“Come with me, I have something for you.” Her words were rushed, her face was flushed, and she was glancing around as though someone was after her.
Shaun was intrigued. “What do you have for me?”
“Come on, we can’t talk here.”
She dropped Shaun’s arm, spun around and walked rapidly in the direction she came from.
“Uh, sure…” Shaun followed after her, both confused and amused.
Saskia climbed the wide staircase, her high-top running shoes noiseless against the hardwood flooring. Shaun was wearing heels again, since it was expected that she dress appropriately for a meeting with Dasha. She struggled to keep up and almost lost sight of Saskia when they reached the top of the staircase. She looked both ways down wide opulent hallways, completely lost. She rarely came up to the second floor, as Jozef’s suite was on the main floor at the back of the house. She knew Dasha and Krystoff’s rooms were on the second floor, and Leeza’s family occupied a cottage on the estate grounds.
Shaun guessed that Saskia was leading her to her own suite.
She stopped abruptly at the top of the stairs, looking around and trying to figure out which way to go. Saskia’s head popped out from one of the doorways. “Come on!”
Shaun entered the suite and stared in bemusement. Considering Saskia tried to pass herself off as some kind of badass, Shaun was not expecting a suite that looked like the girly girl’s pink monster vomited all over it. Wherever she turned there were frills, pillows, stuffed animals, dolls and gold, white and pink striped wallpaper. The whole effect was chaotic, disorienting and over the top.
It felt human.
“This is your room?” Shaun asked as she stared around.
“Uh huh,” Saskia said, grabbing a stuffed unicorn and dropping onto a pink couch covered in so many frilly, flowery pillows that Shaun wasn’t sure where she should sit. “I know it looks like a little girl’s candy shop, but I like it. I feel comfortable in here.”
Shaun couldn’t image why. The creepy porcelain dolls were arranged in lifelike poses behind the glass walls of their cage, their soulless eyes following her every move. But what she thought didn’t matter; this was Saskia’s sanctuary, and after experiencing the chaos of the Koba family, Shaun didn’t blame her for creating her own version of paradise.
Shaun tried not to look at the dolls as she lifted a few pillows off the couch and carefully set them down next to the coffee table. She sat gingerly, lifting one of the oversize teddy bears and setting it on her lap. She tugged its ear, enjoying the super soft faux fur against her skin.
“What did you want to show me?” Shaun asked.
“You have to promise not to tell anyone.” Saskia’s words came out in a rush and she glanced guiltily at the door. “This house has ears and it’s impossible to keep anything a secret. My parents can’t know. Jozef definitely can’t know.”
Shaun frowned, her concern growing. “Maybe you shouldn’t show me then. I don’t want you to get in trouble.”
She looked at Shaun, her eyes wide with excitement. “It’s not me I’m worried about. Well, not as much.”
“You’re worried about me?”
“Yes, no, sort of. This surprise is definitely not allowed, but you deserve it and I don’t want to see you suffer anymore.”
Shaun blinked, trying desperately to decipher Saskia’s words. Oddly, she was comforted by Saskia’s declaration that she didn’t want Shaun to suffer. In a family whose staunch loyalty to each other made Shaun feel like an outsider, Saskia was the one she felt most comfortable with. Perhaps it was the other woman’s blunt honesty, her youth, or her ridiculously over-the-top suite, but Shaun didn’t think she would lie. She was not nearly as carefully calculated as the other members of the family.
Saskia projected herself as a world-weary adult. It was easy to forget her youth until she let her guard down. The nervous excitement surrounding her now made Shaun realize Saskia needed an adult to guide her. She was looking for permission, though she was attempting to control whatever surprise she had for Shaun.
“I think you’d better show me what you have,” Shaun said gently. She was careful not to promise not to tell Saskia’s parents. She didn’t know what the surprise was, and some things simply couldn’t be kept secret. If Saskia showed Shaun something potentially harmful to herself or others, Shaun would have to take the knowledge to Saskia’s family.
Saskia either didn’t notice or didn’t care about Shaun’s lack of promise. She bit her lip, glanced at the door one more time and then reached into her pocket, digging out an object. She extended her hand toward Shaun.
“A cell phone?” Shaun asked bewildered.
“A burner phone,” Saskia said gleefully. “Untraceable. I got it from a friend, but he doesn’t know why I wanted it.”
“And why do you want it?” Shaun asked carefully.
“It’s for you.” Saskia couldn’t help the grin that spread across her face as she gave Shaun the news. “So you can call your family and tell them you’re okay.”
Hope hit Shaun so hard she felt dizzy. Tears immediately rushed to her eyes and she had to dash them away as she reached to take the phone from Saskia, squeezing her hand as she took it. Emotion choked her voice as she tried to thank the younger woman. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you so much. This is… this is…”
Saskia’s bright eyes dimmed a little as she took in Shaun’s flustered stammering. “You don’t have to thank me. It’s the least I can do after what my family did to you.”
Shaun dipped her head and nodded, overcome. Clutched tight in her hands was the lifeline she’d been waiting for.
Saskia stood up. “Do you mind making the call in my bedroom closet? It’s big so you should have lots of room. I don’t want to risk anyone finding out.”
“Of course.” Shaun stood and dashed her tears away as she followed Saskia into the bedroom.
She let out a quickly stifled laugh as she saw that the insane pink frilled theme had spilled into the bedroom as well. There was a huge four-poster bed with pink and white striped hangings, covered in a shiny pink and purple bedspread and piled high with frilly pillows and stuffed animals.
Saskia opened her closet and stood back. It really was like stepping into Wonderland. Saskia’s clothes trended toward black with chains, skulls, rips and T-shirts with anarchist slogans. The difference in Saskia’s style preferences was so wild that Shaun determined to one day find out how Saskia had evolved into such a fascinating young woman.
“I’ll give you some privacy.” Saskia closed the door to the closet, leaving Shaun alone inside.
Shaun looked down at the phone.
Every instinct in her body told her to call her mom, but she had to be smart, think first, then make the call. She didn’t know how much time she had, didn’t know if she’d be able to make more than one call, and she had no idea what she was going to say. She could call the authorities, but how? She didn’t know the emergency number for the Czech Republic. It was usually different from country to country.
Then she’d have to hope the person who answered the call spoke enough English that she could communicate her predicament. After that she didn’t know. Would the authorities contact her consulate? Would they come into the mansion with guns blazing? The thought of anyone in the Koba family being killed sent a shaft of remorse through her.