Watching Her: A Dark Romance (Keep Me Series Book 3)

by Angela Snyder

  Wraith leaves after only spending a few minutes with her, and I frown. I thought he was going to talk to her, find out what her deal is and all that kind of good stuff. I doubt he even found out anything new, anything we can use.

  Perplexed, I watch as Katerina goes to the tray of food and begins to eat willingly on her own.

  She's been on a hunger strike ever since yesterday, so Wraith must have told her something that made her feel more at ease at least.

  I leave Lucien's office and go check on my cousin for the second time today. Maria is still with him, sitting curled up in a chair, reading a book. She gives me a bright smile when I enter the room. "He's doing just fine," she assures me.

  "Well, with a beautiful angel like you watching over him, I should think so."

  A red blush creeps up on Maria's olive cheeks, and she waves her book at me with a chuckle. "Oh, Jackson. How is it that a handsome, charming boy like you is still single?"

  I shrug my shoulders and flash her a grin. "Just haven't found the right one yet," I tell her with a wink.

  "Well, when you do find her, you'll know," she says confidently, glowing.

  "I hope so," I tell her as I check over Lucien's vitals. It's not like I want to be single for the rest of my life. It's just…hell, I don't know what I want.

  I like to watch other couples who are in love. That's kind of my thing.

  But I've never been with a woman one on one before. I haven't even told Lucien that, let alone anyone else. The thought of being intimate with one person scares the hell out of me. I don't know if it's because I have "mommy issues" or what. Given the fact that my mom abandoned me and my dad when I was a little boy…yeah, that's probably what the fuck is wrong with me.

  Getting close to someone and sharing a connection is not something I ever desired. Well, until Adeline. I think I could have something special with her, but she's not mine to make a connection with and never will be.

  She belongs to Lucien in every possible sense of the word.

  They love each other unconditionally. And I simply can't compete with that…nor would I want to.

  I'm just the creep who's in the corner watching them fuck and wishing it was me instead of my cousin getting all of her love and attention.

  Grimacing at my own self-loathing thoughts, I put up a fresh bag of saline and make sure everything is good before I leave Lucien's room again.

  "See you later, Maria."

  "See you, Jackson," she says. And as an afterthought, I hear her call, "And bring that girl of yours to dinner tonight!"

  Wraith probably told her about the girl, because I'm sure Maria wondered who she was making extra meals for. It's not like I wanted to keep Katerina a secret or anything. It's just I don't want anyone assuming that Katerina and I are together.

  As far as I'm aware, the girl hates my fucking guts.

  And since I'm such a glutton for punishment, I change route and go to her room to test my theory.

  I can't keep Katerina here forever, but I can't let her go either. It's simply not safe at this point. I just don't know how to explain all of that to her without sounding like a total douchebag.

  CHAPTER 13

  KATYA

  WHEN THE LOCK disengages and the door opens again, I expect to see the giant step into the room. I'm surprised when Jackson comes in instead.

  His steel-gray eyes watch me carefully as he casually strolls in and has a seat in a chair in the corner of the room. His expression is guarded, and I can't get any hint of what he's feeling right now. At least Pavel had a horrible poker face. I always knew when he was angry or disappointed. And by the look on his monstrous face, I could predict what kind of punishment I would receive.

  With Jackson, he's a closed book.

  "Wraith came in to speak to you," he says, and it's not a question.

  So the giant's name is Wraith? What kind of a name is that? It must be some sort of nickname, but I decide not to dwell on it. I have much bigger things on my plate right now.

  "Yes, he did," I reply to Jackson.

  He leans forward in the chair, resting his elbows on his knees and clasping his large hands together. "So you understand how dire your situation is if you leave here?"

  I nod in response.

  "You're welcome to stay. And then, once my cousin regains consciousness, we'll figure everything out."

  That doesn't sit well with me at all. I don't know anything about his cousin besides the fact that he clearly kidnaps women and locks them up in this room. What if he is another Pavel — a devil in disguise? His cousin might throw me out on my ass as soon as he recovers, and it will be like throwing me to the wolves. Hell, he might even hand me over to the Bratva himself for the bounty money.

  I need to think about my survival long term. I want to eventually return to Russia and find my little sister and my mother, but it's too dangerous to go back home now. I will have to set those goals for in the future when it's actually safe, because the Bratva would no doubt capture me the moment I stepped foot off the plane at this point.

  I don't know much about the inner workings of the mafia, but I've seen up close and personal what they can do to people who cross them. And right now…I'm one of those people.

  So, for the moment, I need to focus on the present and my next move. If I can seduce Jackson, he won't allow his cousin to force me to leave. Jackson will protect me, and he'll want me to stay here with him. And then I can decide my fate on my own terms and leave when I'm ready and not the other way around.

  "I will stay here, but I don't want to be locked up anymore," I tell him. If I'm stuck in this room, my plan on seducing him will never work.

  "Fine," he agrees.

  I watch him walk over to the keypad on the wall and input a code, disabling the locking mechanism.

  Just like that?

  I'm in disbelief. I thought he would fight me on it, just like everything else.

  "You can have free reign of the manor. But I'll tell you now that there are cameras everywhere." Then he adds, "Someone is always watching."

  It's a threat and a warning all wrapped in one. I can move freely around the place, but I'll be put in my place if I try to do anything…or try to escape.

  Right now escaping is the last thing I want to do. Here on this island is the safest place for me right now. I'm not stupid. I just need to wait until things die down with the Bratva. Then, I can decide for myself my next best strategy.

  Jackson stands up and takes a few steps towards the door; but for some reason, I don't want him to leave yet.

  "Wait," I call out.

  Jackson stops and turns to me. "Yeah?" he prompts.

  My eyes scan the room, trying to think of something to say. And the only thing that comes to mind is… "Thank you," I say softly.

  "You're welcome," he replies with a short nod before leaving the room.

  After the door closes, the room feels empty again. His presence fills the room with some kind of warmth and security that I can't even describe. I feel safe when he's around, but I know it's ridiculous. Clearly, my mind is playing tricks on me again.

  I need to push these absurd feelings aside and move forward with my plan. I can pretend to love Jackson for a short while. Hell, I've been pretending most of my life. It comes very easily to me now. I need to use him to get what I want and need, just like I've been used my entire life.

  And this is all just temporary anyway. I know deep down that, if I allow myself to get attached to anyone or anything, it will be a huge mistake and ultimately my downfall.

  Eventually, I'll be walking away from all of this…including the people in this house.

  CHAPTER 14

  JACKSON

  OVER THE NEXT few days, Katerina is…different. And I don't mean different good. I mean different weird.

  Instead of being the somewhat hateful bitch she had been before with a snarky attitude when I first met her, she's somehow morphed into a sweet and kind girl who flirts and giggles. I mean, seriou
sly, she fucking giggles!

  It's like a scene straight out of the movie, The Body Snatchers, or some shit.

  "She's acting strange," Wraith remarks over breakfast one morning. "Maybe she was abducted by aliens," he suggests with a shrug of his shoulders as his teeth tear into a croissant.

  I give him the side eye. "Dude, it's like you're reading my fucking mind," I mutter under my breath.

  We both stare at the mysterious creature as she gathers food on her plate from the enormous breakfast spread that Maria concocted this morning. Then, Katerina turns and, with a big smile on her face, walks over to the long table and takes a seat to the left of me.

  When she notices me and Wraith staring at her like she grew a third head overnight or something, she glances between us both and asks, "What?"

  "Nothing," we both say at the same time before hanging our heads and focusing our attention back to our plates.

  After a few moments of silence, Katerina is finally the one to break it. "So, I noticed there's a gym down the hall," she says.

  Yes, I've been watching her on the camera feeds snooping around the manor. She even tried to open Lucien's office door, but that shit is locked down tight like Fort Knox with a code she'll never figure out. She's been searching every room, taking a different wing each night. And I have to wonder when she sleeps…or if she sleeps.

  Hell, when the fuck am I even sleeping if I'm watching her all the time?

  Ugh, I don't mind that she's trying to become familiar with her surroundings, but I'm not putting my guard down around her whatsoever. I mean, she did kill her husband right in front of me, after all. I still don't know the full story behind that, but I'd like to. Quite frankly, I'd like to understand her a whole hell of a lot better.

  "Am I allowed to use the gym equipment?" she asks me with those big, blue eyes that always seem to put me under a hypnotic spell.

  "Sure," I tell her before taking a sip of orange juice.

  "Great," she says with a sweet smile before turning her attention back to her breakfast.

  Wraith and I exchange a glance before he shakes his head and stands up. The giant of a man is done eating his third helping already while I'm still working on my first. I'm surprised Lucien doesn't subtract Wraith's food bill out of his paychecks. I mean, the man eats his body weight in food every meal.

  After Wraith is gone, Katerina seems to visibly relax. Does Wraith make her feel uncomfortable? If so, why? I don't think Wraith has done anything to make her feel that way. But if he has…I'd like to know about it.

  "Got a problem with Wraith?" I ask her bluntly out of curiosity.

  Her eyes meet mine in surprise. I think she's shocked that I read her so well. I'm good at reading people, but of course, she doesn't know that about me. She doesn't know me at all.

  "No…it's just…he reminds me of my husband's old bodyguards. Big, tall, Russian," she explains.

  "Wraith is harmless," I tell her with a wave of my hand. "Well, unless you get on his bad side. Then he's anything but harmless."

  "I'm sure," she whispers in agreement.

  I study Katerina for a moment while I eat. Her long, blonde hair is like a veil around her pretty face. She's wearing some more of Adeline's clothes. They don't fit very well since Katerina is so much taller than Adeline, but they're good enough for now. Maybe I can plan a trip to the mainland soon to buy her more fitting clothing. I bet she'd appreciate that.

  Fuck, what am I even saying? It's like I'm already planning on her staying here for a long time. When, in reality, the woman doesn't even want to be here. She did agree to stay since it's clearly safer here than anywhere else in the world right now; but I'm sure the first chance she got to get off this island, she would take it.

  Clearing my throat, I ask her, "Since you've explored most of the house, I take it you'd like to go outside?"

  "Oh, I didn't think I'd be allowed," she tells me in surprise.

  "Well, I'll have to let the guards know you'll be out on the grounds. Don't venture too far. They're on high alert since…everything happened," I say, my voice dropping down low. I still can't believe I wasn't here when Lucien was shot and Adeline was taken.

  But fuck, maybe I would have been dead right now. The reason I'm still alive is sitting right next to me. If Katerina hadn't distracted me, things could have ended very differently.

  I'm just happy that I was able to save Lucien's life and keep him stable and alive. We can work on getting Adeline back when he's well again.

  "Will you join me outside today?" she asks, and it rips me out of my thoughts and throws me completely off guard.

  She wants me to spend time with her? Why? I thought she hated me. "Uh," I mutter, stalling. "I have some things I need to take care of, and I have to check on Luc," I explain, blowing her off.

  "Oh, sure," she says with a single nod. She seems almost miffed by my rejection, but just a few short days ago she was the one rejecting me. It sort of feels nice now that the shoe is on the other foot.

  Finishing my breakfast and juice, I stand up with my dirty dishes and tell her, "I'll see you later."

  As I walk into the kitchen, my thoughts are on the blonde in the next room. I'm beginning to wonder if Katerina has an ulterior motive. All I know is that she's playing some sort of game.

  And I'm most definitely the pawn.

  CHAPTER 15

  KATYA

  AFTER A FEW hours in the sunshine, I feel slightly better. I'm still upset that Jackson refused to join me outside. I thought he would be an easy conquest, just like every man I've ever been around has been.

  Pavel loved to share me with his friends. They were never allowed to hurt me beyond the point Pavel would allow, since that would be like signing their own death warrants, but most of them got close many times to bringing me to the brink of death. Too close.

  Those men only wanted two things — to hurt me and to fuck me.

  But Jackson is different. And it's frustrating me, because I can't figure him out. At all.

  After I grow tired of lying around in the sun and hoping that a certain brooding, gray-eyed man will appear, I decide to go inside.

  If he won't come to me, I'll simply go to him.

  Starting up the steps, I hang a left and go down the hall to where I know his room is. Having snooped in the time since I've been here, I know my way around the house pretty well.

  His bedroom door is closed, so I rap my knuckles softly on the wood. After a few moments, Jackson opens the door.

  He looks surprised to see me, and I flash him a smile. "Hi," I say. "What are you up to?"

  He opens the door wider and leans against the frame. He's wearing a black button-down shirt and dark jeans. He looks like a handsome, dark knight. "Nothing. Just got out of the shower," he tells me, running a hand through his damp hair.

  I move a little closer and inhale. He smells good, masculine, like soap and sandalwood.

  "Mind if I come in?" I ask politely.

  "Not at all," he replies before stepping aside so that I can walk in.

  Even though I was in his room before, I still take a look around like it's my first time in here. The room is full of dark wood furniture with large floor-to-ceiling windows. A king-sized bed rests in the center of the room atop a brown and blue area rug with a fireplace nestled against the opposite wall.

  I stroll through the room like I own the place and take a seat on the large, four-poster bed. I expect Jackson to join me, but he surprises me, once again, by pulling out the chair in front of his writing desk and taking a seat.

  "So, now that I have you alone, do you think we could talk?" he asks.

  "I'd love that," I tell him honestly. Talking will most likely build the type of fake relationship I need to form with him.

  "Will you tell me why you did it? Why you killed your husband?" he asks, his brows furrowed.

  I quickly stand. This is not the type of conversation I thought we'd be having. I don't want to show all of my cards yet. I have plenty of rea
sons for killing Pavel, probably too many to name. But it will make me look vulnerable, weak. And I don't want that.

  I want to lure him in, attract him to me. And my past is not attractive whatsoever. It will be a complete turnoff. Jackson would certainly look at me differently afterwards — like I'm a victim, like I'm broken…like I'm dirty. And I don't want that.

  He holds his hands up defensively. "Fine. If you don't want to talk about it, I get that."

  "I just…can't right now. Do you understand?"

  He nods once.

  Quickly, I walk to the door to leave, but ultimately stop myself. I can't run away now when I'm so close to having him right where I want him. So, I decide to turn the tables on him instead. "How long were you watching us that night?" I inquire, turning to face him, even though I think I already know the answer to the question that's been burning in the back of my mind for days.

  "A while. Actually…the whole time," he confesses, looking shy all of a sudden.

  "I see," I tell him, pretending to be upset when, in fact, I'm quite the opposite. I'm intrigued.

  He stands, staring at the floor as if he's ashamed of his admission. "Katerina," he begins.

  I cringe at him using my full name. It's the name my so-called father gave me. The same man who sold me to the devil himself. All the bad people in my life call me Katerina, and I've grown to hate it.

  "Katya," I correct him as he meets my stare. My nickname is something I hold sacred to me because my little sister was the only one who called me by that name. But after years of hearing Pavel say that name, I can't bear to hear it come from Jackson's mouth. "Call me Katya. Please."

  He nods once and softly says, "Okay, Katya."

  I watch as my name is caressed by his tongue and lips. He really is a handsome man. Too bad our situation is so fucked up. If I have any chance of surviving all of this, I need to seduce Jackson…no matter how hard it will be for me.