The Darkness Within

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Three hours pass in Sergei's absence. I watch the ancient grandfather clock by the fireplace tick as time slowly trickles by.

In the first hour, I turn the puzzle of why I'm here over and over again in my head, but don't find any plausible solutions.

In the second hour I do a search of the room—the only thing that concludes is that this isn't Sergei's room. There are no masculine clothes in the closet or products in the bathroom. In fact, it looks like this room hasn't been lived in for a long time, though it's still spotless, likely kept clean by whatever staff must roam this house.

The lavishness of this bedroom alone indicates that the rest of the house can probably double as an architectural museum.

By the third hour, I've nested on the windowsill with a warm quilt taken from the bed, and watch the grounds surrounding the house.

They're patrolled by guards at all times—unsurprising, considering Sergei's status in this country. My room faces what I assume is the back side of the estate—a beautiful garden currently draped in snow spans for acres. For a psychopath, I'll admit Sergei has taste.

He also has impeccable security. The windows all have an automatic locking mechanism that likely connects to either a control panel somewhere in the house, or a phone. There's a camera in the bedroom, though not in the bathroom. I've heard a guard pacing the hall outside my door since Sergei walked away.

Like Sergei said, escape doesn't look like a possibility—not without someone else on my side. I'm not naïve enough to try to turn any of Sergei's staff on him. I'm certainly not stupid enough to simply try to make a run for it. In this house, so far, I have warmth and relative comfort, ignoring the lack of privacy and freewill. Outside, I'll have hypothermia within a few minutes, and maybe an hour before I'm caught and either brought back or killed.

I chew on my nails, running over what my purpose might be here yet again, hating the feeling of being stumped. I'm never stumped.

I doubt he wants me for a whore or slave, since he could probably snap his fingers and kidnap the most beautiful women in Russia at his whim. If he just wanted a quick fuck before killing me, he'd have done so in America. He probably wouldn't have me confined to a beautiful bedroom if he intended my death.

I don't think he's trying to cast the illusion of comfort just to play mind games before killing me. Judging by the curious glances guards below send to my window, they're not used to having a woman in my position around.

What's something that psychopaths generally lack, but crave? Company, I realize. Then again, I might be far off with that one, since Sergei could get whatever company he wanted from whoever he wanted. Maybe company of someone more intelligent than the masses?

The reason I keep Asher around, even though I could do his jobs on my own, isn't just because he makes my life simpler—he's an impressively intelligent guy with whom I enjoy conversing with. Namely because he can somewhat keep up with how quickly I think. With most other people, I get bored of conversations and my thoughts begin to stray, and I'm often in a situation pondering crime scene photos while whatever companion is still going on about the weather.

Surely, however, Sergei could find intelligent company amongst others in his business. Whether he can find female company is a different story.

The price of intelligence is monotony. The price of psychopathy is often a deep, hidden loneliness. Since Sergei's likely surrounded by male colleagues who are only business partners, it stands to reason he might seek solace with a smart woman.