Chapter 32
945 Words
32Yulia
“Yulia, you’ve already met Diego, and this is Eduardo,” Lucas says, gesturing toward two young guards. “They’ll be watching you in my absence.”
I prop my hip against the kitchen table and nod at the two dark-haired men, keeping my expression carefully neutral. Diego is taller than Eduardo, but they’re both muscular and in good shape. Handsome in their own way, though I much prefer Lucas’s fierce, Viking-raider looks.
“Hello,” I say, figuring I have nothing to lose by playing nice.
“Hi, Yulia.” Diego grins at me, showing even white teeth. “I have to say, you look much… cleaner today.”
His grin is contagious, and I find myself smiling back at him. “Showers have been known to do that,” I say wryly, and he laughs out loud, throwing his head back. Eduardo chuckles too, but when I sneak a glance at Lucas, I see that his face is dark, his eyebrows pulled together into a frown.
Is he jealous of the guards he himself chose?
“You remember my instructions, right?” Lucas snaps, glaring at the two men, and I realize that he’s indeed displeased with them. “All of them?”
“Yes, of course,” Eduardo says quickly. Diego’s grin disappears, and both guards stand up straighter. “You have nothing to worry about,” the shorter man adds.
“Good.” Lucas gives them a hard look before turning to me. “I’ll see you in two weeks, okay?” he says in a softer tone, and I nod, trying to avoid meeting his pale gaze.
I have a terrible suspicion my dream last night might not have been entirely in my imagination.
Lucas pauses for a second, as if he wants to say something, but then he just turns and leaves, walking out of the kitchen. A few seconds later, I hear the front door close.
My captor is gone.
“So,” Diego says cheerfully, bringing my attention back to him. He’s grinning again, his arms crossed over his broad chest. “What’s for breakfast?”
I make an omelet for myself and the two guards, being careful not to do anything suspicious. They may seem friendly, but I don’t mistake their smiles for anything but an amicable mask.
Nice guys don’t work for illegal arms dealers, and these two have a good reason to hate me—if they know about my role in the plane crash, that is.
“So, Yulia,” Eduardo says, gobbling down his omelet with evident gusto, “how did you learn to cook like this? Is that a Russian thing?”
“I’m Ukrainian, not Russian,” I say. Though the difference in my hometown region is slight, I prefer to think of myself as belonging to the country of my employers. “And yes, it’s somewhat of an Eastern European ‘thing.’ Many people there still regard cooking as a necessary skill for a woman.”
“Oh, it’s necessary, all right.” Diego forks the last bite of his omelet into his mouth and glances longingly at the empty frying pan. “Should be mandatory, as far as I’m concerned.”
“Sure. Just like cleaning, laundry, and taking care of the kids, right?” I give the two men a syrupy-sweet smile.
“If a woman looked like you, I’d do the laundry,” Eduardo says with apparent seriousness. “But cleaning… I guess help with that would be nice.”
I laugh, unable to help myself. The guy’s not even trying to conceal his chauvinistic views.
“I think what Eduardo’s trying to say is that Lucas is a lucky guy,” Diego says diplomatically, kicking the other guard under the table. “That’s all.”
“Right.” I suppress the urge to roll my eyes. “I’m sure that’s it.”
“You bet.” Diego winks at me and gets up to throw out his paper plate. “Eduardo’s just spoiled,” he explains, returning to the table. “First his mamacita babied him, then his ex-girlfriend.”
“Shut up,” Eduardo mutters, glowering at Diego. “Rosa didn’t baby me. She was just good at domestic things.”
“Rosa?” My ears perk up at the familiar name.
“Yeah, she’s Esguerra’s maid,” Diego says. “Sweet girl. Way too good for this guy here”—he jerks his thumb toward Eduardo—“so she dumped his ass months ago.”
“Oh, I see,” I say, trying not to appear too interested. If Rosa had dated Eduardo at some point, that explains how she knows about their poker games. “Does Esguerra have many servants?”
“Not really,” Eduardo answers, getting up to throw out his empty plate. He’s frowning; I guess the memory of being dumped by Rosa is not a pleasant one. “We should get going,” he says abruptly, then glances at me. “Are you almost done with your food, Yulia?”
I nod, consuming the remnants of my omelet. “Yes.” I carry my plate to the garbage and dump it, then wash the frying pan and place it on a paper towel to dry. “All done.”
“Good.” Diego smiles at me, his dark eyes gleaming. “Then go use the restroom, and we’ll take you on your morning walk.”
As the two men lead me on a brisk stroll through the forest, I decide they most likely don’t know about my involvement in the plane crash that killed their colleagues. Or if they do, they’re excellent actors. They banter with me as easily as they do with each other, their manner friendly and relaxed. They don’t seem like killers—except I see the guns stuck in the waistband of their jeans.
If they’re ordered to plant a bullet in my brain, I’m sure neither one will hesitate to do so.
Our walk takes about twenty minutes, and then they bring me back to Lucas’s house.
“All right, chica,” Diego says, leading me to Lucas’s library. “Your boyfriend said this is your usual spot. Grab whatever book you want, and then we have some work to do.”
“Boyfriend?” Startled, I look at the guard. “You mean, Lucas?”
Diego grins. “That’s the one. Unless you have more than one around here?”
I bite back a denial and grab a book at random. Lucas is definitely not my boyfriend, but if that’s what they think, it could play to my advantage.
It could also explain why the two guards are being so nice to me, I realize as I walk over to the armchair. It’s generally smart to show respect to the girlfriend of one’s boss—even if that girlfriend is to be handcuffed and tied up most of the time.
Sitting down, I place the book on my lap, take a deep breath, and extend my wrists toward Diego. “Go ahead. I’m ready.”
- Writer
