At Sergei’s “compliments,” Yelena wished for the power of speech back, anything to curse at him - loudly, and in her native tongue. She wasn’t usually a woman for impolite language, but she’d knowingly walked into the thug’s trap, and her anger at her own futility, her own weakness made her burn with a rage she rarely felt.<br/><br/>She squirmed in his grip, almost unwilling to trust his advice to avoid the step up to the cabin. He’d lied to her, tied her and her student up, invaded her privacy and her studio, all for money - or whatever form of payment Maks was giving him. It sickened her.<br/><br/>But still, a self-preservation instinct prevailed, and Madame Naumov stepped up at Sergei’s instructions, not at all appreciating his “polite” efforts to dust her off.<br/><br/><em>Any excuse to get his hands on her. Pervert.</em>