Mafia Men: Nikolai's Inferno novel Chapter 7

•Evangeline•

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"You are free to do whatever you want," Bianca told me.

My mouth fell open and I was out of words. I didn't know how to react. No one had ever said those words to me. Hearing her words, I brightened up a little despite still mourning my parents' death.

I was free to do whatever I wanted...

When I was locked up in my room I used to think about all the things I'd do when I'd get out of there. Now that I had the chance, I had no idea what I wanted to do first. I looked around, taking it all in.

I have been living here at my dad's friend's house for four days now and everything has been so surreal. I have never lived this life before, there is a single lock on the door that is for me not for anyone to lock me inside.

I don't really have anything to do, I roam the gardens in the morning just like I always wanted to, it was nice to feel the sunlight on my skin. There is a huge library in the house, it has so many kinds of books, the kind of books I have never seen before or read about.

But I still didn't want to stay here, I wanted to go back to my home. I wanted to live my life independently now, maybe go to college and get a job or something.

Suddenly it felt like I had so much to do in so little time!

I jumped up in Bianca's arms. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you so much!"

She laughed and hugged me back. "You should thank Nikolai"

I pulled back, my stomach sank just as his name slipped from Bianca's mouth. For some reason, he intimidates me... he intimidates me a lot. Maybe, he just had the kind of personality that scares people. He is dark and brooding and his eyes are murderous. His eyes scare me the most.

"I will when I'll see him..." I replied, fumbling with my fingers.

"Now, I need to go back to my place, my boyfriend is going crazy without me" she laughed. "You sure you will be fine, kid?"

I nodded eagerly. "Mhmm..."

The last thing I needed was more supervision.

Giving me one last short hug, she walked out of the room. My stomach grumbled, and I realized I hadn't had lunch today. I descended the stairs and went to the kitchen.

I hadn't seen many kitchens in my life before but I know this kitchen is something out of the ordinary. It was huge and all day long, the kitchen staff was available if a person needed anything. Even if I asked for the weirdest meal on the earth, they would somehow make it for me but I wasn't going to ask for it. Right now I just needed a snack.

"What would you like, ma'am?" the elderly woman asked.

"Um, do you have a bag of potato chips?"

The entire kitchen staff looked at me as if I have grown two heads. Suddenly, they all dispersed and started to rummage through the cabinets, they all seemed alarmed.

"It's okay if you don't... I'll have a sandwich instead"

They let out a breath of relief and whipped up a sandwich for me in under ten minutes.

"I'm so sorry for the chips, ma'am. We'll have them in the kitchen by tomorrow"

I smiled. "It's fine..."

With my sandwich in one hand and a drink in the other, I went straight to the library. I pushed open the door and set my sandwich and the drink on a table, the table was perfectly set by a very comfortable armchair.

I started searching for the perfect book to pass my time. I needed another activity, tonight when I'll go to Nikolai to thank him. I'll ask him if I can go back to my house, so, I could finally start my life.

I finally found a good book and went to settle on the armchair. I started reading as I ate my sandwich.

I was almost ten pages into my book when the library's door clicked open. My attention shifted towards the door as two men entered. They were talking among themselves, they hadn't noticed me yet. My gaze followed them as they walked further in.

Then I noticed that one of those men was Nikolai, he was the one who was walking ahead while the other one followed. They disappeared from my sight and went to the back. Although the nosy part of me wanted to go see what they were doing but the cautious side of me stopped me.

Shaking my head, I shifted my attention back to my book but my focus has been lost now. I was more concerned with the presence in the library than my book. A few seconds later, I heard the footsteps coming back from wherever they went.

I moved around in my seat as nervousness crept up, what if he saw me here and got mad at me?

When they appeared in my eyeshot again only then did they notice me. Nikolai halted and then a frown appeared on his forehead.

Uh oh! He's mad, isn't he? I think he is.

He looked at me the same way as before like I was an odd creature out of this world and he was appalled by my presence.

A whistle came from behind him and my gaze went to the man in the back. He seemed to be in his late twenties with dark black hair, green eyes, and a slight smirk over his face.

The man behind Nikolai appraised me up and down and then his eyes settled on my bare legs, where they lingered. Uncomfortable under the scrutiny of their gaze, I shifted in my seat. I tugged my dress down to hide my legs. The dress was short, almost every single dress Bianca has bought for me was quite short. They all ended over my mid-thigh, leaving most of my legs bare.

Nikolai put his hands in his pockets and strolled toward me. He stopped when he was at the foot of the couch. I slightly pulled my legs more into myself, so they won't touch him.