Page 13

Exactly seventeen days had passed since the night Andrei and I had sex. Except it wasn’t just sex; there was no way a word like that could describe what we shared.

We weren’t in love with each other, at least not on his part, but lovemaking was the only term that could explain what had happened between us.

I’d been avoiding him ever since. I was too embarrassed that he didn’t feel the same way and was only using me to get information on the missing shipment.

I felt different today, though. If that was all he wanted, he could have tortured me to get the information from me and discarded me when he realized I didn’t have the answers he needed.

The fact that he was probing me for the information was all I needed to know that he cared for me to an extent. He really kept me here to keep me safe.

Avoiding him the way I’d been for the past few days was wrong. I should be thanking him instead, and honestly, I couldn’t avoid him forever when I had no idea when I’d be leaving.

After I got out of bed and brushed my teeth, I slipped on a pair of shorts and an oversized shirt Andrei had gotten for me before heading down to the kitchen.

The chef, Miss Pushkin, smiled as I entered. “Good morning, Miss Rae.”

I smiled back at her as I walked to the counter, where she was mixing something for breakfast. “Good morning, " I said, staring into the ceramic bowl on the counter. “What are you making?”

“Fluffy pancakes,” she answered. “They’re for you. Mr. Yezhov doesn’t like them, so I’ll make something else for him to eat.”

“Oh.” I leaned against the counter. “What does he like?”

She shrugged. “He’s not a big breakfast person. He usually just has black coffee and moves on with his day, but it’s the weekend, so I am thinking of what to prepare.”

I thought for a moment. He said he wanted to taste my cookies, but I didn’t think it was a healthy breakfast option, so I opted for something else.

“Does he like cheese pancakes with sour cream and honey? I mean, it’s popular in Russia, isn’t it?”

Miss Pushkin’s smile widened. “ A syrniki meal. Why haven’t I thought of that before now?”

“Well, now you don’t have to think too much. Is it okay if I make it myself?”

Her smile dropped, and she sighed. “Mr. Yezhov may not like the idea of you in the kitchen. You’re a guest.”

I almost rolled my eyes. I was more of a prisoner. “Don’t worry about him. I’ll explain I wanted to do it.”

She looked hesitant for a moment, and then her lips curled. “Okay. I’ll let you make it, but I’ll be right here just in case you need my help.”

I wasn’t sure if she was letting me make it because she didn’t trust me or because she was really scared Andrei would be upset. Either way, I was grateful.

I combined some flour, farmer’s cheese, egg, baking powder, and other ingredients to get the paste. After mixing them together, I went on to make the pancakes on low heat.

When I finished, I topped the pancake tower with strawberries and blueberries, sour cream on the side, and honey on top.

“That looks almost too beautiful to eat,” Miss Pushkin pointed out with a grin. “How did you learn how to make this?”

My chest tightened as memories of Dad flooded my mind. He used to make this dish often when I was a child. I was too young to understand him then, so he simply told me he learned how to make it from his bosses.

I wonder if he knew then that he’d be dead someday and I’d be making this for one of the men he worked for.

Miss Pushkin tapped my shoulder, her lips pulled into a frown. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” I set the food on a tray with a cup of coffee. “I’ll take this upstairs.”

She nodded in response.

I took the food upstairs to Andrei’s office. I stretched out my hand to knock but paused when I heard him on the phone. He was talking to someone, but I had no idea who it was.

“That won’t happen. We have the girl. They can’t find it without her. We need to earn her trust first. She won’t give up anything if she perceives us as enemies.”

My stomach churned. What did he mean by earning my trust first? Was this all a game of some sort to him?

No. It couldn’t be.

I was overthinking and overreacting. Andrei wouldn’t play a game like that with me. Still, I couldn’t just trust him blindly. I needed to be sure.

I pressed my ear to the door to hear him better as he continued the conversation with whoever he was talking to.

He chuckled sardonically. “Soft? She’s not the type of woman who would break under pressure. Earning her trust is the only way to get her to talk. Besides, she’s only a tool I’ll toss to the side after all of this is over.”

My world tilted for a moment. It felt like the air had been sucked out of my lungs.

What was that?

“Besides, she’s only a tool I’ll toss to the side after all of this is over.”

I repeated the words in my head, hoping at some point that they wouldn’t sound as horrible as they did when he said them. But no matter how many times I did, the painful clenching in my chest didn’t ease.

I was nothing but a tool to Andrei. The things we’d done meant nothing to him. Not the dance at the party, or the kiss we shared, or the sex we had. It was all a game to him—all a plan to get information from me.

My eyes stung with tears, and my heart twisted into a knot.

I was so stupid. What the hell was I doing, thinking I could mean something to him? He wasn’t a normal man. He was a man who made a living off crime. He’d been with many other women before me. How could I think this was something special?

I’d been so na?ve.

The tears now streamed down my face as memories of our night together came flooding back. I’d given my virginity and everything to a man who only wanted to use me.

I let out a quiet, broken chuckle as I stared down at the tray of pancakes I was holding. I was even stupid enough to make him breakfast like I was his wife or something.

All the while, I was nothing to him.

Nothing but a pawn in his game of chess.

My blood boiled, rage simmering beneath the surface. My heart throbbed between devastation and fury as I set the plate on the console by the side of the office.

I stared at the office door for a moment; it was the barricade between me and the man who made a fool of me.

I wiped my face.

An asshole like him didn’t deserve my tears.

He was never going to get anything out of me ever again, not my body and definitely not the shipment he was crazy about finding. It was a promise I made to myself. I was never going to be fooled by him again.

Lifting my chin, I squared my shoulders and walked away.