Bound by Vengeance (Born in Blood Mafia Chronicles #5)(20)

“You are awake,” he said in a low voice. He’d never raised his voice the few times I’d heard him speak but his words carried enough power anyway.

I huffed at his statement but didn’t say anymore. The pressure on my bladder was growing close to unbearable. Behind Growl, two massive dogs appeared. They only reached his knees but considering Growl’s stature, that was more than a little intimidating. What was worse: they were panting and giving me a good look at their sharp teeth. They were definitely some kind of fight dogs. And judging by the scars on their faces and the rip in the ear of the black one, they’d fought a few battles. Growl put a backpack I hadn’t noticed before down on the ground between us. “I got a few things for you from your house.”

My house. I tried to conjure up an image of my cozy, beautiful home but images from last night were all I could come up with, and I’d rather not remember my house at all than like that. I stepped forward. “Did you see my mother and sister? How are they?”

Growl frowned. “No. They aren’t my concern.”

“But you must know something, anything. What did Falcone tell you before you came to our house?”

“I didn’t ask Falcone what his plans were. You shouldn’t ask so many questions. I don’t have the answers,” he said merely and was about to turn around.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” I babbled. I felt ashamed that I had to ask someone if I was allowed to go to the bathroom.

Growl paused, frown deepening. “Then why didn’t you go?”

I almost laughed. “Because I don’t know where it is and I thought I was supposed to stay in the room.”

“You can walk around the house whenever you want. I won’t lock you into your room. You aren’t a child.”

“Only a prisoner.”

One of his dark-brown brows twitched but I couldn’t link the reaction with an emotion. I didn’t know him well enough. And I doubted anyone knew him like that. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if he was capable of emotions at all, or if his facial expressions weren’t just his body’s natural reaction to outward influences or something he’d learned to imitate from being around other people.

When the silence became unbearable, I asked. “So I can leave if I want to?”

Growl’s amber eyes pierced me to the core. “You can try,” he rumbled. “But I will find you no matter where you go. I will follow you to the end of the world.”

“How romantic,” I whispered with false bravado.

“You are mine.”

“Stop saying that,” I snapped. I was so tired of him reminding me of it. I wanted to hit him hard for the hint of smugness and pride that had crossed his face when he’d said I was his.

“Are you done?” he asked emotionless. “Come on.” He turned without waiting for my reaction. I couldn’t believe him. I grabbed the backpack from the ground and was about to follow when I saw the dogs standing in the hallway in front of the room. I jerked to a stop. They both watched me calmly but with definite interest. My pulse picked up again. And I’d thought I was too tired to be afraid anymore. Definitely not.

“They won’t hurt you. They are good dogs,” Growl said, waiting for me down the narrow corridor. I wasn’t sure but I thought I heard a hint of amusement in his voice.

“They don’t look like good dogs,” I said hesitantly as I crept closer to them.

“Don’t judge things by their looks. It’s deceiving.”

My back against the wall, I walked past the dogs. They followed me slowly, their keen eyes never straying from me.

My gaze wandered over Growl. His tattoos and scars. “Sometimes the outside and the inside match,” I said quietly.

His expression shifted but again I had no chance of knowing what was going on in his head. At least he’d caught my hint, so he wasn’t as ignorant as some people considered him to be.

He pointed at a door. “That’s the bathroom.”

“There’s only one?” I asked, and then almost cringed at how that made me sound.

“This is your life now, better get used to it,” he said.

I rushed into the bathroom and locked the door, feeling a flood of satisfaction at having that sliver of control if only for a moment. I ignored the worry that Growl might be lingering in front of the door and listening to whatever I did, and went to the toilet. He’d heard and seen worse, no doubt. But I made sure to hurry and was glad when I was done.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror over the washbasin when I washed my hands and almost recoiled from my own reflection. My hair was a wild mess and mascara smudged the skin around my eyes from crying, but worst of all was how pale my face was and how hollow my eyes looked. Only one day and not only my life had changed but my body too.

I didn’t want to imagine how much worse I’d be off in a few weeks or months. I didn’t want to imagine having to live through that many days with Growl as my captor. I took a deep breath and turned the water to cold, then splashed my face with it until I felt more like myself. I tried to forget where I was for the moment, tried to let familiar motions take over my body. When I peered into Growl’s bathroom cabinets for a toothbrush, I was greeted by the same emptiness that I’d encountered elsewhere in the house. There was a toothbrush and toothpaste, a razor, and deodorant. No perfume or other bodycare products. I put some toothpaste on my forefinger and used it to brush my teeth.