Chapter 26

Samara~

V iktor had been kind enough to walk me up to my condo, and he'd also been kind enough not to mention my lack of shoes. Right now, I looked like a homeless vagabond, and I wished that a simple shower and change of clothing could make it all go away, but I knew better.

Once Viktor had escorted me to my door, I thanked him, then tried the doorknob as he took his leave. I wasn't sure if I was ever going to see him again, but I found that I wouldn't be upset if I did. Throughout this entire ordeal, he'd been the only person that'd been kind enough to leave me with a semblance of self-respect, and I appreciated it more than he could ever imagine.

When the door wouldn't open, I knocked, hoping that Masha was home. If she wasn't, then I'd have to find a way to get a hold of her since I'd left my purse in Avgust's bedroom, and the last thing that I wanted to do was walk around Port Townsend barefoot and looking like a mess. I also couldn't remember if she was at work or not, with my days all messed up in my head, my brain was not thinking straight.

Luckily, after the third time of me pounding on the door, it swung open, but it wasn't Masha on the other end. Instead of my sister staring at me, a man that was easily six-foot-two stood in her place, and it wasn't lost on me that he was barefoot and missing his shirt. It also wasn't lost on me that he looked like he could crush my entire body with one hand. Plus, not only was he six-foot-something, but he also had tattoos crawling up his neck, his short haircut showing some on his skull as well.

Now, relatively speaking, he'd be handsome if he didn't look so lethal. He had dark blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and an aristocratic face that reminded me of warriors from centuries long ago. His body was also a work of art underneath all the tattoos, some which I recognized. The man standing before me could only be the man that Avgust had assigned to watch my sister, and while I should have expected him to be here, I never would have expected him to answer the door with no shirt or shoes on.

His jeans were also unbuttoned.

Anger began to dance across my skin. "Where's my sister?"

Remembering his name, Gosha stepped back to let me inside, and my heart started beating faster with each step, a prayer on my lips that this wasn't what I thought it was.

"She's in the bedroom," he answered, and my jaw ticked at how he'd said that she was in the bedroom, not her bedroom.

"Masha!' I yelled, fury licking at my feet.

Seconds later, my sister was racing out of her bedroom, and like Gosha, she was barely dressed, wearing only an over-sized t-shirt that could only be his. Her brown eyes were wide with surprise at seeing me in our living room, and while this should be a joyous occasion, it wasn't.

"Oh, my God," she cried out as she reached for my hands. "Samara what are you doing home? Are you okay?"

Instead of answering her, I said, "Please…please, please, please, do not tell me that you've been screwing one of Avgust's men while I've been cuff to a goddamn cage, Masha. Please, tell me that this is not what it looks like."

Her face immediately paled, her eyes looking everywhere but mine, and I felt her betrayal like a stake through my heart. When I'd been pleading, begging, and bargaining to let Avgust's men use me to save my sister's life, she'd been shacking up with the man that had been assigned to make sure that she kept her mouth shut. Hell, he wasn't even a guard so much as Avgust Kotov's eyes on her.

"Christ," I whispered, unable to disguise my disappointment.

Masha's dark eyes immediately looked my way, the rims wet, but I was beyond compassion right now. "It's not like that, Samara," she lied. "It just…I needed some…I was so worried about you, and I just needed some…someone to talk to."

"Explain to me how needing someone to talk to ended up with you fucking the enemy, Masha," I snapped, refusing to believe that this was the same as what I'd done with Avgust.

"Hey, I think that's enough," Gosha remarked right before he walked over to take his rightful place next to my sister.

"Oh, you do, do you?" I sneered. "Well, seeing as how I'm back and this is my home, I think you need to leave and let me decide what's enough."

His back straightened, making our size differences a glaring point. "Until Pakhan instructs me otherwise, I am staying," he replied. "It is also not your place to judge what is between Masha and I. Your sister is a grown adult."

That had me seething. "Was she a grown adult when she allowed me to leave with Avgust? Was she a grown adult when I took responsibility for what she witnessed? Was she a grown adult when she didn't put up much of a fight over me taking her place on the guillotine?"

"I'm sorry," Masha cried. "I didn't…I didn't mean for this to happen."

I looked back at my sister, and I hated how I understood how loneliness and fear could lead you into the arms of the enemy. However, unlike me and Avgust, Masha didn't have a past with Gosha. She'd only met him a day or so ago, and she'd wasted no time jumping into his bed. Hell, there hadn't even been enough time to blame it on Stockholm Syndrome if she'd wanted to.

Just like how she had refused to wait for me to walk home, just like she'd been perfectly fine with always having the car, just like it'd always been about her, this was no different, and I was self-aware enough to recognize that I was partly to blame for her self-centeredness and spoiled behavior. I had coddled her after our parents' deaths, and it was finally coming back to bite me on the ass.

Shaking my head, I let out a deep, tired, heavy sigh. I'd never felt so exhausted, and I just didn't want to care anymore. If Masha wanted to screw a bratva soldier, then so be it. If she wasn't smart enough to see what a huge mistake it was to get involved with them, then that was on her. Like Avgust had pointed out earlier, Masha was thirty, not thirteen. Perhaps it was time that I finally started treating her like it.

"Samara, don't be mad at me," Masha pleaded. "Please."

Though it was unfair, I wanted her to know just how hurt I was. "You know, while you were reaching out for someone to talk to, I almost got raped in that cage because that's what everyone thought I was in there for." Her eyes widened, and her face turned white, but I didn't care. "And when they came to see to my injuries, I begged them not to hurt you. I even stripped off my clothes and promised that I wouldn't fight them anymore as long as you were safe." Tears started staining my sister's pretty face, but I was numb to it. "I hope whatever he's doing for you, it's worth it, Masha."

I turned from her, then headed towards my bedroom. Between her and Avgust, I'd had my fill of hurt feelings, and I just wanted to sleep them away. Since I no longer had a job, there wasn't any reason that I couldn't shower, check my wounds, then sleep until I couldn't anymore.

Shutting the door to my room, I made sure to lock it before heading into the bathroom. There, I stripped myself of Avgust's clothes, then stepped into the shower- bandages and all -then adjusted the water to as hot as I could stand it. I wanted to burn Avgust's touch from my skin, and if only I could erase him from my memory, then I would.

I also hated knowing that he wasn't married. When I'd been under the impression that he'd already had a wife, his refusal to marry me had made sense. However, now that I knew the truth, it hurt more to know that Avgust hadn't wanted to marry me because he simply hadn't wanted to. Maksim had asked him if he was going to marry me, and he'd said no as if the very notion had been ridiculous. He had dismissed the suggestion without even giving it some thought. It hurt, and I hated that it hurt. It made me feel weak, and that was a characteristic that I had no respect for. I could understand someone being scared, but weak? Yeah, I'd never been a big fan.

Once the water started running cold, I finally turned it off, then got out of the shower. On autopilot, I dried myself off, checked my wounds, then after wrapping my ankle in some fresh gauze, I walked out of the bathroom, then grabbed a pair of pajamas out of the drawer.

When I finally laid my head on my pillow, I thought about how I was going to have to by a new phone, order a new bank card, and start looking for a job. However, how was I supposed to apply for a job when I was also going to have to order a new driver's license? Then that train of thought reminded me of how our car was still in the shop. Or was it? Hell, I didn't even know anymore.

As my eyes began to feel heavy, I wondered if I could get my old job back. Yeah, disappearing without a trace was not going to work in my favor, but I could always skew the truth a bit. I could lie and tell them that I'd been robbed, and that they'd taken my purse with my phone and everything, but that wouldn't explain why I hadn't used Masha's phone to call in, or even stop by in person.

I also started wondering about Gosha. Now that I was back home, was Avgust going to insist that he still be here? Were we going to be under a warden's watch for the rest of our lives? Was Avgust even aware that Masha and Gosha had crossed a line, or had that been Avgust's plan all along? My mind was such a mess that I had no idea what was real and what wasn't anymore. It almost felt as if I no longer even knew who I was.

I ended up falling asleep with that last thought in my head.