Their Battle for Love (The American Soldier Collection 15)

“My God, that is brilliant. So I can basically take anything I work on and make copies, post it to online sources—”

“And sell them, too. Damn, this is gorgeous, Malayna. My God,” Krane said as he stared at a painting that she had covered under a cloth.

“These, too, are magnificent. Did Nicolai see these?” Border asked.

Star looked at how his brothers reacted to her paintings and her photos and he walked closer. Lucca joined them.

“It’s not really that good. I’m rusty and the photography isn’t so hard. I just point and shoot,” she stated, sounding embarrassed by their compliments.

He stepped closer and placed a hand on her hip as he stood behind her to look at the paining.

She tightened up and he eased his palm along her waist, feeling how toned her abs were. He looked from the painting to the window capturing almost the exact same image on the oil painting she had created as well as the two men, security guards that were smoking cigarettes and talking.

Krane stepped closer and took her hand. She glanced up at him but Krane kept his eyes on the image.

“I’ve never seen anything like it, Malayna. It’s stunning. You’re so talented,” Krane whispered.

“You think so? I mean the colors aren’t identical and you can see here where I made a mistake,” she said and reached out to point to where she thought the mistake could be seen.

“Spoken like a true artist,” Border said to her, staring at her with one of those intense expressions of his.

“What do you mean by that?” she asked Border.

“You’ll find fault even in a perfect work of art. All artists do that,” he said to her and stared up into her eyes.

“I’m not an artist, Border.”

Krane reached up and cupped her cheek. Star released his hold on her.

“You sure are. It’s perfect, just like you,” he said.

She was embarrassed as she stepped away from them and Krane squinted as if he were disappointed for her moving away. Star could see his men’s interest in Malayna. Now what were they going to do about this?

“If you need help with the computers, let me know. I love that stuff,” Lucca told her.

“You would? Seriously? I mean you have time for that?” she asked.

“They’ll have plenty of time to help you because they’ll be staying here as your guards,” Nicolai stated, joining them in the room. He was very serious as he spoke and then his eyes landed on the painting.

“Malayna, you painted this?” he asked.

She nodded her head as Nicolai approached.

“Incredible.” Then he turned to look at Star.

“Star, if you and your men would follow me into my office. We have some things to discuss and arrangements to make. Could you get your things over here by tonight?” he asked.

“Yes, sir, that’s not a problem,” he replied and then glanced at Malayna before he walked out of the room with Nicolai.

Chapter 3

Malayna awoke in a sweat, sheets twisted and gasping to catch her breath. She was crying and suddenly angry. Night after night she awoke like this. These episodes should have lessened. She was safe here with guards patrolling the estate, Nalia, Cosivan, and his men on the other wing of the house and now Star, Border, Krane, and Lucca in rooms right down the same hallway as her bedroom. She wasn’t feeling safe, she was feeling controlled. By the memories of the torture she felt and the way she lost three years of her life. Eighteen and she had no one when she was pulled from the only home she ever knew. Where she watched her mother being killed before she ran, only to be caught, beaten, and treated like some animal.

She slid off the bed and took a sip of water. Glancing at the clock, she saw it was four o’clock in the morning. She couldn’t go back to sleep. Now she was restless, antsy, and determined to rid herself of this routine.

She wiped her eyes but the tears continued to fall. She had even taken a bath before bed, hoping it would relax her and calm her. No such luck.

She got dressed as her mind fought for some feelings of control. She shivered and then grabbed the hooded sweatshirt and pulled it on over the shorts. She realized when she went into the bathroom that she chose the hooded sweatshirt that had become her go-to garment when she painted. Painting? That seemed to calm her. She thought back to the articles she had been reading using the computer that Nicolai had given her. They explained a little bit about counseling and about therapy. There were so many different aspects of it and ways to help people heal and she just needed to find her way.