The Don's Innocent Collateral

Chapter 17

Amelia walked out of the bathroom, using a towel to dry her hair before changing into a pair of sweatpants and a tank top. She stood in the middle of the room for a moment, letting out a slow breath. She still wasn't feeling completely like herself, but sitting around wasn't helping either.

The room suddenly felt too quiet, too small. 'I need to clear my head,' she murmured.

'If I stay in here any longer, I'll go crazy.'

Before she could change her mind, she walked over to the closet and reached for the rack where her slides had been neatly arranged. 'f**k Nicolai's orders,' she muttered under her breath as she slipped them on. 'I'll explore if I want.'

She opened the door and stepped out into the corridor. The third floor was quiet. She bypassed the grand staircase and took the secondary stairs at the end of the hall, wandering aimlessly through the sprawling, silent wings of the estate.

She walked for ten minutes, descending another level until the polished marble floors gave way to industrial, poured concrete.

She heard it before she found it.

Metal crashed against metal.

A second later came the heavy thud of something hitting the floor, the vibration carrying through the concrete beneath her feet. It echoed down the empty hallway in steady intervals, drawing her farther in.

Amelia followed the sound down a wide, dimly lit hallway until she reached a set of open double doors.

She stepped into the doorway and stopped.

This wasn't the kind of place built for comfort. The walls were plain concrete, the floor covered in thick black rubber, and every corner was occupied by something heavy—racks of dumbbells, barbells stacked with plates, benches, squat racks, and punching bags hanging from the ceiling. There wasn't a television in sight, no music playing in the background. Just iron, empty space, and the dull sound of weights meeting the floor.

Nicolai was in the center of the room.

He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of dark gray sweatpants that hung low on his hips. Sweat clung to his skin after what looked like a long workout, highlighting the black ink spread across his arms, shoulders, and chest.

He planted his feet shoulder-width apart and wrapped both hands around the barbell. Muscles tightened beneath his skin as he drew in a slow breath. Then he pulled.

The bar rose from the floor inch by inch, the stacked plates rattling softly against one another. Veins stood out along his forearms as he drove through the lift, straightening until the bar rested against his thighs. He held it there for a brief second before letting it fall.

The iron hit the rubber mats with a deafening crash that shook the floor under Amelia’s feet.

Nicolai rolled his shoulders, breathing heavily, and reached for a white towel resting on a nearby bench. He wiped the sweat from his face and neck, then turned around.

His dark eyes locked onto her immediately. He didn't look surprised; in a house this quiet, he had probably heard her footsteps echoing down the hall two minutes ago.

He tossed the towel over his shoulder. "You're wandering, moya."

Amelia crossed her arms, leaning casually against the doorframe to hide the fact that her pulse had just kicked into a completely different, frantic rhythm at the sight of him. "I got bored."

Nicolai walked over to a rack of heavy dumbbells. He grabbed two massive weights, one in each hand, carrying them over to a flat bench. "The third floor is secure. This level is for the men. Did you get lost looking for the kitchen?"

Amelia pushed off the doorframe and walked straight into the gym.

"Can't a girl lift weights too?" she challenged, stopping a few feet away from him. "Or do you think I'm weak?"

Nicolai paused. He set the heavy dumbbells down on the rubber mat at his feet. He slowly stood up to his full height, towering over her, his dark eyes dragging critically over her slender arms, her collarbones, and the thin frame of her body beneath the fitted tank top.

He didn't say a single word. He just lifted one dark eyebrow in a slow, highly judgmental arc.

Amelia gasped, pressing a hand to her chest in fake, dramatic outrage. She welcomed the distraction. It was easier than thinking about how she'd been feeling.

"Are you calling me weakkk?" she demanded, dragging out the word.

"I didn't say anything," Nicolai murmured, the corner of his mouth twitching with a faint, dangerous amusement.

"You thought it," Amelia shot back. Her eyes landed on a single dumbbell resting beside the rack. Thirty was stamped into the iron. It didn't look impossible. Heavy, maybe... but not impossible.

She marched past him to pick it up.

"Amelia," Nicolai warned softly, his amusement fading into caution.

"Watch," she said stubbornly.

She bent down, gripping the thick metal handle with both hands. She braced her legs, set her jaw, and pulled with everything she had.

Nothing happened.

The dumbbell didn't even wobble. It felt like it was bolted directly to the concrete.

Amelia grunted, pulling harder, her face turning pink as her muscles burned and strained against the dead weight. Her right hand protested, a faint tremor starting in her fingers, but she ignored it, throwing her entire body weight backward to yank the iron off the floor.

It lifted exactly half an inch before her grip gave out.

The dumbbell slammed back down onto the rubber mat, nearly crushing the toe of her shoe.

Amelia let out a sharp breath, dropping her hands to her knees as she stared at the immovable piece of iron. She was panting, her arms feeling like jelly.

Nicolai didn't laugh.

He stepped into her space. The heat radiating off his chest was immediate and suffocating. He reached down effortlessly with one hand, picked up the thirty-pound dumbbell that had just defeated her entire body, and placed it back on the rack like it weighed nothing.

He turned back to her, standing so close that she could smell the cedar of his soap mixed with the salt of his sweat. He reached out, his calloused fingers brushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"You were saying?" Nicolai whispered, his voice a low, gravelly vibration that sent a shockwave straight down her spine.