Chapter 8 - His Little Secret (3)

CALISTA

“What do you say, Cali?” Eleanor’s hands squeezed mine, her eyes searching my face.

“Hell no,” I blurted out, and her smile stiffened.

“What?” She frowned. I withdrew my hand from hers and got off the chair, kicking it behind me.

“You want him to be my guardian?” I pointed at Mikhail. “Him?”

Mikhail, who had been silent all along, finally moved. He leaned back in his chair slowly, his eyes settling on me, watching me like I was a child throwing a tantrum.

Eleanor turned her head to him, her eyes moving up and down his face before she turned back to me.

“What is wrong with him?” she demanded, confusion written all over her face.

“What? Are you seriously asking me that?” I scoffed, my hand raking through my hair in disbelief. “Mom!” My voice thundered in the dining room and she flinched, her eyes widening at me.

“I could have put up with this if it was someone else, but him? Are we all going to pretend who this man really is? He’s a criminal!” I bit my lips in regret immediately those words left my mouth, but seeing this man sitting there so calmly fueled the rage inside me.

Mikhail did not even look offended. He simply leaned further back, one arm resting on the chair, still watching me like I was entertainment.

“What made you think he didn’t set this up for me to stay in this ‘humble’ home of yours?” I made air quotes with my fingers as I glanced at her almost mockingly.

“Calista.” Her broken voice tore through my heart, and I knew damn well what I was doing was wrong. But God, I did not want to be here.

“I can’t stay here.” I shook my head. “You can’t force me to stay here against my will.”

Eleanor’s eyes turned red and she looked away, her shoulders trembling. I huffed heavily, staring at her, but before she could speak, Mikhail did.

“Well, no one is forcing you to be here, Cal.” His calm voice sounded in my ears and I turned to look at him. “The last thing I would want is to have an annoying brat living under the same roof as me.”

Well, I’m glad we both find ourselves annoying.

He leaned forward this time, resting his elbows on the table, his eyes still on me.

“It’s left to you to accept this or not. But I’ll tell you this.” He paused, tilting his head slightly. “The minute you take that luggage of yours and waltz your way out of this house, you are on your own.”

That sounded like a threat to me.

I glanced at my mom and saw her sobbing. Mikhail did not bother to soothe her. He sat there like a rock with an unreadable expression on his face.

He felt different from earlier.

My mind flashed back to the bullets piercing the door, and my eyes fell to my stomach. I could still feel the numbness from being crushed by his weight.

Even though I did not admit it, he did save me from being turned into a human sponge for bullets.

“God, I hate this.” I turned around, kicked the chair in front of me and rushed upstairs to my temporary room, which was apparently going to be a permanent one from now on.

I slammed the door open, my eyes scanning through the well furnished space as though they knew I would be staying here for a long time.

This is all his plan. I am damn well sure it is.

I kicked the door shut behind me and crashed onto the bed, grabbed the pillow and screamed into it. “I hate you, Mikhail!”

.

.

Hours Later

“That should be your number one rule. Your hatred towards me.” He pointed the stick at the board for the tenth time and I rolled my eyes in irritation.

He was wearing loose black pants and a white singlet, his arms bulging with every movement. He leaned over the board and from afar it looked like the board was too small for him, but when I stood there, I felt small in front of it.

He adjusted his reading glasses resting on the bridge of his nose, which I very much wanted to crush with my fist.

“Second rule,” he began, but I cut in impatiently.

“You will be in charge of driving me to work in the morning and back home after work. I do not have my driving license yet and would not want to endanger the lives of law abiding citizens. Yeah, yeah, yeah.” I mimicked him.

He paused and looked at me for a few seconds before speaking again.

“Well, I’m glad you’re following me this time, Cal. You were very stubborn in the beginning.” He placed the stick down, then faced me. “And the last rule, you will be under my watch 24 hours every day.”

“Except when I have to take care of my girly needs. I can’t have you snooping around like a pervert,” I sneered, staring at him, waiting for a reaction.

He did not react immediately. He just watched me for a few seconds, then looked away like I was not worth the argument.

“I’ll have your mother adjust the watch time,” he finally said. He picked up his phone and swiped his finger across the screen. His brows furrowed slightly and he placed the phone inside his pocket before looking at me. “I’ll be right back.”

He left after saying that.

I sat there in silence wondering what to do next. Should I sneak back into his room and find out what that weird portrait was all about? He seemed to have a little secret that Eleanor did not know about.

I got off the chair and walked out of the room. I peeked around, searching for him, but he was nowhere in sight. Eleanor had already gone to her room for the night.

I quietly tiptoed upstairs to his room and gently wrapped my fingers around the knob. Twisting it cautiously, I realized the door was unlocked and I did not hesitate to open it a little.

“I told you to get me information about those people. How did they know her whereabouts?” His cold voice sounded from inside the room, and my legs slowed to a stop.

He’s different again.

“Dimitri!” he thundered and I flinched, my body trembling. “I need results instead of promises. These people almost…” His voice shook before he paused and said almost painfully, “…had her killed in front of me. If I had hesitated a little, that woman would have been with her Lord by now.”

“Find out who they are and when you do, kill them without waiting. That’s an order from me.”

“Hah?” A gasp escaped my lips without me realizing it, but I quickly covered my mouth and pressed my back against the wall outside.

Mikhail did not speak.

I shut my eyes tightly, my hands clasped tightly over my mouth. Seconds went by, and I slowly opened my eyes.

Maybe he did not hear it.

I turned my head to take a look, but a pair of grey eyes came looking right back at me. And they were much closer than I expected.

“Why are you here, Cali?”