I fought to keep my expression smooth and steady.
“I don’t remember. I think I was in trouble. My mom wanted me to come here and get better.”
Blackwood nodded. “And does she think the treatment is working?”
I started to answer but realized that I had no words.
I just shrugged. “I don’t know. I can’t remember the last time we spoke,” I admitted. That wasn’t a lie. I had been all drugged up when she’d last come, and I didn’t even remember saying goodbye to her, though I did remember sending word to her not to visit anymore.
“I see on the visitor records that she doesn’t come often to visit. Do you know why that is?”
Because I asked her not to, because it hurt too much. I fidgeted, suddenly nervous. I hated to talk about my mother with any of the psychos at Hallow Hall. I wouldn’t give this man the satisfaction of getting anything real from me.
“Busy, I guess. It’s not like I have anything interesting to tell her about my day,” I snapped before remembering I was supposed to be acting like my usual semi-out-of-it state.
“Hmm, that’s true, I suppose. Do you think about getting out of here? Do you genuinely want to get better?” Blackwood asked.
I stared at him. “Yes. I want to get better and put my world right.”
He nodded slowly.
A hard knock sounded on the locked door, followed by the sound of the bolt being drawn back.
“I’m not interrupting, am I?” Massimo’s deep voice drawled.
I turned to him, relief hitting me hard. I didn’t think I’d ever been so relieved to see someone. I was scared to be alone with Blackwood. I was scared of being in solitary any longer. Somehow, his powerful body clothed in the austere robes of the men I hated had become a welcome sight. My wolf in sheep’s clothing.
He didn’t wait for an answer from Blackwood before gesturing toward me.
“Father Benedict wants Katarina out of solitary; he says she’ll have reached her limit being isolated. She’s to go back to her room now.”
Blackwood frowned and checked his watch. How long had the fucker been planning to leave me in here?
Reluctantly he nodded, but I was already moving.
I reached Massimo’s side, and he stepped back, letting me out into the hallway.
I paused at the doorway and glanced back at Blackwood, who watched us with an unreadable expression. The door was right there. My hand itched to slam it shut and bolt it. To give that motherfucker a taste of his own medicine for once...
“Let’s go, Miss Dmitrova. I will see you to your room.” Massimo’s voice held a hint of amusement, like he could see exactly what I was thinking.
I moved myself away from the door with effort and followed Massimo down the hall. We passed through the secure doors at the end and into a quiet, dark hallway.
“Did Benedict really tell you that?” I asked. My voice felt weird. Too loud after days of silence.
“What do you think?” Massimo said, a rumble low in his chest.
I tensed. “What if he suspects something?”
“He won’t do anything. He doesn’t have the balls to pick on someone his own size. And like I give a fuck what Blackwood thinks about me, or us.”
We reached the stairs that would take us up to the rest of the building. I shivered in the cool chill that seemed to permeate the air on the basement level.
“Us?” I echoed.
I was so weak I swayed on the stairs, and Massimo’s hand came under my elbow to guide me.
“Us. We’re partners, aren’t we? Partners in sin.” Massimo’s voicewas warm, curling around his words and making them feel wicked. I could listen to him speak all day, though to be fair, being starved of human interaction could do that to a person.