Love Me Long (Love Me Book 4)

Chapter 16

Chloe had no clue how long she was in the back of the armoire, but over time she realized that if she moved her head slightly to the left of where it was resting, she could see through a crack in the back pane and it gave her a decent view of the mirror on the wall over the sink which reflected almost the entire room. However, Chloe averted her eyes from the view because her discarded clothing made her realize how close she had come to dying.

There was minimal space to move, but she did a few leg bends every once in a while to keep her blood moving and her legs awake. The building was silent, and there was no movement inside or out, so when she heard multiple trucks pull up to the building, she froze, hardly daring to breathe.

A few moments later, she heard movement in the hallway and voices. Dimitrie was very specific that she was to stay put until the panel was opened, no matter what happened. Something that was hard to do when she heard Juric's voice and then saw him as he entered the room.

Chloe wanted to call out to him and run to him because she knew he would keep her safe, but the thoughts fled when she saw Lada standing next to him. Lada was watching Valentine closely as he looked at her discarded clothing. There was a flash of something in his eyes that looked like rage, but he masked it so quickly that Chloe thought she might have imagined it.

"Valentine," Lada gently said as she placed a hand on his arm, "that was the dress that she was wearing at the reception." Her voice broke with concern. "There's so much blood," Lada looked down at the dress, and Chloe swore she saw Lada give a small smile as she hid her mouth behind her hand in what was supposed to be a look of shock.

"It has to be him. It has to be Dimitrie. I heard he was in the area, and we all know how he feels about you after you defeated him last month. Although, why he would come after Doctor Lockwood's daughter is a mystery. Can you think of a reason?" Lada was digging, attempting to get him to admit his feelings for Chloe.

"No," was all Juric said before he turned and looked down at her. "There is nothing left to do here."

"Perhaps she's alive and hiding?" Lada said, rushing over to the armoire and pulling it open. All she saw were uniforms, though, and she moved them around in a half-hearted attempt to search for a scared Chloe. "Under the bed!" she said, then moved to kneel in front of the bed, looking under it.

It was a less-than-stellar performance, and Chloe wondered if Juric was buying it.

Juric bent down and picked the dress, hardly looking at it as he called out to someone in the hall.

"Lada, go wait in the truck. I'll be with you shortly." Juric instructed

"You'll have to tell her father. What will you tell the other Americans?" Lada asked, eyeing the dress in his hands. Dimitrie had been right. She wanted it.

"I'm not sure yet," Valentine said in a rough voice.

"Here, let me take that from you," Lada reached out, and to Chloe's surprise, he let her take the dress. "I'll go wait outside." There was no mistaking Lada's grin as she turned away from Juric.

The soldier that was coming into the room accidentally bumped into Lada as they passed.

"Be careful!" Lada hissed as she exited.

When the soldier apologized, Chloe realized it was a woman.

After Lada had left, there were a few minutes of silence while Juric looked out the window. Then he turned to the soldier. "You know what to do?"

The woman nodded and left, closing the door behind her. As soon as the door closed, Juric moved to the armoire and popped open the panel, allowing Chloe to fall into his arms.