Page 23 of The Darkness is Calling

“Both.”

But my frustration is too great for me to hold back, and my patience goes straight to hell in a single second as I explode with anger.

“You know what? They’re not the problem. The problem is everything happening to me. Why do all men have to be bastards who expect a woman to be nothing more than a silent little doll? To keep quiet in public and pretend she’s having an orgasm when he doesn’t even know where to touch her, just to boost his overinflated self-esteem? I am sick of being looked down on by brainless animals while I am trying to live my life the way I want. I am twenty-six years old, and the world still thinks it has the right to tell me what to do and control my every move.”

Filled with anger, I begin searching through the room during my frustration-fueled speech.

“And here I am, living in the same house with three men who look like they were torn straight out of fashion magazines, but who also seem to be searching for the most unique way to get rid of me. Probably one that makes sure no one ever finds my body again...”

I freeze with my hand tucked beneath the edge of the bed, right where it joins the metal leg.

“Motherfucker,” I hiss, ripping the small device stuck there and staring at it in my palm.

I clench my teeth and feel the hair rise along the back of my neck.

“All I heard was that the three of them look like they were torn out of magazines,” Oksana says with a dreamy voice. “Are they that hot?”

“Oksana! That is not the point!” I say quickly. “They’re all the same.”

“Beautiful? Send me the address. I’ll come to comfort you.”

I roll my eyes and growl out loud, but I don’t stop my current search.

Meanwhile, she sighs.

“Katya, I get it. Your father was a man with many enemies, and now those enemies may hurt you too. A lot of awful things have been happening in your life lately, and you’ll get through them because you’re strong. But look on the bright side. You’re living in the same house with three gorgeous men.”

And I do look at the bright side.

More precisely, at the palm of my hand, in the form of another microphone I find this time beneath the lamp.

So predictable... it almost disappoints me.

“I’m going to kill them,” I hiss quietly through clenched teeth.

“Come on, don’t be so dramatic. They haven’t done anything to you. You’re there because, apparently, they’re the most capable of taking care of you.”

All at once, her voice changes, now loaded with seduction and enthusiasm.

“Or do they want to take care of you in another way? Katya? Am I sensing a reverse harem? You know I love that stuff, even if I’ve never tried it. Swear you’ll tell me what it’s like.”

“Oksana, you are not helping at all!” I raise my voice, irritated by the madness running through her head. “What on earth are you talking about? Don’t forget I’m engaged.”

“But you don’t love him.”

I squeeze my eyes shut and sigh.

“Don’t say that ever again.” My voice is more serious than ever.

“I don’t understand why you’re still going through with this. It was your father’s promise, but he’s dead, Katya. Break the engagement, because this whole thing is making you miserable.”

“I can’t do that,” I say with a sadness I still manage to keep restrained, while anger boils inside me at the thought that I am being forced to move forward with an arranged marriage I no longer want. “I promised my father I would see through the agreement he made in the family’s name. Besides, we both know very well what the consequences would be if I changed my mind.”

She curses in Russian, and I curse in English, but I stop abruptly when I find another microphone, this time behind the dresser.

“Fucking hell… How many more are there?”

I am mostly talking to myself, but she answers me anyway.