Hidden Monsters (Volkov Bratva #4)(36)

“Yeah.”

That was it. That was all he said. “How long have you lived here?”

“Three years, give or take.” He shrugged, turning toward the stove as he lifted a lid and glanced in.

She decided to ignore his bad mood, going over to a window and peering out, trying to gauge where they were in the city, but there was only darkness and trees, nothing more she could make out.

Apparently, he lived in the middle of nowhere.

“Where are we?”

He faced her, folding his arms across his chest. He wasn’t relaxed, not in the slightest, though he tried very hard to make it seem like he was. Alex couldn’t explain it, the way he was trying to look non-threatening, how he was so careful with his movements, but there was something about the way he was acting that bothered her.

Ignoring her question, he asked one of his own. “Do you know where I found you last night?”

The only thing she knew for sure was that she had been with Snow, but she didn’t know if she had left that place because it wouldn’t have made sense that Luka found her there, not when he hadn’t even known where she’d gone.

“Did I call you to pick me up or something? If I did, sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your night.”

What day of the week was it? Was that why he was acting so weird, because she had interrupted one of his weekly sessions?

He didn’t respond for a long time, his attention focused back on what he was making on the stove. Sensing that something was troubling him—and not wanting to get into it with him about Snow—Alex left him to it, looking at the dog that was still studiously by her side, watching her as though he were the one trying to figure her out.

Besides being kind of massive, the beast actually seemed rather friendly, and when she stuck out her hand to pet him again, she smiled when he practically forced her to pet him. Even when she pulled her hand away, he pushed his head right back under, looking up at her with big eyes.

She had never owned a pet, not that she had given them much thought with how busy she was, even during her childhood, so the likelihood of it being cared for the way it should have was slim. But the thought of having a companion did make her feel like she had missed out on something that could have potentially been fun.

Judging from the sheer size of this one, Luka must have had him for a long time.

“You didn’t have to call me, Alex.”

“Then why were you there?”

This didn’t make sense to her, not in the slightest. She was sure she had never mentioned Snow to anyone, so there was no way he could have known about that, at least not from her. The only other scenario she could think of was that Mishca might have had her followed, but if he had, he would have told her about it at the very least.

“I had a drop—your brother’s orders, by the way. Got there, saw you, and you were ready to leave, so you left with me.”

That didn’t sound nearly plausible…or was it?

Shit, she couldn’t remember anything.

“There’ll be plenty of time to talk while we eat. So, make yourself at home.”

He made the comment offhandedly, as though he weren’t paying attention to their conversation anymore, and not knowing what was eating at him—only knowing that something was brewing beneath the surface—she didn’t push it. Climbing up on one of the barstools, her toes barely reaching the floor, she drummed her fingers on the surface of the counter, waiting for him to finish, and maybe then he would be ready to talk.

It didn’t take long, and she wasn’t sure how long he had actually been doing this, but once the burners were off and he had two plates ladened with food, he nodded his head in the direction of the stairs, indicating for her to follow him back up to the room she had woken up in.

Now that she at least knew where she was, she finally asked, “Is this your room or a guest room?”

If it was a guest room, then that would explain why he hadn’t really decorated or even put forth any effort into it. There wasn’t even a proper bed.

“Mine.”

While there was something peculiar about the way he was acting, she still willingly entered his room, sitting back on the mattress since there were no chairs in the room…or anything else, for that matter.

He handed her a plate, then a knife and fork, taking his own seat across from her, but as he closed the door before he came over, she couldn’t help but notice that the door didn’t lock from the inside.

On her plate, the food looked amazing. Fish with a mustard sauce on a bed of wilted kale and a side of asparagus. She had never gotten to personally benefit from his talents, but Lauren had told her all about it. And tonight, she was definitely benefiting, even if she wasn’t all that hungry.

Stabbing a piece of asparagus, she twirled the fork in her hand. “Are you going to finally tell me what’s up, or do I need to guess?”

“Answer one question for me.”

“Sure.”

“What are you on?”

Her pulse raced, even as she looked away from his probing gaze. “What are you talking about?”

“I’m not going to lie. This shit could have been over had I really paid attention—that’s my bad. I thought you were just drunk off your ass. I didn’t like it, the drinking until your senses were impaired, but what the f*ck could I say? I had no claim on you, and you made it pretty clear you weren’t going to be reasonable about anything I asked of you.