Or conduct my business.
Blowing out a breath, I looked at the long stretch of dark road ahead of me. Why had my life become so fucking complicated?
Chapter 3
Emma
I woke up the next morning, still reeling from Artem’s visit. My dreams had been filled with him and his odd behavior, almost like he cared about me and wanted this to work out between us.
It was crazy, but for a few moments there, we had actually gotten along like two people would, and I was able to completely forget that he was who he was. I hadn’t lied to him when I told him that he couldn’t be what I needed.
He couldn’t, could he?
Turning over in the bed, I saw the phone he had given me sitting on the bedside table, a sleek model that had to be worth thousands. I had thumbed through the device last night but found nothing on it save one number that was in the contacts.
Artem’s number. It wasn’t labeled, but I didn’t need for it to be. He hadn’t lied to me. This was my way of contacting him, and he definitely planned on me doing so.
Sighing, I climbed out of bed and threw on some clothes, pulling my hair up in a high ponytail. When Artem had left, I had sat in the chair before the fireplace for an hour, staring into the fire and trying to tear apart everything he had said. He had all but told me that he cared for me, and I wasn’t going to lie; he had caught me off guard. It was clear that the words had not come easily for Artem, nor did I think he had ever said anything like that out loud before to anyone.
It was kind of nice to be the first.
That, and I was his wife, so he should have said something like that to me.
Still, though, the words had touched my heart. I didn’t like the idea at all, but I was starting to develop a soft spot for my husband. He hadn’t forced me to come back with him.
He hadn’t even touched me, though I constantly wondered if he would have, given the opportunity.
I really wanted to touch him. His hair had grown a little longer, the back brushing against the collar of his shirt and showing signs that he had raked his hands through it repeatedly. His jaw had been dusted with the shadow of a beard, making me want to run my hands along his skin and feel the hair prick my skin.
He also looked exhausted, something I hadn’t seen on him since the moment I had met him. It was like my disappearance had taken a toll on Artem, and I still didn’t know how to process that.
And why did I agree not to leave Alaska? Maybe it had been the desperation in his voice, like he was worried about me following through.
Or the fact that my father’s call had bothered me a little. The more I had tried to break down that call, the more confused I made myself. My father knew where I was, yet he hadn’t come to retrieve me. He hadn’t even bothered to send anyone to get me, which probably hurt the worst.
But Artem had found me and had come to see me face-to-face. Most would say it was because he had lost me and wanted to ensure that he got me back, but there was a small piece of this that most were missing in the whole kidnapper/kidnapper role.
I was married to him.
I grabbed the cell phone and tucked it into my back pocket for now, twisting the ring around on my finger as I walked down the stairs. Well, one thing was for certain. I wouldn’t be going with Noah to town and pawning my ring. I had made a promise, and however stupid it was, I wasn’t going to go back on it.
It was really stupid.
Gertie was waiting at the table like she always was, the coffee already brewing. I hadn’t talked to her or to Noah after Artem left last night, so I knew there were probably a lot of questions.
I wasn’t so sure I had a lot of answers at this point.
After pouring a cup, I joined her at the table. “Good morning,” she stated, her eyes on mine. “Sleep well?”
I nodded as I took a sip of the steaming liquid.
She smirked. “I would imagine that your dreams were pretty darn active last night.”
Swallowing the liquid, I let it burn a path to my stomach before choosing my words carefully. “He came to ask me to come back with him. I turned him down for now.”
“Why?”
Why? Because I had no idea what was going on with me right now. I didn’t know why I had even allowed him in this house or why I had promised him that I would stay in Alaska. “I really don’t know.”
Gertie snorted. “It seems that the reason is because you are in love with the fellow and can’t admit it to yourself.”
My mouth dropped open at her declaration. Love Artem? I didn’t love Artem! I couldn’t, for thousands of reasons. Gertie didn’t even know what had happened between us or how I had come to be here in Alaska.
That was why she was confusing my emotions with love. “I don’t love him.”
She shook her head, her fingers tapping on her mug in rhythm. “Keep lying to yourself, girl, and one day you will believe it. If you had hated the man, he wouldn’t have crossed this threshold last night, nor would you have been carrying on a conversation with him like you did.” I arched a brow and she held up a hand. “I didn’t listen. Noah wanted to, but I forced him to go do something else. Meddling man.”
I smiled. “I really appreciate him attempting to look out for me.”
“Don’t tell him that,” she responded with a smile on her face. “It will go straight to his head.”
I sighed. “I don’t hate him either. I just can’t love him.” If I loved him, then I wouldn’t be contemplating going home and forgetting that he ever existed right?
But as those thoughts crossed my mind, I wasn’t so sure I felt the same way anymore. There was absolutely no way I was going to ever forget the gorgeous man that had taken me from my life and married me, giving me sexual encounters that I had only read about.
Artem hadn’t bothered to tell me anything about himself last night either. Somehow, I felt that Artem was someone important. One, he knew how to kill a man with his bare hands. I had been witness to that.
Two, he clearly had money and had no reason to worry about the cost of anything.
Three, my father was scared of him. Normally, my father wouldn’t worry about someone like Artem or his threats, but I felt like he was scared of what Artem could do to him. So much so that he had handed me over without really putting up a huge fight, and when he had the chance, hadn’t even bothered to come after me. I was his only daughter, and by all accounts, I had been through hell and back in the last few weeks.
It was like he either didn’t care, or he knew that Artem was telling the truth.
God, I didn’t even want to think about that. I didn’t want to believe that my father was a killer, especially of innocent people who weren’t shooting at him first.