have this fear in my chest that she is going to be scared of me… scared of my touch now that she has seen me kill, but then she smiles. It’s a tiny one and it probably hurts like hell to do it, but it’s the last thing I was expecting from her.
“You kept your promise.” Her voice cracks.
“Of course, I did. I let you down once, and It’s not going to happen again.”
The smile wipes from her face, and a frown forms on her full lips. “You didn’t let me down, Ivan.”
I clench my jaw, holding back my anger. She has no idea of the raging war of insanity that’s taking place inside my head.
“I did let you down. I told you I wouldn’t let anyone hurt you and I broke that promise. I failed you, and that’s not okay. It’s just not.”
She looks sad, and I don’t want her to feel bad for me, not at fucking all. She just got whipped with a belt, for Christ sakes.
“Don’t be sad.” I rub a knuckle gently across her bruised cheek. “I don’t want you to feel bad. None of this is your fault. You didn’t ask to be brought here. I vowed to protect you until the auction, and I failed you. This is on me, and whatever misery I feel for failing you is my own. Let me feel bad, let me hate myself. I deserve to feel this way.”
“Ivan.” She pushes up onto her arms. I can see the pain in her features as she moves closer to me, her body hovering above mine. “I’m just lucky that I found you that night when I got out of my cell. If I didn’t, I would already be dead, so while you’re wallowing in your misery, just remember that you saved my life that night, just like you did tonight.”
I know she’s right. I fucking know it, but that doesn't mean I want to admit it. I open my mouth to respond but close it. There is nothing more for me to say. I would just have to keep a better eye on her, watch her cell at all times, unless… An idea enters my mind. I could get her a cell phone. Something she could keep just in case. I bet if I went down to my office, I could find a burner in one of my drawers. I usually always use one when contacting Rossi.
“I can’t always be hanging around your cell, and I can’t keep you up here with me all the time, even though I want to. I have some burner phones down in my office. I’m going to give you one and have you keep it with you during the day.”
I see a spark of excitement in her eyes.
I pause, my eyes bleeding into hers. “Kitten, you have to promise you won’t call anybody but me. You need to trust me on this, just like you trusted me earlier to take the pill. I have a plan to get you out of here, but if you do something that could compromise it, I will not be able to protect you, or get you out alive.”
Her eyes light up, like I’ve never seen them before. “You can really get me out of here?”
“Yes, and I promise I will, but if someone finds out I gave you a phone, we are both as good as dead. This place is a fortress… a well-armed fortress. If someone alerted the police of this place, Rossi would know right away. He is connected, has people everywhere. He would burn this whole place down before the cops could get a strike team together. Do you understand me?” I can’t even begin to explain the importance of this to her.
“Yes, I understand, but how are you going to get me out then?” She seems unsure, and she should be. I don’t know yet how I’m going to do it, but I’ve already killed for her and once Rossi discovers what I’ve done, he’ll have us both killed. There is no way around it.
“There is no way I can just walk you out of here, but the place the auction is at is not this heavily protected. They still have tight security, but I know some people there. I can pay some guys off, call in some favors to get you out quietly, and if that doesn't work, then I’ll take you out by force. One way or another, I’ll get