Page 21

VLAD

B eing completely ignored by her makes me believe I have to change strategies. At least slightly. The clothes, shoes and bags had all arrived, but she hasn't even acknowledged them. She'd once again rolled her eyes at me and moved on.

Luckily, this time I stocked up the kitchen so she had ingredients to make something to eat.

For all her annoyance with me, she did make enough food for two, and gave me a plate too. I have to admit I might have stared at it a little too much, that she almost took it away from me.

"Are you even eating?" she'd asked, her voice telling me I shouldn't upset her further.

But it wasn't that I did not want to eat. Rather, I didn't want for it to be gone so fast. After all, it was something she'd made with her hands—for me.

Well, not for me, but still, it felt like it was for me and I wanted to keep it for a little longer.

"Of course," I'd immediately answered, taking my fork and digging in.

Ah, but it had been so good.

I don't think I've eaten food that good in my entire life, and I was sure to point it out to her. But even that compliment had gone on deaf ears. She'd just nodded and then left for her room after she'd finished, instructing me to wash the dishes.

The cold treatment continues for over a week. I try to bring her gifts to show her that I'm in earnest, but she just ignores them, looking me dead in the eye and scowling at me, as if I were the scum of the earth.

In a way I am, because I know what I did to her was unforgivable. I know I hurt her too much for her to ever give me another chance.

But I can't stop trying. Not when the alternative is a slow suffocating death. Because without her I'm definitely headed for an early grave.

There's a little comfort in knowing she's near and no one else can get to her. But how does that even help me when she's scorned every single attempt I'd made at showing her how much I'm repenting for my behavior?

The time passes, and while she doesn't seem to actively go against me anymore, probably already resigned that there's no way out, her behavior toward me doesn't thaw.

When another week goes by and I've still not made any headway, I know it's time to change strategies.

And so I find myself with a conundrum. What can I do to pacify her? To make her see that my attempts are genuine, and that my compliments are from my heart too?

Maybe I should just give her my heart on a platter.

But that won't work. As much as I'd love to do that, I would like to be present to see her reaction to it, and I wouldn't be able to do it dead.

What if…

I pause, an idea taking root in my mind.And just to be sure I'm not making any more mistakes, since I wouldn't like to upset her again, I open my laptop and I start surfing the FBI's most wanted list.

Then I just work my magic to find someone in the city.

A little more time consuming than I would have liked, since now I'll miss a morning of gifts. But maybe she'll appreciate the extra creativity.

Armed and with a well-devised plan, I make sure to lock the entire house before I leave for the night.

Michael Garrett.

The one man who'd ended up in the vicinity happened to be the most wanted pedophile in five states. While Maxim gets me a weekly supply of prisoners for my therapeutic process, this needs to be more personal, since I'm doing it for Sisi.

And so I go to one of the locations I'd pulled from his cell phone—a suburban bar—and then I just carefully lay out the trap, making sure he's drugged up before I take him back to the house.

Michael doesn't seem like such a bright chap, although he's been evading the feds for a while now. But then again, I shouldn't be too surprised that state organizations are floundering. After all, I am the one benefitting from their incompetence.

Once his body is loaded in the car and I'm on my way back home, I have to be extra careful, so that the surprise isn't ruined for Sisi.

Going to the basement, I access a part that's separated from the rest. I hadn't wanted for Sisi to see it and get scared of me—again.

And so when I reach my blood room, I lay Michael on a table, quickly getting to work.

The easy part is cutting him open and getting the heart out. In fact, it takes me less than half an hour to cut through skin, open up his thoracic cavity and get the heart out. And because it's not my first rodeo, I even manage to do it without making a mess.

As soon as I have the heart removed, I drain it of blood and cauterize the arteries so they don't leak even more liquid later on.

Then, I take a scalpel and get to work, carving a special dedication to Sisi.

Compared to the harvesting part, getting my strokes right is much harder, since the muscle has striations and is overall uneven.

It takes me a few hours of concentration to make sure everything is perfect. When I'm done, it's already close to dawn, so I know I can't waste any time.

Getting a silver platter and scattering some rose petals around, I'm finally pleased with the overall appearance.

If I can't give her my own heart, I'll just give her the next best thing.

But what if she asks for mine?

What if she's not satisfied with a substitute? I mean, I'm sure I could get a heart transplant… Yes, that would work. I'd be alive to see her reaction, and she'd still get my heart.

Win-win.

Just to make sure I have everything covered, I call Maxim and ask him to book me up for a heart consultation.

Maybe then she'll see just how honest my intentions are.

Still, I hope this will be enough since a transplant would put me out of commission for a while, and there's too much to be done to waste any time.

I already missed a day of gifts, so right before she opens her door, I'm there, waiting.

"What's this?" she asks as I come face to face with her.

"I made you a little something," I say, trying to sound confident even though I'm already scared I'll offend her yet again.

"Again?" She raises an eyebrow, arms crossed over her chest as she waits for me to remove the lid off the platter.

"Well, I put more work into this. I didn't just buy it." I give her my signature smile, my fingers on the lid as I lift it, carefully watching for her expression.

She squints her eyes at the heart, and for a few seconds she's quiet.

And then she laughs.

"Vlad," she starts, barely able to speak in between spurts of laughter, "what is this?"

"A heart," I answer, a little unsure of myself.

Damn, but I thought she'd like it.

"You brought me a heart?" She raises her gaze to meet mine and I nod.

"It's in place for my heart since I couldn't bring that and, you know, actually bring it," I try to explain, but she just keeps laughing.

"Vlad," she forces herself to keep a straight expression, "you carved a heart on a heart?" She bursts into laughter again.

I turn the heart toward me, trying to see what's so funny. I'd carved her name with an arrowhead and a three next to it since that's what people use to indicate love online.

"I don't understand," I speak slowly, frowning in confusion.

"This," she points at the arrow head and the three, "is a heart. Carved on a heart," she giggles.

"You're not mad?" I ask, just to be sure. "I thought you'd like it." I put on a smile again, hoping to charm her.

"It's rather unusual," she replies, pursing her lips. "But I do like it," she notes, and I finally sigh in relief.

"Good, good. I thought you'd have wanted me to give you my own heart, but that would have been a little harder," I say and her eyebrows knit together in consternation, "not impossible," I amend, "just harder."

"You would have given me your heart?" she asks, blinking as if surprised.

"Of course. I can still do it, just not immediately. I asked Maxim to book me in for a transplant consultation, and after that you can have it." My lips pull up in a grin.

"Why?" her question throws me off.

"Why? Why ? To make you see I am not playing any games," I take a deep breath, "I'm really trying," I confess.

"Where did you get a heart, though?" She changes the subject, not really acknowledging my statement.

"It wasn't an innocent person, I swear," I'm quick to defend myself, "it was a known pedophile, and I just got to him before the police," I say, quickly removing my new phone from my pocket and showing her his name on the FBI list.

"I see," she replies thoughtfully. "Is it clean?"

"Clean?" I repeat, confused. But then it dawns on me what she means. "Yes, it's very clean," I answer with a smile.

"Then come on, lover boy. I am famished and you caught breakfast. You should cook it." She winks at me, taking my hand and leading me to the kitchen.

Fuck, she's touching me! It worked!

I end up grilling the heart well while Sisi makes a sauce to go with it, and in no time we're both at the table, trying out the food. I also open a bottle of red wine on the side.

"You know," she starts, her mouth full, "I never thought I'd say this, but a pedophile's heart doesn't taste half bad," she comments, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Indeed." Is all I can say as I watch her give me a smile for the first time in forever. And just like that, I feel my own heart do some weird somersault in my chest.

"I'm sorry," I tell her sincerely, taking advantage of the one time she's not mad at me.

She frowns, placing her fork down to focus her attention on me.

"I never told you, but I'm sorry for what I did to you." I swallow, the images of that night still haunting me. "And for what I said. I want you to know I never meant any of it, I just needed you as far away from me."

"Why?" She regards me solemnly, her head tilted to the side.

"I didn't want to hurt you more than I already did. I…" I trail off, words failing me. Not that I've ever been great with them, as Sisi can attest.

"Why now? Why are you doing this now, Vlad? We had a clean break. Three months I didn't hear from you, and now you're suddenly here, in front of me, telling me that you're sorry?"

"I wasn't going to come into your life ever again, Sisi. I really thought that was it." My fists clench under the table, and I try my best to stay in control.

"Then what changed?" She frowns.

"I did." Her mouth parts slightly. "I realized that I couldn't do it. I couldn't exist without you. So I tried to get better. I am better."

"I don't understand," she replies, and I see this as my chance before she withdraws within herself again.

Pushing back my chair, I unbutton my shirt, taking it off and discarding it on the floor. Coming to her side, I take her hand and place it on my chest, right at the sharp angle of the triangle.

"This isn't just a triangle, Sisi," I tell her, using her own hands to trace its true shape. "It's an A."

"A…?" A frown mars her features as she leans closer to study the ink on my skin.

"The A that holds the monsters at bay," I continue, my hand on her hair as I lightly caress it.

"I lied that night, Sisi. Fuck, I lied about everything.

But the one thing you need to know is that you're not ordinary to me.

You're one of a kind." I take a deep breath, pushing her chin up so she can see the sincerity in my eyes.

" My one of a kind."

"Vlad," she starts, and I can see tears glistening in her eyes.

"No, you don't have to say anything." I press one finger to her lips, using my other hand to wipe some of the moisture in her lashes. "I'll wait for you. No matter how long it takes, I will wait for you. But I'm not letting you go. Not this time."

My plan is slowly starting to work. For a few days now Sisi and I have developed a pleasant companionship and she no longer closes the door in my face. In fact, she even acknowledges my presence now, which is more than I would have hoped for.

But since it's not the best progress, I need to step up my game more. After perusing several articles, I've decided to heed their advice since they all seem to recommend the same thing—play hard to get.

I'm not entirely sure how this is the best approach since I just got her to talk to me, but if this is the key to making her more interested in me, then so be it.

As I look across multiple sites, I see that I need to be the one ignoring her now. All, of course, to make her reach out first.

"Damn it," I mutter to myself, a little reluctant to switch attitudes.

But if they say it will work…

For the next two days, I do just that. When I see her, I barely say a few words, more often than not showing myself unavailable to her.

I can see she's bothered by my sudden change in attitude, and it takes everything in me not to stop it immediately and apologize to her. But the more I look at the advice on the internet, the more they recommend the opposite.

On the third day, I don't even have to try, as I'm called away for the entire day. Maxim suddenly called me to ask for help in dealing with the police in the case of some missing prisoners. And since Maxim is not the best at diplomacy. I'd rather deal with it myself.

After an entire day of interviews, I come home ready to go to bed. Opening the door to my room, I don't even pay attention to my surroundings as I take off my blazer and my tie before loosening the buttons on my shirt.

"Fuck, you scared me." I jump up when the light turns on and I see Sisi sitting at my desk, hands on the table as she looks at me suspiciously.

"We need to talk," she says, getting up and plopping herself in front of me.

"We do?" I raise my eyebrows, a little confused.

"Yes." She nods, crossing her arms over her chest in a pose that tells me she means business.

Damn, I think I'm screwed.

Now I just have to see what I did wrong.

Again .