds.

"Not right now," I admit. "But what if I do."

"I'll be gone tops an hour. I'm sure you'll be fine." He glances at me. "I'll get you something to eat and drink on the way back from the meeting."

"You're not going to return me straight away?" I ask curiously.

"A contract needs to be drawn up, which will take a day or two. Then you'll be sent back to your family, and you can resume your life." He sounds a little off. I don't think he wants me to leave any more than I want to go.

He drives into an industrial area and up to a warehouse facility. It looks abandoned.

"Are you sure I'll be safe here?" I ask.

"Yes, I promise I would never let any harm come to you." He leads me inside and cuffs me to some piping. He also gets me a chair to sit on, dusting it off first. "Are you comfy?" he asks.

"As can be," I say. "Don't be long. I'm getting hungry already."

"We can have something hot and spicy for lunch," he says. He pauses, then leans down and kisses my forehead. "See you soon."

He walks out, and I'm left there to stare at the wall. I am considering my options. I wonder if my father would let me go with someone like Arseny. Someone from a rival family. I would tell him that it's to strengthen our family by having ties to powerful allies, but he won't give up his hatred for the Milovs for that. There are other powerful allies to be had.

The minutes tick by, and all I can think about is Arseny and how I want to be with him. The sound of clanging metal suddenly echoes through the warehouse, and I look up sharply. Someone is in here with me.

Something bangs on the warehouse door, and then there's a crack, like something hard and metallic is breaking. Then, there's another clang of metal and then footsteps.

"Arseny?" I say nervously.

"Is that who you'd want to see?" Ethan asks. My older brother is a welcome sight. My younger brother Kyle is standing next to him.

"It's who I was expecting," I explain. They come over to me and check out the cuffs. Kyle takes out his tool set and begins picking the locks.

"How is the meeting going with father?" I ask.

"Don't you worry about it. Let's just get you home," Ethan says.

The one cuff comes off, and Kyle looks at me. "We can get the other off at home, come on."

"I promised Arseny I would stay here until the meeting was done. I need to keep my word," I protest.

"He kidnapped you, Elena. He doesn't get to take a promise like that from you. Now, it isn't your decision. We've come to take you home. Father said no matter what happens, he wants you at the house." Ethan grabs my arm roughly and starts dragging me off.

"You're hurting me," I complain. "Don't be so rough."

"Don't act like you want to stay with a traitor," Ethan growls, yanking me along.

"Jesus, Ethan, calm down," I say. "It's not like he's been treating me badly. He's been kind and nice to me. He hasn't treated me like a prisoner at all."

"So that makes it okay to kidnap you? Just treat you all right. Wait until Father hears this. No wonder he won't take you seriously. Then you want to moan at me that you want a seat at the table." I look at Kyle as Ethan berates me, and Kyle steps forward.

"She's just explaining, Ethan. She didn't say she wanted to stay, right Elena?" He asks.

"Right," I say quietly.

Ethan lets me go as we reach the car. "Get in."

I climb into the back, followed by Kyle and Ethan, who sit opposite me. Ethan knocks on the privacy window, and the car starts driving.

I sit back and look out the window. The city looks different now that I've been away in the wilderness for over a week. The city feels different now that I'm away from Arseny. I should feel safe being with my brothers, but I don't. I don't feel safe because Arseny doesn't know where I am and can't protect me.

I can never tell my father that, or he will put a hit out on Arseny's life, and I could never live with myself if anything happened to him because of me. He's been so good to me in so many ways. I think I've fallen for him, kind of. I don't know if I'm willing to admit that yet.

The city is also so much noisier than the cabin. It was peaceful on the mountain, with no one around honking their horns or shouting at each other, and there was no pollution in the air: just Arseny and I for some distance.

Ethan is studying me, so I smile at him. "Thank you for coming to get me."

"You're welcome. For a moment, I thought you'd lost your mind." He clears his throat and visibly relaxes now that I seem to be on board with him. He acts as though I'm going to leap out of the car and run back to Arseny willingly. I still, however, feel like I need to explain.

"Father always says to shoot straight. Business is upfront and honest as far as dealing with other families goes. I just wanted to keep my end of the bargain."

"You weren't willing to stay there, Elena. The promise didn't mean anything," Kyle says. "It wasn't like he sat you there and let you willingly choose to remain. He locked you up there. Here, give me your other hand, and I'll do the other cuff."

I offer him my hand, and he starts picking the lock.

"I know what you mean. I was just explaining where I'm coming from." I look at Ethan. "I would never do something to jeopardize our family."

"I know," he finally says after a long pause. "I know you wouldn't. The important thing is that our guys spotted you when you hit up that motel, and we were able to track your moves to the warehouse and get you out of there."

"So Arseny doesn't know he's negotiating with nothing on his side?" I ask.

Kyle and Ethan look at each other, and I frown.

"What? Did you guys ambush him?" I ask, slightly worried but trying to keep my voice calm.

"You best speak to Father, but don't worry, no one's going to ambush anyone. We don't want a full-out war." Kyle finishes picking the lock and takes the cuff off me.

"I'll keep those," I say. "Never know when they come in handy."

I put them in my pocket, and we remain silent for the rest of the journey home.

We pull up to my family"s mansion, and the guards let us through the gates.

Once the car stops, I get out ahead of Ethan and Kyle.

"Go see Father," Ethan says. "He'll be in his office. He'll want to make sure you're okay."

I frown. "He got back before us?"

"Go."

I can't shake this iffy feeling I have, but I go into the mansion and straight to my father"s office and knock.

"Come in," my father's gruff voice calls.

I enter and smile. "Father." He stands up, and I rush to give him a hug. "Oh, I've missed you."

"Elena, my darling child." He wraps his arms around me. "Did that brute hurt you? I'll have him killed."

"No, he didn't hurt me, Father." I smile at him as we separate. "What did you negotiate with him knowing my brothers were going to get me."

"I didn't go to the meeting," my father smiles proudly. "I wasn't going to do business with a Milov scum after he kidnapped my only daughter."

"Father!" I say. "You always do business the right way."

"The Milovs have their own problems," he says.

"Father, did you buy the butcher shops under the Milovs" nose?" I ask hotly.

"Butcher shops? What use would I have for butcher shops?" he asks. "Don't worry about a thing. You go shower and get freshened up. We can have dinner together, and you can tell me about what happened."

"Father, don't lie to me because I'm a woman. What are you going to do with those butcher shops? That's what started all this nonsense."

"I don't have anything to do with any butcher shops," my father says. "Elena, don't tell me you believe that scum over me?" He frowns. "If I had business to do, I wouldn't go behind the Milovs" back to do it. I don't do business like that, you know that."

I fluster slightly. He takes me by the shoulder. "I hate that the little rat has tried to poison you against me. He clearly lives in a fantasy world. I will still have my revenge against him for taking you from me."

"No, Father, it's fine. He didn't treat me badly even though our families are enemies. He fed and clothed me and even gave me things to do while he made his plans." I take my father"s hand. "No revenge is needed. I'm home safely."

"Hello," I hear a voice call from outside. "Anyone home?"

My father leads me to the door, saying, "It's your cousin, Darius. He doesn't know about the kidnapping, so don't say anything."

We walk out of the office, and Darius sees us and claps his hands. "Hello uncle, cousin. Elena, you look like you've been run over by something. Partying too hard?"

"Went for a run in the mountains." It's not entirely a lie.

"Elena was just going to shower and get dressed. Why don't you join me for a drink, Darius?" My father sweeps his arm behind him. "Out on the deck outside."

"Sure, Uncle, there are things I want to discuss with you. Bye, Elena." My cousin leans over and kisses each of my cheeks before leaving with my father.

I run upstairs to my room. Everyone is so happy to see me. It still doesn't feel right that my father stood up Arseny, and he's not going to be happy when he gets back to that warehouse.

I wish I had some way to reach him.