He lowers his head to kiss me briefly, and I kiss him back.
“Go to sleep, princess.”
I close my eyes but don’t sleep for a while. Neither does he.
But I drift off eventually with thoughts of tonight weighing on my mind.
* * *
I’m woken the next morning by the light shake of my shoulders.
When I open my eyes and find Aleksander looming over me, I sit up straightaway and pull the sheets closer even though I’m wearing clothes.
Mikhail isn’t here. It’s just Aleksander and me in the room.
He straightens and gives me that look of disgust I’m now accustomed to. Probably because I found my way into the place he told me not to visit.
“You have a visitor, Miss Alvarez,” he informs me.
I give him a narrowed look. “Me? Is it Sophia or the seamstress?”
“José Diaz.”
Oh my God in heaven! José. I get to see him.
I jump off the bed not caring what I’m wearing.
“Mr. Dmitriyev has allowed you fifteen minutes with him. He’s out on the terrace waiting for you,” he adds.
“Thank you.”
I rush out of the room and head down the hallway I came up last night so I can grab my coat from the room.
When I do, I run outside to the terrace. I have to hold back tears when I see José standing by the balcony waiting for me.
I try to hold them back but fail, and I become that little girl I was years ago when I first met him as I rush into his arms.
He holds me, and for the first time, I truly appreciate the fatherly warmth he shows me.
“Mija,” he mutters, holding me closer.
Aware of the presence of guards, he pulls away and glances nervously over my shoulder.
I look, too, and that’s when I notice Mikhail standing in the hallway inside the house.
He gives us a nod and walks away. This is because of what I did last night.
It has to be. Whatever the reason, it’s what I need right now.
“We don’t have much time,” José reminds me. “Let’s sit over here.”
We sit side by side on the little bench, and I feel like eons have passed since we last saw each other.
Where we sit is private enough to talk, but we still have to be careful.
“Are you safe, my dear?” he asks.
I nod. “Yes.”
