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"Can I ask you something?"
My heart throbbed with fear. This seemed like a really bad idea, but curiosity overpowered the fear running through my veins.
He tilted his head to the side, dark amusement spread over his face. "I'm listening..."
I didn't want to believe that Nikolai was that person. That he killed or whatever the mob bosses do but some part of me always got nervous around his dark aura. There was something about his eyes that told me that everything I read on the internet and what my friends told me might be true.
I opened my mouth and then contemplated what I should ask first. Are you a mob boss? Is that what I should ask? Or people told me who you are and that you kill people for a living... that sounds wrong and mean, so, I settled for the first question.
"What is a Mafia?" I asked.
He chuckled, darkly and lowly. "Why do you want to know?"
Nikolai rarely laughed but whenever he did, it sent chills down my spine.
"My friends... said something about you... They said you... they said that you kill people..." I managed to say, taking breaks after a few words.
My breath got caught in my throat as I waited for his answer. I wanted him to deny it, I wanted him to tell me that they were lying. I wanted him to tell me that he was a good man. I mean, if he wasn't a good man why would he take me in after my parent's death and take care of me like he has? He listens to me and takes care of my every need. The only reason I was attending a real college was because of him. He didn't even cage me like my father had done. He had done nothing to me that proves that he is a bad person.
Please, deny, Nikolai, please...
I really thought of Nikolai as Prince Charming from Cinderella but that fantasy got crushed when I heard his brusque voice again.
"Come here, Evangeline" he ordered.
For the first time, I didn't listen to him. I stayed rooted in my spot, waiting for him to tell me the truth. Each passing second felt like an hour, the air around us turned suffocating as it all felt like the calm before the storm.
"Evangeline..." his voice commanding with a hint of anger. "I said, come here."
I shook my head, looking at him with accusing eyes. There was an unknown weight over my chest, that seemed to suffocate me. I wanted to run out of this library and breathe in the fresh air, filling my lungs with it until I'm satisfied.
I swallowed as his expression turned darker and a muscle twitched in his jaw. He stood up from his chair and I took a sudden step back bumping into the bookshelf behind me.
He shook his head like he was disappointed in me for some reason like I have done something wrong. Or maybe I have, maybe I have accused him of killing people. I trusted other people when I should have trusted him.
