Page 14 of Black Sheep

I can’t see her face, but I watch her muscles tense as she takes in the impressive space. “What is this?” she asks.

“This is your room. Those.” I point to the three doors leading off this one. “Are our rooms.”

Spinning around, her eyes flare with anger. “No.”

Arching a brow, I stay quiet.

“This isn’t a room, it’s a peep show. Prisoners get a cell, with a door that shuts. I’ll take a cell over whatever the hell this is.” Lifting her arm, she gestures around her.

“I’ve never seen a cell that looks like this.” Vik laughs.

“Why can’t I have one of those rooms, with doors?” she asks.

“You can sleep in any of those rooms you choose, but those are mine, Lev, and Vik’s rooms. If you choose to stay in one of them, it will be with the company of the room’s owner. Alternatively, you can sleep alone, in your bed. The choice is yours.”For now, I think, but don’t say.

“Why me?” she says, tipping her head back and closing her eyes. “Why does this crazy shit have to happen to me?”

“What other crazy shit has happened?” Lev growls.

Ignoring him, Alena looks at me. “So, my options are sleeping with one of you. Men who are complete strangers to me, have drugged, kidnapped, and apparently forged documents that say we’re married, all because you think I’m someone I’m not. Or sleeping out here in the open without any privacy, mere feet away from three psychos who think all of this is perfectly okay?”

A smile tips the corners of my lips. She’s cute when she’s being patronizingly angry.

“Yes,” I agree.

“Great, just fucking great. Fine, I’ll take option two. Is there a bathroom I can use, or does it have a two-way mirror so you can watch me pee too?”

“The bathroom is just through there.” Vik laughs, pointing at the archway that leads into the master bath.

Stomping forward, her stiff, awkward gait negates most of her attempt at indignancy, but I manage to hold back my laughter, not wanting to anger her any further.

“She’s pissed.” Lev whistles.

“Did you expect otherwise?” I ask, genuinely curious.

“I don’t know. I thought maybe she’d be…” He trails off but I fill in the blanks.

“Grateful? You thought she’d be happy we stole her away from her life and everything she knows?” I ask, amusement lacing my words.

“She was in danger,” he protests.

“Was she? In the year we’ve been watching her, no one else has come looking,” I point out.

“But they will,” Vik says, speaking to us, even though his eyes are fixed on the doorway that leads to the bathroom.

“Yes, they will, it’s only a matter of time,” I agree.

“She’ll get past this, eventually, she’ll realize that we did this for her,” Lev insists.

“Brother, please don’t deceive yourself. Saving her is a happy coincidence, but we took her because we wanted to, and because we could. We’re the villains, stop trying to make yourself the saint.”

His eyes narrow and I wait for whatever dressing down will come from his barbed tongue, but Alena steps back into the room, drawing all of our attention.

“I take it you guys have an issue with doors, because the bathroom doesn’t have one either,” she snaps, the hair framing her forehead and cheeks damp from where she must have washed her face.

“There’s products in there if you’d like to take a shower,” Lev offers.

“With no door and you three standing out here? No thanks. I’d rather stink than get naked anywhere near you,” she spits, crossing her arms over her chest.