Page 166 of Brutal Savage

I take a quick shower, needing to see her, to try to talk to her.

Getting dressed for work, I head down to the kitchen, registering Ruby and Elara talking.

As soon as they see me, they both stop.

“There he is, Mister Sleepy,” Ruby teases, pouring me a cup of coffee and handing it to me.

“Wife kept me up all night.” I wink at her, but Elara’s mouth only slightly thins into a barely there smile.

Fuck. That kills me.

“Good morning, bud.” I kiss the top of Brody’s head, and he doesn’t recoil anymore like he once used to.

Things are finally starting to get better with him. I just hope things between Elara and me aren’t ruined for good.

“Can we talk?” I whisper, pulling up a stool beside her while Ruby washes a pan in the sink.

She exhales a sigh. “Maybe later. Just a lot for me to process right now.”

She’s closing off again.

Fuck!

Grabbing her hand, I bring it to my mouth for a kiss.

“Eat.” I gesture my chin toward her pancakes.

She picks at her food like she once did when we first met. But her appetite has returned recently, and I need it to stay that way.

She forces a small piece into her mouth.

If she withdraws any further, we might never go back.

So I make a promise to myself that I’m gonna fix this, no matter what it takes.

“Where are you going?” she asks, seated on the edge of our bed as I come out of the shower after work.

Her eyes fall toward the towel wrapped around my hips.

“I have a meeting with Konstantin. I’ll be home late.”

He called hours ago to tell me I have to hop on a plane to Jersey to meet the new contact at one of the clubs the Marinovs own.

“Oh.” Her eyes go downcast. “How late?”

“I don’t know. I’ll call you, though.”

“Okay.”

She plays with her fingers, an obvious wedge between us, but I have no time to fix it. Not properly anyway. I have to go and make this deal happen. I don’t want to rush the conversation she and I definitely have to have.

I head into the closet and take out one of my suits and a dress shirt.

As soon as she sees me walking back out, her face contorts with horror.

“Please tell me you’re not wearing that.”

“What’s wrong with it?” I let a smirk fall to my face. “My wife bought it for me, so I plan to let the world see it.”

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