DONOVAN (Book Three)

FORTY-FIVE

"Don?"

What is he doing here?

"What are you doing here?" In the dark, I could see his blue eyes darken as he asked me that question.

Before I can open my mouth, we both hear the guards coming from inside the house. Don put me down and grabbed my hand, leading us somewhere to hide. He found the shed and had us both inside. He pulls me close against his chest as my ear is pressed to hear the sound of his beating heart.

"Have you seen her?" Says one guard as they are close to the shed.

Don and I stay quiet. I feel his movement, grabbing something behind him, positioning himself to shoot anyone who finds us here.

"No, but if Mr. Petrograd finds out we lost her, he will kill us all."

"I don't see why he is obsessed with her even before she was the boss' fiancé."

"Shhh...shut your damn mouth." Says a second guard. "There are stories about Mr. Petrov before coming here to America."

"Like what?"

"These are just rumors, whether true or not, but he once blackmailed his country's governor into marrying his daughter. The daughter was only seventeen then, and after two months of marriage, it said that his little wife committed suicide. But the truth is, Petrov was obsessed with her and did all sorts of things to her; she married him not for love but for his addiction. When she tried to run away, he punished her most brutally."

"What did he do to her?"

My heart is racing fast.

"He killed her, of course." Answer the second guard. "They found her body in the river all covered in cuts and bruises."

"What did the girl's father do?" Ask the first guard.

"Absolutely nothing because Mr. Petrov has something the governor didn't want the world to know."

"What will that be?"

"No clue." The second guard says without a care. "Ever since Petrov met the boss' fiancé, he has that addiction craving for her. Whenever the boss' is away, leave her alone. Petrov is the person assigned to watch her. I would see him lusting over her. He would often bully her and admit defeat so he could fuck her. Sometimes, when the boss isn't looking, Petrov would put a move on her and harass her. She was so afraid to call for help that she allowed him to do it. I don't know what craves a man like him to be into someone else's woman, but it's terrible."

"It sounds like you feel bad for her?"

"I was raised differently than most families. I grew up with a drunk and abusive son of a bitch father and a weak ass mother who can not defend herself. I left home at sixteen and took this job for the money. So, I see things that I shouldn't even see."

My body shakes at the thought of those scary memories when I was with Eddie. The fear of being alone with Petrov would give me the idea of killing myself or even telling Eddie that his most trusted man was sexually harassing me, but at that time, I was afraid. Afraid that doing those things will backfire. Because Eddie was showing his true colors to me, I don't know who to be more fearful of, Eddie? or Petrov.

I clench my fist and close my eyes, counting to get rid of those awful memories as those two guards talk about how Petrov harassed me in those years. Especially at that time when he...

My face was suddenly covered, and I lifted to see Don's face in this dark shed. I sniffle after crying too silently. "Did he do those things to you?"

He asks, and the mention of "he" is preferably addressed to Petrov. My mouth was quivering, and my eyes bawled, but I kept my mouth shut to prevent us from getting caught. I lower my head and nod, muffles of cries against his chest as I feel Don's body tense, his arm wrapping around me tight in a protective aspect.