He’d already put his clothes back on, though his shirt was untucked now and his light brown hair was no longer slicked back, so it stuck up a little. He seemed younger standing there looking a little rumpled and a lot more relaxed. Though he didn’t have what I would call wrinkles, he had lines on his face that made me think he’d had a rough life. Or he’d seen a lot of terrible things. I knew almost nothing about him, but my gut told me he was so tough on the outside because he protected something vulnerable on the inside. And I really wanted to know what that was.
He took my hand as we walked back out to the street and he slid the old rusted door back into place.
“Tomorrow, we’ll go back to the café and see if anything is salvageable,” he said. “I think the downstairs got the worst of it. Upstairs probably has a lot of smoke damage, but there might be some things you can save.”
“I don’t have anything other than the clothes on my back,” I said sadly. “I don’t even have clean underwear.”
“Is there a store here in Vinake?”
“The general store has basics we can get, but the quality is poor. I have to go to Ferdinbrag to find anything comfortable.”
“Let me see what my schedule is tomorrow and I can take you.”
“You don’t have to,” I said.
“It’s partly my fault you’re in this mess,” he said, grinning down at me. “It’s the least I can do.”
“It wasn’t really, but I’ll be gracious.”
He let go of my hand when we got to the hospital, and as soon as we got to Kostya’s floor, Xander got up out of a chair and approached us.
“Dude, you haven’t been answering your phone.” Xander gave Axel a dirty look.
“Sorry about that.” Axel had a bland look on his face. “Solange was showing me around the city and I guess I didn’t hear it down by the river.”
Xander frowned a little and looked like he was going to say something, but I was suddenly exhausted.
“I’m going to get some sleep,” I said quietly. “Thanks for everything tonight. Let me know what the plan is for tomorrow.”
“I’m going to sleep here at the hospital,” he told me. “I’ll be right here in the hallway and once you’re awake, we can figure out the plan.”
“Good night then.” I turned and walked into Kostya’s room. I hadn’t even realized there were rooms this nice at our hospital, but I figured they were reserved for the wealthy. There were two beds and a private bathroom, so I went in that direction, anxious to get cleaned up. I was desperate for a shower and stripped down, stepping under the warm spray.
I closed my eyes and thought back to what had happened with Axel. I’d been raised to believe young women didn’t have sex until marriage, but all the young people here in Vinake and the surrounding areas had sex constantly. Anal sex was popular because you didn’t have to worry about pregnancy, and while I hadn’t participated myself, my friends all talked. Nicola and Felix had a wild sex life once, and she’d given me every detail.
Oddly enough, the older I’d gotten, the less interested I’d become in partaking. The drinking and partying that went on was a distraction from the misery of our lives. We all saved up for the long winters—alcohol, snacks, cigarettes, condoms—and the parties moved from house to house. Sometimes we’d gather at the old community center, but I’d eventually stopped going. The last two years, since Nicola had left, I’d probably only gone out with our old gang of friends three or four times. Mostly, I stayed home and taught myself computer programming.
If Kostya was out, I’d have the family laptop to myself and could watch movies or listen to music too. Sometimes I’d read, but we didn’t have a library in Vinake and it had been difficult to get internet access before King Erik had taken the throne from his evil cousin, King Anwar. We’d lived on bootleg movies and CDs, cigarettes and sex. I’d passed on the sex because after a while I’d come to hate all of them. Maybe not literally, because this hell we lived in Vinake wasn’t their fault, but I’d needed someone to blame and my friends were all easiest.
A little more than twenty-four hours ago, I’d been sure I was about to lose everything, maybe even my life. Instead, a tall, dark-eyed man with a big bushy beard and muscles on his muscles had walked in, saving my family, me, and our business. And I’d sensed, the moment I saw him, that if given a chance, I would sleep with him. I’d long since abandoned any sense of modesty and it had nothing to do with morality. I’d simply decided my virginity, and the man I gave that to, was one thing I had control over. I refused to give it up until it was under my terms, and Axel checked off every criterion I’d subconsciously put on my mental list.
Handsome.
Strong.
Mysterious.
Not from Vinake.
I got out and dried off, wrapping myself in a fluffy white towel. I put my hair in a ponytail and brushed my teeth with my finger, using a travel-size tube of toothpaste I found on the counter. I washed my panties in the sink, leaving them to dry on the shower door. I could sleep in a hospital gown and by morning my panties would be dry. For some reason, that made me feel better, even if I’d be putting on the same unwashed clothes in the morning.
I found a hospital gown on the bathroom shelf, along with a pair of socks, and I slipped them on to walk around.
“Hey.” Kostya’s voice startled me and I looked up.
“Hi. How are you feeling?”
“Not too bad. Mama called, told me everything. You’re all right?”
“Aside from the fact that we’ve just lost everything? That our home, our business and everything we own is gone? I’m good.” I sat on the chair beside his bed.
“We’ll figure something out,” he said softly. “I can get work in Ferdinbrag and Mama can probably help Mrs. Freela at the bakery. Once I’m settled in Ferdinbrag, maybe I can find you a job as a nanny or—”
“Stop.” I held up a hand. “I’m not going to be a damn nanny. If anything, I’ll go to Hiskale and get a regular job. Prince Sandor has promised to help and I’ll ask him for a loan so I can get a room somewhere until I’m settled. I’m not staying here, Kostya.”
“You know Mama will have a heart attack if you say you’re moving to the big city on your own.”
“I’m not a child,” I said. “And I’m tired of this life.”
“One of us has to help Mama and Papa, and if you leave, that means me.” His eyes met mine.
“If we go to Hiskale together, and get jobs, we can send for them. I looked online and they’re desperate for help in the city. Teachers, police, even the military. You wanted to join before and this would be the perfect time.” Military service was mandatory for men in Limaj, though deferments for those who went to college or had to help with family businesses were common in the northern part of the country.
“Now?” He motioned to his bruised and bandaged body.
“In six months, you’ll be good as new, and you’ll have the winter to get back into shape. By next summer, you’ll be ready to join.”
“That means you take care of Mama and Papa.”