Page 81 of Dmitri

“I did.”

“Are you rescinding?”

“No.” He sighs and puts his hand on my thigh. “I’m just really hoping you change your mind and want to stay with me.” He side-eyes me. “You’re all I have, Dae. You’re the best thing in my life.”

And yet you punched me in the gut, tried to stab me, andchoked me this morning. “I have to do this for myself. If I mean that much to you, you’d want me to be happy, right?”

“I want you happy withme.” His sudden burst of anger is punctuated by the heel of his hand smashing against the steering wheel. At least he’s not touching my thigh anymore. Kaleb exhales loudly through his nose as he tries to calm back down. “I’m sorry I’ve been an asshole lately.”

Lately? Try forever, psycho.“It’s fine.”

“You deserve better.”

Yup. I do.“You’re trying your best.”

“See? That right there.” He grabs my hand and lifts it to his mouth, pressing a kiss on my knuckles. “That’s why I can’t live without you. You’re the only one who gets me. You love me.”

I haven’t said the wordsI love youto him in years. He’s only fishing right now and I’m not taking the bait.

My silence makes him drop my hand like a hot potato. “I’m going out of town for a few days.”

That perks me up, even though I don’t show it. “Where to this time?”

“Miami.”

Long ago, I would have begged him to take me with him. Not that he ever would. Now, when he goes on these trips, I never ask because I really don’t care. Besides, the less I know, the better.

“When I get back,” he warns, “I expect you to have done your job.”

Saliva floods my mouth, and I swallow before answering. “Okay.”

He looks over at me, once again trying to get a read on my state of mind. And once again, he fails.

“I leave tomorrow and will be back next Friday. Ace will stick around.”

“Great,” I say, annoyed.

Kaleb knocks the side of my head, making it smack the window. “Watch your fucking tone.”

The rest of the drive is dead silent and when he pulls up to my house, I get out and slam the door shut. Ace steps out of my front door, watching me cautiously.

“Dae!” Addie says behind him, beaming a big smile.

Fuck. My. Life.

Kaleb peels wheels, leaving without another insult or slap. Hurray for small mercies.

Ace’s gaze roams my face, stopping at my throat before sailing down the rest of my body and landing on my bandaged hand. His brow pinches slightly as he grinds his molars.

With a big, fake smile in place, I slip past him and step inside my house to see it’s good as new and there’s a much larger TV mounted to my wall.

“Ace bought us a new TV.”

Judging by Addie’s tone, I can tell something’s off with her.

“Yeah. I can see that.” Turning to face him, I block him from coming inside. “Bye, Ace.”

He doesn’t budge from my doorway for a full count of ten, but eventually, he nods and leaves.

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