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“I don’t have a passport.” I nearly shouted the words as elation sprung to life inside me. I couldn't get out of the country without a passport.
Orlov shot me a disbelieving look. “You think I didn’t get you a passport? I have all new documents for you. I have it all taken care of. You don’t have anything to worry about. Unfortunately, you never went back to your room today. I was waiting for you so we could catch a flight this morning. Delaney was kind enough to text me and tell me you guys were headed down to Trinity,” he said, again his voice creepily conversational. He reached out and gripped my thigh, squeezing slightly. “It was like you were reading my mind when you ran out of the club and jumped into my car. You see how we’re linked?”
All I was seeing was my fucking terrible luck and regretting my overly trusting nature. I couldn’t even reply. Humor him, I reminded myself, thinking of Ivan’s message. I tried to send him a small smile, but I was certain it was more of a grimace.
His affect switched from giddiness to anger. “I was pretty fucking pissed at you this morning, Emmy. I watched Ivan come to your dorm last night. I was sure you were following my instructions and breaking up with him. I fucking saw you go to his apartment and stay there all fucking night.” He slammed his hand down on the steering wheel as he said the last three words.
Humor him, humor him, humor him. It was a repeated refrain in my head. I had to come up with some kind of excuse for being at Ivan’s all night. “Well, see, Ivan wouldn’t accept the break up, so he took me to his place, then he got too drunk to drive me home.”
Orlov shot me a disbelieving side-eye, then his shoulders relaxed a bit. God, he must be some kind of narcissist to believe that ridiculous story. In addition to being a stalker and psychopath.
His dark brows pulled together in what looked like aggravation. Had he actually dyed his eyebrows when he was pretending to be Drew?
“I wasn’t too fucking happy with Ivan around you all the time. I know your sister and Nikolai probably made him hang out with you, and I had my eye on you all the time, but watching him fucking flirt, spend so much time with you really pissed me the fuck off,” he said throughout clenched teeth, his hand moving back to the steering wheel and gripping it tightly. “It was a good thing when you told me he never stayed in your room.”
I looked at him wide eyed, shocked he’d consider anything Ivan did as flirting. I knew I had to say something to calm him down. I have a feeling an angry Orlov was a deadly Orlov.
“Uh, yeah, my sister sort of insisted on it,” I said with hopeful believability. I just wasn’t made for lying.
“That’s what I thought,” he said, somewhat triumphantly. “If I hadn’t known you weren’t interested, that you were only doing it to make your sister happy, you don’t want to know what I would’ve done, Emmy.” His voice was gritty and layered with menace.
The tension on his face abated slightly as we slowed for the red light, but I knew it was only a matter of time before he freaked out about something else. Like the fact that I was terrified of him and was scrambling to think of a way to escape. I reached for my seat belt, hoping to unfasten it without him noticing. Unfortunately, he came to a sudden stop and turned to me. Staring at me with almost manic intensity, he gripped my chin.
“I’ve been thinking about you for a long time, Emmy. Nobody, nobody, is going to stop me from having you. Even you. Do you understand?” he said, squeezing my chin with pressure that bordered on pain, his eyes cold and flat as they roved my features looking for confirmation.
My breath caught in my throat, and though I’d been scared up to this point, true terror started coursing through me, causing a softball sized lump to lodge in my throat. I opened my mouth, but nothing emerged.
“Do you?” he asked again with more aggression, squeezing my jaw with greater force.
I quickly nodded, finally forcing the words out of my locked throat. “Y-y-yes, yes, I understand.
He paused for a moment, then nodded. “That’s why you’re my girl. Actually, you’re about to really become my girl in about fifteen minutes,” he said huskily, leaning his mouth towards me.
Shards of horror spun in my mind as I digested all the possible meanings of what he just said but arrived at only one conclusion. Before his hard lips could land on mine, I blurted out the question that I was all too afraid I already knew the answer to.
“What-what do you mean? What’s happening in fifteen minutes? I thought we were going to Ukraine?” I said, as if wildly enthusiastic about our travel plans, and considering the alternative he was hinting at, I was.
He pulled back with a small frown but released my chin. “We are, but the flight leaves tonight. We have about five hours to kill, and I know exactly how I want to spend them,” he said as he once again leaned toward me, his lips twisted into a suggestive leer.
Vomit rose in my throat, and I was grateful when a hail of honks interrupted his second attempt to kiss me. He pulled back and frowned into his rear-view mirror. “Impatient motherfuckers,” he grumbled and started driving again as I silently sat there, my brain nearly exploding with panic, my legs shaking, and my stomach knotted with dread.
I had to get out of this car.
“There’s the motel,” he said, his voice ringing with eagerness. I was nearly panting with anxiety as we approached the small, rundown motel.
A chirping sound penetrated my haze of panic and saw him break into a smirk as he pulled out his phone. “Delaney. Can you believe her? Your roommate is one dumb bitch, Emmy. She served her purpose, but Jesus Christ, is she annoying. She never shuts the fuck up,” Orlov griped as he stared at the ringing phone.
I stared at the phone, hope blossoming in my chest. They had his phone number. They had Orlov’s phone number. Tears of relief welled in my eyes as I realized Ivan could be tracking us through Orlov’s phone.
Orlov looked over at me, his eyes pinching together as he read my expression. “You’re crying because I said your roommate is annoying? Jesus, Emmy. Oh, wait, are you mad I dated her? Is that it? You’re jealous?” Orlov asked, his voice raising optimistically as he fielded that possibility. I wanted to laugh in his face because if anything I felt terrible for Laney.
“Uh…my feelings are kind of complicated,” I said, trying to stay as close to the truth as possible.
He smirked as if I had confirmed his insane theory. “I figured that might happen. She didn’t mean anything. She was a job I had to do. I had to play the doting boyfriend or else they would have removed me from the job.”
Job? They? Was he talking about the voices in his head? “If you were playing the doting boyfriend, why did you blow Laney off for the frat party? She was ready to break up with you for that.” I was genuinely curious about his answer.
He blew out an annoyed breath. “I didn’t go because fucking Ivan was there. I’ve had some work done on my face, but I knew that asshole was looking for me. I couldn’t take a chance on him recognizing me.”