He kept moving, cold as ever, but I didn’t back down. I had nothing left to lose, and this moment might not come again.
“One minute, I swear.” I pushed. “Rodion.”
The second his name left my mouth, he stopped. I halted to avoid colliding with his back. We stood there, the air around us tense with unspoken rules.
He slowly turned to me and stared at me like he was trying to decide if I was worth it. After a beat, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He held it out and I grabbed it before he could change his mind. “Thank you, I’ll be quick, I pro—”
He walked off before I finished. The phone felt foreign in my hand, as if it weren’t just a device, but a test. I looked down at it, then at his fading silhouette.
Did he just leave me with his phone?
It didn’t even ask for a passcode. All I had to do was swipe. Why would he leave me with it? Was saying his name a trigger?
If that was his weakness, I would say it a thousand times. I remembered when he broke into Leonid’s place, how he stopped cold when I whispered his name, just as he did now.
My fingers trembled as I dialed my mother’s number. The ringing filled my ear, and when she answered, the world fell quiet.
“Mamma,” I whispered, and everything else vanished.
Chapter Twenty-seven
Alessia
After the call with mymother ended, I held the phone to my chest, letting the warmth settle in my heart. Her voice was a thread connecting me to the life I was torn from. Hearing her voice reminded me of home, a place I missed.
The house was silent when I stepped back inside. I looked around, half expecting to see Doctor Dorothy, but she was nowhere to be found. She probably came to bring me the clothes. I stared at the phone in my hand. I had to return it.
My conversation with my mother was long, filled with soft reassurances and minor questions. I even asked about Vivo. She told me not to worry about anything. The dog was okay. Now, the least I could do was to give the phone back and thank Rodion for letting me use it for that long.
Since he was nowhere in sight, I figured he would be in hisroom. Once he stepped out, I would return his phone. Until then, I had to clean up the plates I used earlier.
As I entered the kitchen, the phone vibrated in my hand. I paused and looked down. Dmitri’s name flashed across the screen, and a cold knot twisted in my stomach. Knowing he was Rodion’s brother and that his call could mean something important, I made my way to Rodion’s room.
I knocked and waited. The phone went silent, only to ring again. I reached for the knob, my fingers curling around the cool metal before I gave it a slow, careful twist.
The door creaked open as I pushed it, revealing a quiet room. A faint glow spilled from the laptop screen resting on the bedside table. He was probably in the bathroom. I stepped inside and placed the phone beside the laptop.
Heading to the door, I reached for the knob and froze when the bathroom door creaked open. As soon as I looked in that direction, I regretted it.
Rodion stood by the doorway, a towel hanging low on his hips as water trailed down his skin. Heat from the shower clung to him, casting a warm sheen that made it impossible to look away. Damp strands of hair clung to his forehead, the rest slicked back in careless defiance. My eyes followed the ridges of his abdomen. He looked like sin wrapped in muscle.
A thin scar etched above his hip caught my eye. It wasn’t fresh, but it reminded me of what Doctor Dorothy said earlier. Rodion was in a critical condition and in need of a kidney.
His slight movement snapped me out of my thoughts. Warmth rushed to my cheeks as I averted my gaze and pushed the door. It refused to open. I muffled a curse and hit the door, shaking it a little, but it didn’t budge.
“Why are you running?” he asked.
My fingers tightened around the handle as if that would save me. Slowly, I faced him. He was still standing there, watching mequietly.
“The phone,” I blurted. “I was returning the phone.”
Rodion watched me like I was the most amusing thing he had seen all day. His arms crossed over his chest, water still sliding down his skin like it had every right to be there.
“Get over here,” he said. “And touch the parts you were ogling.”
My throat dried. Heat spread from the base of my neck, racing across my face and down my body. My eyes fell. “I wasn’t. I was…” The words abandoned me. “I was staring.”
He raised a brow. “Clearly.”