Tolyan consumes three more vodkas and squeezes his valve spring while his Dobermans whine and lick him for attention.
“All done!” I say after an hour of typing, deleting and retyping my job experience.
“Good. Email it to me at [email protected]”
I do as he asks. The email gets sent; I close the laptop, then stand up and stretch. “Should be in your inbox now.”
He nods. “Want anything to drink?”
“No thanks. I’m really tired, so I’m going to get some sleep.”
I just need to be away from you so I can regain my composure. And think about whether I’m really crushing on you or just think male confidence is hot in general.
Crushing on Tolyan would be unwise. He’s nice enough to feed me and offer to help me with Roy, but that doesn’t mean he’s a nice guy. He definitely had something to do with that Owen guy’s “suicide.” And he basically kidnapped me by injecting me with some kind of sedative, although I don’t think he plans to keep me imprisoned in his penthouse.
Plus, I’m getting the vibe he never does anything without a reason. And I have no clue why he’s helping me. There’s gotta be some kind of upside for him, but I can’t figure out exactly what it is.
His eyes are lit with amusement as he looks at me over the rim of his glass. “The nap not enough?”
“It helped, but I’ve been tired for a while. Insomnia.”
“Of course. A new toothbrush and toothpaste is in the drawer next to the sink in the bathroom you used to shower.”
“Got it. Thank you. Good night,” I say, trying to project a weary cheeriness.
“See you tomorrow morning.” His eyes are laughing.
Chapter Thirteen
Angelika
I come slowly awake into a dark room. It feels large and smells too pleasant—not like cold, musty concrete and drywall—and the vents are quietly wafting cool air; there’s none of the rattling I’m used to from the unit in my apartment. I shift, the sheets so soft and nice against my bare arms, then lie on my back and stare upward.
I can’t believe how clear my head is. But then, I slept like a baby. I haven’t slept well in years. I usually get a light, fitful sleep, my senses semi-alert for footsteps that are too close or too heavy. Or somebody trying to open the door to my apartment late at night.
Sometimes they turned out to be nothing but someone working late or out getting drunk and confused and trying to unlock the wrong unit. But I could never let my guard down anyway, because Roy used to sneak into my room when I was asleep until our parents found out what he was doing. With our parents gone and me on my own, he could strike at literally any time.
But here, under Tolyan’s roof, it’s like my gut knows I’m going to be okay.
And now that my head’s working better, everything that happened yesterday flashes through my mind more clearly. I put a hand over my eyes, a small groan caught in my throat.
I acted like a complete idiot by asking if he likes Elizabeth. It’s none of my business who he likes. And for me to react all weird and high-school-girl-like!
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Now that I think back on it, maybe I was relieved he doesn’t like her. It’s like I’m feeling…possessive of him.
Oh my God, Angelika, don’t be an idiot.
Tolyan’s much more experienced than I am. The man’s gotta be at least in his mid- to late thirties. And he’s rich and powerful, and probably used to women crushing on him all the time.
Just look at that redhead from the hotel! And I’ll bet she isn’t the most persistent of the lot.
And even if I could somehow get Tolyan to like me, romance is a luxury I wouldn’t dare dream of right now. Roy thought it was a great idea to hit my landlady simply because she was nice to me. And he’s killed guys he thought might be my boyfriend. Although Tolyan can take care of himself, I don’t want him to assume even more risk than he already has.
Okay, stop with the ridiculousness.
I jump out of bed, go to the bathroom to shower, then put on the clothes from yesterday. They’re still okay, having been laundered less than twenty-four hours ago.