It felt like I was losing my mind as I scanned the room, but couldn’t see Zhen. How could she have just left without a word? I walked through the people in disbelief. Heading to a quiet corner, I pulled out my phone and dialed her number.
It rang and rang. After a minute or so, the call ended. I tried again and again several times. But she didn’t answer. Cursing under my breath, I tried once more. I didn’t want to give up. She had to understand that this wasn’t how professionals behaved.
If there had been an emergency, she should have told me. My anger had almost risen to a point of rage. I wanted to smash something. Not answering was worse than leaving without a goodbye.
As I was about to hang up, she answered. There was a second of silence before her voice came through. My anger instantly turned to worry as I heard her shaky tone.
“Yes…, what…, what do you want?”
She was breathing in and out fast and hard. For a brief moment, I felt suspended in fear. Everything I had planned to say, to preach to her, flew out the window.
“What’s wrong? What happened? Where are you? Are you okay?” I asked hurriedly.
My mind was flooded with all kinds of questions and images after all we’d been through not long ago. I heard her whimpering, which made me realize she was on the verge of tears. Something was very wrong.
She didn’t respond, so I asked again.” Zhen, are you okay?”
I listened as she mumbled, but I couldn’t make out what she was saying. “Zhen!” I huffed as fear crept into my mind. What had happened to her? Why was she in such a state? If they hurt her, I would go on a killing spree until I found the person responsible, I told myself.
“I’m…,” she started saying, then breathed in hard. “I’m not sure.”
This answer wasn’t comforting. It only made me more agitated. “Where are you? Let me come to you,” I asked half pleadingly.
“Home,” I heard her saying through her sobs. “I’m… home.”
I was glad I could hear her even though she was crying frantically. “I’m coming, stay put, I’ll be right there,” I replied, hoping she heard me through her crying. “Stay on the line, don’t hang up, okay?”
Heading out to my truck, I listened as there was a loud thump noise. “Zhen?” I called out as I placed the phone in the dash bracket. Pulling out, I floored the gas. I had to get to her quickly. “Zhen, hang on, I’m coming.” I could still hear her sobbing, but it sounded further away.
I sped through red lights and skipped stop signs. The city view passed by me in a solid blur. Pulling into the condo parking, I barely stopped before jumping out. I had to ensure she was safe. My heart was pounding in my chest. It felt like it was going to crush my lungs, but I kept going.
Taking the steps two at a time, I quickly got to her door. Raising my hand to bang on the door, I stopped mid-air. Glancing around, I took a deep breath. I knocked twice. The sound echoed through the hallway. I hoped no one had heard.
I heard a shuffling on the other side of the door, and then the lock turned. The door opened, and Zhen stood there with a bat in her hands, held up high. She was ready to swing. Raising my hands in a gesture of surrender, I spoke softly. “Hey, it’s me.”
She looked like hell. Her hair was hanging in messy strands down the sides of her face. Her face was white as a sheet, but her cheeks glowed red, and her breathing was shallow. Brown streaks ran down the middle of it from all the crying. I noticed her eyes were bloodshot as they once again filled with tears.
Zhen let out a small whimper as she barreled forward into me. I heard the bat clanking as it hit the ground and wrapped my arms around her. She was clutching at the material of my shirt on my chest, letting out soft sobs. I could feel her body trembling.
Stepping inside with her, I closed the door behind us and exhaled loudly. I have never been so relieved to see someone as safe as I was at that moment. I tried to pull her head back so I could look into her eyes, but she forcefully buried it back into my chest.
“Thank you,” I heard her breathing out against my chest. Zhen took a couple of deep breaths, calming her tears slightly. I had so many questions about what had happened, but I wanted her to be calm first.
I had never been inside her place. The last time I was here, I only got as far as the door. The entrance was small, but on one side was a small table and a coat stand. Before me, the place opened to the condo through an archway. I could see half of the kitchen and half of the lounge from where we were standing.
“Come on now,” I said, pulling her back gently. “You’re safe now, I’m here.”
Zhen looked up, giving me a tired smile before nodding. I picked up the bat and placed it on the small table. “Let’s have some tea,” I added, placing my arm around her middle.
We walked through the archway. I could now see the entire place. There were two closed doors to the left on the other side of the lounge. To our right was the kitchen and breakfast nook.
Zhen walked around the counter and filled the kettle. I was burning to know what happened, but I waited for her to be ready to tell me. I wasn’t going to push. I wanted her to open up to me on her own time.
She opened a cupboard above the kettle and took out two cups. As she placed them on the counter, her tears started again. Zhen covered her face with her hands as her body started shaking again from sobbing.
Moving around the counter, I pulled her back into my arms. “It’s okay, I’m here,” I whispered, rubbing her back. Trying to stay calm, I decided to ask. “Can you tell me what happened? Why did you leave the party?”
I waited as she took another couple of deep breaths. Her breathing was more irregular, though. “Zhen,” I said softly. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. I’m here for you.”
Holding her tightly, I could feel her body starting to relax as her sobs faded. She took my hand and led me to the lounge. She flopped down on the couch, wiping her eyes before tapping the seat next to her.
I sat down and took her hands in mine. Squeezing them tenderly, I prompted her again. “You know you can tell me anything. I care for you and will do what I can to keep you safe.”
She looked up, and our eyes met. There was something there, but I couldn’t figure out what. “At the party,” she started saying, then took another deep breath. “I was looking for you. Then I saw you with that woman…”
“Zhen,” I said, feeling guilty as I realized where she was going with this.
“No, wait,” she huffed. “Let me finish before you say anything.”
Nodding, I waited as she inhaled slowly. “I think I was jealous and a little angry, so I left. I decided to walk home as it wasn’t that far. But about halfway, I noticed a man following me.”
As her words sank in, I felt my blood starting to boil. Not again, I thought. They were my enemies. Why were they harassing her? I was unknowingly placing her in danger. I had to make this stop!
I got up quickly as I wanted to call Alexandr and let him know we needed to act. But Zhen grabbed my hand and pulled me back down. Snapping out of my anger fit, I looked at her, realizing she wasn’t done. “Sorry,” I mumbled as I settled back in and held her hands again.
“Luckily, I noticed the gun in his hands and started running. He shot at me but missed, and now here we are,” she lightly touched her ear as she spoke. And then I saw the mark the bullet had left.
“He shot you?” I asked, hearing my tone rising. Reaching out, I softly touched the dried blood on the rim of her ear. My heart was pounding like a raging bull, and my chest felt tight. Pulling her into my arms, I spoke softly. “I’m glad you’re alive. I will take care of this.”
Guilt and anger flooded every inch of me. I wondered which of our enemies was so cowardly to come at her instead of directly at me. The only ones I could think of that would maybe do things this way were the Aslanovs. They must have realized I was the one that screwed with their alliance.
They must have been following me and watching. Realizing I cared for Zhen, they most likely decided to get back at me. But even so, this wasn’t the way we handled business. This complicated things slightly, but I would find a way to ensure her safety.
Pushing these thoughts to the side for now, I focused on what she needed. “Zhen,” I said, lifting her head. “I can assure you that the woman means nothing to me. I have no interest in her. She is a college, nothing more.” I hoped my tone conveyed the sincerity I felt, and I hoped it would reassure her.
But I saw the flicker of doubt in her eyes as she looked at me skeptically. Grinning, I continued. “I promise you I haven’t been with anyone else since meeting you. You have something special.”
Zhen glanced away, but I saw the blush spreading across her cheeks. Her luscious lips pulled up as she smiled. I was pleased to see her relaxing.
Glancing at me, she spoke in a soft tone. “Will you stay the night?”
I nodded without having to think twice. “Yes, I will stay with you,” I replied.
Getting up, she smiled at me. “I’ll be right back,” she said as she walked to one of the closed doors. I watched her as she went into what looked like a bathroom. She came out looking refreshed.
“A movie and hot cocoa?” she asked as she came past me, heading to the kitchen.
“That sounds nice,” I replied, getting up.
Looking around, I saw several photos of her and two other women arranged on the bookshelf. I wondered if it was her sisters. I realized I didn’t know much about her. There were a variety of books, but most appeared to be about business and marketing. There were one or two crime books and a couple of suspense fantasies as well.
These weren’t the kind of books I would have imagined her reading. I found it alluring. Zhen cleared her throat as she came back with two hot cups of cocoa. Taking the cups, I placed them on the small table before the couch.
“Are you feeling better?” I asked as we sat down.
She smiled at me as she picked up the remote and cuddled into my arm. “Yes, I am,” she replied. “What would you like to watch?”
Surprise me,” I replied, hugging her.
She scrolled through a list of movies for a bit before selecting one and pressing play. I felt her relaxing towards me as we started watching. My attention was so focused on her that I didn’t even notice what movies she had put on. I didn’t care much about movies, but I would watch anything with her.
Glancing at the screen, I saw that she had put on a cartoon movie. I smiled as I spoke, “You know,” Zhen looked up at me. “You are weird, but so cute. You’re like this crazy little package of jumping beans.”
She frowned, looking slightly confused. Using my thumb, I softly rubbed her frown, wanting her to relax her face. Pulling back, she spoke softly. “What do you mean I’m cute but weird? I can only be the one or the other, not both!”
Placing my hand on her cheek, I smiled at her as I responded. “You can be both silly. I called you weird as you selected a cartoon out of millions of movies…”
Zhen opened her mouth to speak, but before she could get a syllable out, I placed my hand over her mouth. “I’m not done,” I said. “The reason I think you’re cute is because you know we are adults, and yet, you chose to watch a cartoon.”
She kissed my fingers, making me pull my hand back. “It’s soothing,” she huffed, settling back into my shoulder.
The movie was about halfway through when I felt her getting heavier. I was glad that she would be able to sleep. “Hey,” I whispered, lifting her head. “Lay on my lap. It will be more comfortable.”
By the time the movie was finished, she was fast asleep. Sliding out from under her, I used one of the couch pillows to prop under her head. I pulled the blanket over the back of the couch to cover her.
I stood for a moment, looking at her sleeping. Moving to the kitchen, I called Alexandr. “Akim, it’s late. What’s wrong?” I heard him say as soon as he picked up.
At first, I didn’t know what to say. I stood staring at her. She looked so peaceful. I wasn’t sure what to do. I had to do something, but couldn’t get them involved yet.
“Akim?” I heard Aleksandr saying again. This time, his voice boomed through the phone.
“I’m sorry,” I mumbled. “Sorry, brother, I’m not sure why I called. I think I’m just overworked and tired. Sorry, good night.” I hung up before he could reply.
What was I thinking? I have no details about the people after us. And knowing my brother, he will be pissed knowing my instincts were blocked by feeling. He always preached that we needed a clear mind to get things done. With these feelings, I was sure to do things half-assed. I would cause more trouble than I would solve.
Walking back to the couch, I sat down on the floor before her. As I spoke, I placed my arm over her, caressing her hair with the other. “I promise I will ensure no one ever lays a hand on you.” Leaning forward, I kissed her forehead. I lowered my head to my hands, staring at her. “I will stay with you as long as you need me,” I whispered.
