This whole time, I thought they were gathered around the man and not lifting a finger to help. However, I soon realized I was wrong.
“This is why you should be more mindful of your surroundings,” a familiar voice spoke—deep, husky, and calm.
I recognized it.
This was my captor’s voice.
One of the five guys stepped aside to take a phone call, and in doing so, he revealed what I hadn’t seen earlier.
The boss was crouched before the wounded man, jacket gone, sleeves rolled up to his forearms. His hands moved with practiced ease as he bandaged the man’s arm.
“You were clumsy,” he said to him. “And that almost cost you your life.”
The man winced in pain, his brows knitting together. “I’ll be more careful next time.”
“You better be.” The boss rose to his feet, wiping his bloodied palms with a white handkerchief.
Someone else helped the wounded man up and ruffled his brown hair while making a joke of him. Unfazed by his colleagues’ mockery, he shot back in Russian, and they all laughed.
All but him. The boss. My captor.
This was the first time I heard the sound of laughter in this cursed place. I wasn’t sure whether that was a good sign.
While watching them from up there, I shifted my gaze for a moment. By the time I looked in their direction again, he was already staring right at me.
My breath hitched when I met his eyes, those cold blue eyes. His expression was blank as usual, unreadable. He didn’t speak and didn’t look away either.
Fuck, he’s hot.
I couldn’t help thinking about it, and it was shameful. So shameful. This man was the devil himself. He was a Mafia boss who kidnapped me and locked me up in his mansion. The last thing I should be thinking about was how attractive he was.
He was evil. And evil was not attractive.
The only emotion I was permitted to feel for him was hatred. Not even fear. Hatred. Pure, unadulterated hatred. Yet, for some reason, I couldn’t help the mix of fear and another emotion I refused to name, prickling under my skin.
His gaze was too intimidating, and without a second thought, I looked away. I didn’t stop there; I turned sharply and retreated down the hall.
The image of this ruthless man kneeling before his wounded soldier and helping bandage his wound lingered in my mind. I thought men like him were heartless. I thought he didn’t give two shits about anyone else but himself.
He could’ve commanded one of the other men to attend to the man. Or better still, let him bleed to death. But he didn’t. He chose to handle the situation himself.
I wasn’t sure what to make of this, honestly, but one thing was for sure. That was not an act of kindness, nor was it a sign of weakness.
Yet, like a moth to a flame, I was drawn to it.
Chapter 6 – Artur
It had been three days since we locked eyes across the compound. And in those three days, it’s been almost impossible to focus on anything else. She’d been living in my head rent-free, occupying my thoughts and distracting me from work.
I told myself it was nothing important, nothing to be concerned about. Yet every now and then, I’d find myself spying on her through the security cameras. I spent a lot of time watching her routine like a freaking TV show.
She followed the same routine every day—wake up, take a shower, eat, and then wander through the mansion. I was sure she’d never been in a place as large as this, judging by the awe in her eyes whenever she looked at the building.
After she discovered the mansion had a library, she started spending most of her time there. She might have lied about being a librarian, but that didn’t mean she didn’t love books. Because she clearly did.
In such a quiet environment with no one to talk to, what else could she do but read?
That afternoon, I was seated in my study, a half-empty glass of vodka in my hand. Its strong scent enveloped the air around me, blending with the smell of aged paper.