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Leah POV

"Sorry."

Vlado frowned when I sucked in a sharp breath as he cleaned the cuts on my cheek. He stood between my legs as I sat on the bathroom counter.

As soon as Romero and Theo forced a wailing and kicking Amelia out the kitchen, Vlado immediately grabbed a first aid kit and led me to the closest bathroom, determined to clean my cuts.

"It's ok," I mumbled, putting all my attention on steadying my breathing. His face was so close to mine, I thought I was going to go into cardiac arrest.

Vlado reached over into the first aid box, pulling out some band-aids. "You handled yourself well with Amelia."

I looked at him with a smile. "You know that first hand."

He laughed, his minty breath fanning lightly on my face. "Don't remind me. Theo won't let me hear the end of it. He says it reminds him of George McFly punching Biff. That man watches too many movies."

I laughed softly, careful not to breathe in his face. I had no idea what my breath smelt like, and I was not going to risk it right now.

Vlado looked at me for a second, like in admiration, before he quickly tore away his gaze. "You've always been a fighter, haven't you?"

I scoffed, leaning into his hand lightly. "Obviously not. Have you already forgotten about Lucas? I would have left him way earlier if I actually had the guts."

A gentle smile graced his face, and his fingers brushed against my cheeks, carefully avoiding any cuts. "You did eventually. That's what matters."

My heart swelled. I tried to think of something, anything to prove that he was lying or trying to trick me, but his eyes bore into mine intensely. And every thought flew out of my mind.

I flung my arms around Vlado, catching him by surprise. He quickly wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his firm chest.

"Thank you," I whispered as I pulled back slightly. Vlado held firm, staring right into my eyes in a way that had my heart beating out of my chest. My tongue darted out to kiss my lips, and his eyes followed the movement.

Maybe it was the adrenaline rush or the sudden surge of confidence, but whatever it was, I found myself leaning in. The feeling shattered into a million pieces when I noticed Vlado leaning back. My pain must have been obvious, because he immediately tried to comfort me. "I'm sorry, I just think the adrenaline from Amelia and everything--"

I threw myself back instantly, avoiding eye contact at all costs. "It's fine, you can just say you don't want to, we're both adults."

Vlado frowned but moved on. "I have some work to do, so you'll have to spend some time with the others."

I didn't waste a second and agreed, hopping off the counter quickly and bolting out of the bathroom. As soon as I was out of sight, I smacked myself on the forehead. What the fuck was I thinking? I'm going to be regretting that for the rest of my life.

I bee-lined for my room with Mary and sunk into my bed, cringing as the moment replayed in my head over and over and over.

Kill me now.

* * * * * * * *

It had been a few days since I had a proper conversation with Vlado. Whenever we were in the same room, he left almost immediately, and I felt awful. Had I made things so awkward that he couldn't stand being in the same room as me?

I had been spending the days cleaning vigorously that there was nothing else to do, so when the others suggested a movie, and I joined them. A movie is the perfect distraction.

"This movie is shit," Theo drawled, throwing a piece of popcorn into the air, but it bounced off his chin and onto the floor.

Clarke rolled her eyes, her arm swinging on the couch from behind Mary. "So is your aim."

He turned around in a flash, glaring at her. "So is your face."

Mary laughed. "That's your best insult? You sound like a 7-year-old."

Theo could only glare as we laughed, but it all went silent when the door swung open. Vlado strode in and grabbed the remote, turning off the TV. Theo groaned, but he shut him up with a withering stare. "You all have things to do, so go do them." His gaze fell to me. "Not you though, Leah, come with me."

I looked at the others warily before I stood, following Vlado through the door. "What is it?"

He took my hand in his, leading me through the house. "I have something to show you, amore."

My cheeks flush. How can he say stuff like that but not kiss me? He is so confusing. But right now, I didn't care, I just stared down at our joined hands with a small grin. There it was again--excitement and confusion.

His hands were red, with tiny cuts littered around his knuckles. It didn't take much thinking to figure out where he got them from.

Vlado stopped at the big, scary, metal door. There were a lot of bad memories tied with that door, but I didn't seem to care, because I had Vlado right beside me.

He opened the door for me, letting me go through and started walking down the stairs behind me. His hand rested on the small of my back, leading me forward. "Romero and I...had a chat, with Amelia, and she told us some interesting information."

Vlado was a man of few words, and I looked up at him incredulously. "Must have been a fun chat." He smiled knowingly and continued leading me down the stairs.

Memories flashed through my mind, of a younger, more scared me watching the man next to me torture a man with the very hands holding mine. At the time, it was terrifying, but after learning everything, I understood what he was doing, and why he was doing it. And I found myself not minding at all.

He finally stopped, and we stood in front of a dull door. I took a deep breath, bracing myself for what I was about to see.

Vlado went through first, holding me behind him so I couldn't see over him. I rolled my eyes and pushed past him, stopping when I saw two people tied to chairs in front of me, two people I used to consider friends.

"Rowan..." I was shocked to see him down here. Bound and gagged, he was dripping in his blood, but still managed to glare at Vlado and me. Of course, Amelia sat near him, with a lot of extra bruises, which was definitely courtesy of Vlado, and I grinned. "Amelia."

Warmth spread across my back, and I refused to let myself sink into his touch. "Amelia and Rowan work for Lucas," he whispered by my ear. "They've been learning what I'm doing and communicating it back to him."

"What are you going to do to them?"

His lips brushed against my ear , twisted into a sinister smile, and my stomach knotted. "You don't need to worry about that."

He led me out of the room, ignoring the grunts and muffled yells behind us. We stopped at the top of the stairs and he took my hands. "With a little more convincing, they will give up Luca's location, and I'll make sure he suffers. I promise you."

I smiled. "I know you will."

Vlado grinned and led me back to the others watching another movie. "Tomorrow, Romero is taking everyone searching around, and Clarke is going to check on some things. So that leaves me to look after you."

"Don't sound so excited."

He rolled his eyes, but he smiled nevertheless. "Anyways, shouldn't I be cleaning? That is my job, just in case you forgot."

He leaned closer with an amused smirk. "Tomorrow will be an exception. I'm only staying to get more from the traitors."

"Can I join you?"

Vlado raised an eyebrow. "You think I'm going to let you join me in torturing people."

"Yes."

"Wrong," he scoffed, "you aren't going anywhere near them."

"Why not?"

Vlado took my hand and brought it to his mouth. My heart fluttered when he kissed the back of my hand gently, all while keeping his eyes locked onto mine. "Because I said so. See you tomorrow." With a wink, he left me alone in the hallway, staring where he stood just seconds before with my mind racing.

Was he doing this on purpose?