Chapter 26

CHAPTER 26

ROMAN

R age, thick as bile, choked the back of my throat.

I swiped the back of my hand over my eyes to clear my vision as I took in the sight of my baby girl, lying alone and vulnerable in a rat hole of a flat. Tossing the useless blanket aside, I gathered her into my arms. Her body radiated feverish heat. The sundress she wore was still damp from the rain.

I shrugged out of my cashmere wool overcoat and draped it over her shoulders.

I then brushed the sweaty strands of hair off her forehead and kissed her. "You're safe now. I'm getting you out of here."

My chest constricted when she groaned as I carefully lifted her arm and threaded it through my sleeve. I then repeated the gesture for her other arm. Wrapping the coat tightly around her shivering body, I lifted her high.

The room was so small, I had to kick her bed aside just to maneuver around it with Aurora in my arms. My head struck the light bulb dangling from the ceiling. It swung back and forth, sending macabre shadows of dancing monsters over the vile green walls.

My fingers tightened around her slight form.

She was living here. Alone and unprotected for days… fucking days . That was how long it took me to find her. Five days, twelve hours, and thirteen minutes. I had some of the most sophisticated surveillance equipment in the world at my disposal and it took me five days, twelve hours, and thirteen minutes to find one slip of a girl in a city I knew like the back of my hand. The problem was I never expected her to take it this far. I thought she would hide out at a friend's house or maybe a posh hotel for a few days then come to her senses.

I'd had our game all played out in my head. Then she made a move I never would have anticipated. My little kitten showed she had claws. All this time I thought her sheltered and innocent, failing to see the fighter and survivor in her. If I were honest with myself, it was that fighting survivor spirit that drew me to her from the start. It was what made her different from the rest.

It was what made this game so much more challenging and exhilarating. From the very beginning, she captured my attention like no other. But this… this was different. This was a new level. This proved I needed to work even harder to keep her by my side. Obviously, I had underestimated my little opponent. That would not happen again. Extreme measures would be taken from this moment forward to keep her protected and beholden to me. Never again would I allow her the freedom to run and harm herself in this way.

The old game was over.

A new one had begun, and the stakes were much higher.

As I stepped over her backpack, I took in the meager surroundings. Once I realized where she had gone, it had been easy to track her movements over the last few days. I had watched the CCTV footage as I rushed to get by her side. The trips to secondhand stores for a spare change of clothes and a few pieces of furniture. The late-night walk through the worst parts of East Croydon, one of the more dangerous neighborhoods in London. It had all played out on my phone like some horror movie.

I shouldered past the broken door that was hanging only by the top hinge.

A man in dirty gray sweatpants and a Manchester United FC England football jersey came barreling down the hallway toward me. I turned my body to shield Aurora from his presence.

Spittle formed in the corner of his beefy mouth as he shouted, "You're going to pay for that! And what's that commotion on my roof?"

Several residents poked their heads out of their doors at the noise.

My eyes narrowed. "If you don't clear a path immediately, I will stretch open that gaping gob you call a mouth, reach down into your body, pull out your spine, and beat you with it."

The man frowned. "Oy! You can't talk to me like that!"

"Watch me." I shouldered past him and stalked down the hallway with Aurora tucked securely in my arms.

Instead of heading down the stairs, I kicked open the door that led to the roof. Water spray hit me in the face the moment I emerged onto the roof. I tucked my head low, shielding Aurora as much as I could as I bent down to avoid the helicopter rotor blades. The moment I knew where to find her, I wasn't going to waste a minute in London traffic getting to her. There would be hell to pay with the authorities for flying an unauthorized helicopter trip, but I didn't give a damn.

The pilot raced toward us. "I don't think I can take off. The rain and winds are too strong."

"She needs medical attention. You're fucking taking off," I shouted back.

Knowing I would not only cost him his job but his entire career if he disobeyed, the pilot nodded as he ran ahead to open the helicopter doors for me.

The pilot held out his arms. "Hand her to me. I'll hold her while you get in," he shouted over the rain.

I shook my head no. Although it was awkward, I managed to climb into the helicopter while keeping Aurora in my arms. I was never letting her go.

The body of the helicopter rocked violently back and forth as we lifted off the building roof. I lifted my arm to cradle her head so it didn't bump against the window as I tried to strap us in as best I could.

The helicopter reached altitude and took off into the dark night.

In less than fifteen minutes we were landing on the helipad on the roof of my home. A small team of doctors were standing there in bright yellow rain ponchos waiting for us. Ignoring all of them, I carried Aurora into my home. When I got to the master bedroom, I laid her down carefully on the bed. She hadn't said a word since moaning my name.

The next twenty minutes were a hellish nightmare.

I stood to the side, fists clenched as I watched the doctors swarm over her, checking her vitals.

Several nurses gave me hesitant looks over their shoulders as they gingerly cut Aurora's sundress and underwear away. I knew it was necessary to get her out of her damp clothes. I knew they were medical professionals. I knew this was essential to her health. Still, I resisted the urge to slam their heads together and rage for them all to leave us alone. I didn't want anyone looking at her vulnerable and frail body.

I wanted to hold her close. I wanted to warm her up with the heat of my own body. I wanted to be the only one who saved her, who touched her. I knew that wasn't possible. This wasn't the Victorian era where a hot bath and stiff brandy would rouse her.

One of the doctors called out, "Where is that warm saline drip?"

I watched helplessly as they ran an IV into her arm. A nurse stood over the bed, squeezing the bag. We all watched in silence as the minutes ticked by until the entire bag of fluids was in Aurora's veins. The bright red feverish flush left her cheeks, replaced by a healthier warm glow, banishing the ghastly pale look to her face.

The main doctor, one of the best in the country whom I'd roused out of bed with threats of violence, turned a sympathetic eye to me. "You look like you could use a drink."

"Tell me."

He smiled as he patted me on the shoulder. I scowled down at his hand. He gave a nervous chuckle and removed it. "She's fine. Even a young and healthy body can get overwhelmed by stress and poor living conditions. She's badly dehydrated because of the fever. We are giving her some warmed-up fluids and antibiotics, which should rouse her. Rest, fluids, and some decent meals and she'll be back to herself in a few days."

I walked across the room to the sideboard next to the fireplace. I poured us both a brandy. "Are you worried about the fever?"

The doctor took the glass with a shake of his head. "Not at all. Body's natural response. Poor thing was probably exhausted and underfed before getting caught in the rain to boot. She's a pretty young thing. Someone should have taken better care of her."

The glass shattered in my hand, sending brandy spilling over my denim trousers. "Get out."

"What?"

"You heard me. Get out. Get the fuck out. All of you. Now."

The doctors and nurses herded out of the room, taking their medical trash and paraphernalia with them.

The moment the room was silent, I opened a hidden panel in the wall. A small light came on as a stereo was displayed. I selected Bach's 'Air on the G string,' knowing the gentle lullaby tones would soothe her. Closing the cupboard doors, I shed my clothes and slipped under the blankets with Aurora.

Her naked body was warm against my skin. Not feverishly hot, thank God. Careful not to hurt her arm where there was a bandage from the IV needle, I nestled her within the crook of my shoulder. Leaning down, I kissed the top of her head.

She stirred. "Roman?"

"Yes, love."

Her voice was hoarse as she whispered, "Where am I?"

"You're home."

I could feel the muscles along her slim body tense as she became more aware of her surroundings. Before she could move out of my embrace, I tightened my grasp.

She tried to sit up, but I kept her locked against my shoulder.

"What happened?"

I caressed her upper arm. "You became feverish after getting caught in the rain. Your body was run down."

She tilted her head back to look up at me. There was a sharp edge of fear to her voice. "How did you find me?"

I kissed her forehead. "I will always find you, baby girl. No matter what. No matter how far you run. There is no place on this Earth you can hide from me for long."

A shiver ran over her body. I shifted the covers up higher to cover her bare shoulder.

At first her body stiffened, but after several minutes, she finally relaxed back into my embrace, no doubt exhausted from the night's events.

We laid there in silence, listening to the soft notes of Bach. Despite it being May, I was pleased I'd had the foresight to flick on the gas fireplace. It sent a gentle orange glow over the bedroom. I leaned my head against her, enjoying the isolated feeling that we were the only two people in the world.

Aurora let out a sigh. "What happens now?"

I ran my fingertips over the top curve of her breast. "What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean, Roman."

I lifted up the locket that I had often seen around her neck. It was scratched and worn with the image of a treble clef on it. Reaching around her, I enclosed her in my arms as I opened the locket. It was empty. Ignoring her question, I asked one of my own. "Why do you wear an empty locket?"

She shrugged but remained silent.

Jealousy clawed at my breast. Had some old boyfriend's photo had pride of place, nestled next to her heart, in the warmth of her cleavage?

Failing to keep the tension from my voice, I asked again, "Why is the locket empty? Whose photo was in here?"

She snatched the locket from my grasp and snapped it shut. "There was never any photo. My father gave it to me when I was a little girl. He didn't… he didn't put a photo in it."

"The father you haven't seen in over ten years?"

"That's the one."

It bothered me that she still kept the talisman around her neck. I didn't want some hollow token from another man, even if he was her father, touching her skin.

She looked down at the closed locket. "I guess we have that in common at least. We both come from bullshit broken homes."

I stretched my arm out from under her head and got out of the bed. I padded naked over to the sideboard. Careful to avoid the pieces of shattered glass on the carpet, I poured myself another brandy. I sipped it as I stared down into the fire, measuring my words carefully. "Don't do that."

Aurora's soft voice came from within the recesses of the bed. She looked so small and fragile among the pillows and overstuffed down blankets. "Do what?"

Without looking up, I said, "Don't mar what we have by reducing it to some shared childhood trauma."

"That's not fair."

I took another sip of brandy. "No, it's not. Neither was my mother getting knocked up and tossed out on the streets by an arrogant prick. Neither was her dying right after childbirth. Neither was you getting saddled with a selfish bitch for a mother who cared more for her next drink than her own child. None of it was fair, but it doesn't define me, and I refuse to let it define us."

She sat up in bed, clutching the covers to her chest. "I was just trying to… trying to?—"

I slammed my brandy glass down onto the marble mantel and crossed to the bed. "Trying to what? Trying to what, Aurora? "

"I don't know," she shouted back. "Trying to make sense of all this madness. Trying to get some kind of connection with you beyond the… beyond the physical. Trying to understand why you won't leave me alone!"

I placed my hands on the headboard and leaned down, caging her in. "So you thought we'd bond over being cast aside orphans? That somehow you would find the scared abandoned boy I used to be? So, what? You could then heal me with your love? Make me a better, kinder man?"

She thrust my arm aside and tried to get out of the bed. "Fuck you, Roman."

I grabbed her by the jaw and pinned her to the bed. "This isn't some fucking fairytale, Aurora. I'm not some prince in disguise. Don't delude yourself into thinking you'll find the humanity in me. I burned it to cinders with sin and greed long ago. You want to know what we have in common?"

Her beautiful eyes filled with tears as she shook her head.

I pushed my free hand under the covers and ruthlessly cupped her pussy. "This. This is what we have in common. This sweet, tight pussy of yours."

She reached down to grasp my wrist, tears coursing down her cheeks. "Stop, Roman. Please!"

I moved my hand from her jaw to grasp her behind her neck. I pulled her closer to my face. My mouth opened over her lips as I spoke, breathing in her air. "I'm not a good man, baby. Nothing you do is going to change that. But I am the man who is possessed by the thought of you. I hear your music in my ears. It's your heart that beats in my chest. I taste your skin on my lips and feel your pulse around my cock every second of my existence. You have haunted me from the first moment I laid eyes on you. Your innocence, your fire, your beauty, your talent. I want to drink it all in like cool water on my hell-bent soul. You're mine. There is no escaping that."

I claimed her mouth. Pushing my tongue in, tasting her tears.

She pulled back. "You're scaring me."

"Good. You should be frightened of me. If you only knew what I had planned for you…"

I kissed her again.

She thrust her head to the side. "Roman, stop!"

I reached up and tore the chain from around her neck. I leaned back and raised my arm.

Aurora sprang forward, throwing her body against mine as she reached for her locket. "Don't!"

Brushing off her feeble grasp, I threw the locket into the fire. I caught her as she tried to launch herself out of bed to save it. "Let it burn. I won't have another man's gift around your neck."

Aurora fell back among the covers, curling up on her side. She clutched a pillow to her chest. "I hate you. I hate you. I hate you."

I rose and reached for my robe. "You need to rest."

She lifted a tearstained face to me. "I want to leave."

"No. And if you try to leave me again, I'll have you locked so deep inside an asylum God himself won't find you. Now go to sleep."

I left the bedroom, locking her inside.

Her cries drowned out Bach's lullaby.