Page 100 of Scarred Hearts

I skipped over to the kitchen wall, pressing the button. “Nadia?”

“It’s me.”

“Come on up.” I strode back over to the living room, lifting my gaze. “Go.”

Rolling his eyes, he let go of the railing and disappeared down the opposite hallway from my bedroom toward his. A part of me felt bad for both of them, but we needed zero distractions, and my brother was a huge, walking distraction everywhere. If he was in public, people would bother him. In a room? People watched him or needed to talk to him.

A few moments later, I pulled the door open so she wouldn’t have to ring the doorbell. “Hey,” I said, glancing back over my shoulder to make sure he hadn’t snuck downstairs. I wouldn’t have put it past him.

“Hi,” she said as she entered.

I let the door shut behind me as she surveyed the open space. “Why were you at Euphoria last night?” I blurted out, unable to hold back my question any longer. “We’re not supposed to be seen together.”

“You saw me,” she responded.

“Of course I did,” I replied, a bit exasperated. “Why were you there?”

“Boredom.” With a slight smile, she shrugged. “Curiosity, perhaps?”

“About what?”

She wandered the main floor, taking in every detail as she spoke over her shoulder. “Damnnn, Mr. Knight must pay well.”

I leaned against the island bar separating the kitchen and living room, crossing my arms over my chest. “My father left me some things.” I didn’t want to delve into the details. Even though I sympathized with her for Luca’s actions, I was still wary, and she still hadn’t explained why she showed up at Euphoria. “Talk,” I demanded. “Why were you there?”

She spun around to face me. “I enjoy dancing too and thought it might be something I wanted to try, so I asked my handler to take me. I don’t know anyone in town and wanted to get out.”

“Ah,” I breathed a sigh of relief, muttering, “your handler.”

“Yep.” She rolled her eyes. “The Rovati’s insisted, and Carmine had to return to New York until the night before the fight, so he left Luca Rovati’s son, Julian, with me.”

“So, you weren’t spying on me,” I confirmed.

“Why would I do that?” She tossed her hair behind her and twisted it into a messy bun on top of her head before standing up straight again. “You’re still suspicious of me,” she chuckled.

“I’m suspicious of everyone right now,” I admitted as I walked toward the center of the living room, with her following closely behind. “There’s a lot going on.” I raised my fists in preparation for her to strike.

“What about your gym?” she asked.

“There’s more room down here,” I replied, not wanting to hint that my brother was just upstairs and the reason we weren’t up there.

“Shouldn’t we put on gloves?” she asked, curling her own fingers into a fist and lifting them.

Wrinkling my nose, I shook my head. “Not planning to hit you again until the fight.”

“Okay,” she replied as we circled, keeping our eyes locked on one another. “Do you want to talk about what’s bothering you?”

“No,” I spat a little too harshly.

“Suit yourself.” She sighed.

“I’m going to jab three times left, then uppercut right after we circle twice. Can you remember that?” I asked.

“Ye–” She dodged my punches. “I’m going right, left, leg sweep.”

I jumped out of the way, but she caught my leg, and I fell to the floor, cracking my head on the hardwood.

“Oh shit!” She gasped, reaching her hand out. “Are you okay?”

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