Page 108 of Inked Adonis

Once the dogs are content, he peeks up at me with an arched brow. “You look like ass.”

I kick off my running shoes and pour myself a cup of coffee. “If you wanted to insult me, you could’ve done it over text. That’s how you handle everything else these days, isn’t it?”

His laugh holds no humor. “If you’re trying to make me feel bad for not telling you to your face that I drove Nova home, you’re wasting your breath. I know better than to put myself in your path when your dad is in town.”

I can’t decide which part to pick at first. My bad mood had nothing to do with my father and everything to do with Nova lying to me.

As my head of security, it’s Myles’s job to report important information to me. And a five-word text—Nova @ apt, needed space—hardly qualifies as a thorough debrief from the man who’s supposed to be keeping the boundaries of my empire intact.

I latch onto the bit still reverberating in my ears. “What ‘home’? This penthouse is her home now.”

“Feel free to tell her that yourself.”

I slam the coffee pot back onto the burner, the dregs at the bottom sizzling. “Maybe Katerina can. Nova seems to listen to her.”

“You say that as if you stopped breaking things for long enough to ask Nova what exactly Kat might have told her,” he fires back.

“I didn’t have to ask; she had the fucking proof in her bedside drawer!” I seal my hands around the mug, the heat burning the pads of my fingers with a kind of dull pain that I need more than anything right now. “Not thatyoumanaged to catch that security breach. Ilya had to do it for you. Do we need to do a performance review?”

“Great. You’re mad at me now. Let’s hear it.” He waves me on. “We both agreed Nova was clean and my time would be betterspent looking into the Ukrainian mole you won’t stop running around the city having clandestine lunches with. But I can’t wait to hear how this is all my fault.”

“The Andropovs put a cellphone in the hand of my girlfriend, and you’re my head of security. Who else’s fault would it be?” I bark.

Myles huffs out another lifeless laugh. “You know, I actually believed you when you said you had ideas for how to handle things yesterday.” He mimes a big swing and a miss. “What went down must’ve been a first draft.”

“Fuck you.” I set the mug down hard enough for black coffee to slosh over the rim and singe my hands. Again, I welcome it. The pain is good. Pain is a reminder:Do not stray from the path you chose for yourself.

“Pithy,” Myles says, unfazed. “You always did have a way with words.”

“I found the evidence you failed to notice for over a week,” I snarl. “From where I’m standing, my plan worked out great.”

“I shudder to think of the kind of shitstorm we’ll be in if one of your plans ever goes poorly.” He plants his hands on the counter next to the spilled coffee, his head lolling low likehe’sthe one who’s tired. “It’s my job to be honest with you, Sam.”

“No, it’s your job to protect my assets. Not chauffeur them to unsecured apartments all the way across the fucking city. You’re a glorified fucking babysitter at best.”

“If you really think I left her apartment unsecured, you should fire me right now.” He holds my gaze, hesitating like he’s giving me the opportunity to consider the offer. “If you think I’m thatuseless at my job, then let me go. Because—fucking hell, Sam, how long have we been at this together?”

Long enough.Even as I hear myself belittle him, I know I’m wrong, that I’m going too far in all the wrong places. He’s no babysitter—he’s the one man I trust at my side. Myles Hagerty is the lone person in this world who doesn’t make me feel like I need to hold their hand to get the job done. He’s thorough. He’s consistent. He’s never let me down. Not once.

So why am I ripping into him?

I wish I had an answer I was willing to face.

He shoves away from the counter, sighing deeply. “Look, this was a fuck-up. I know that. I will carry every ounce of my piece of the blame that there was even an opportunity for the Andropovs to have a spy in this house. But, Sam… they didn’t get to Nova. She’s still clean. We can trust her.”

My lips contort in a vicious sneer. “She worked for Kat before I knew her. Her father is on the Andropov payroll.” I count each offense off on my fingers. “She kept the phone Kat gave her. She went to my brother’s office alone. How much more does it take to condemn her, man?”

“She went there looking for you!” He shakes his head in disgust. “Samuil, what are we doing here? You let Ilya and Leonid get to you yesterday, and then you took it out on Nova.”

“She carried that phone around for over a week!Shelet Katerina get to her. I didn’t do a damn thing.”

Myles nods like he agrees. “Right. You didn’t do anything. You definitely didn’t prepare Nova for the kind of threats she’ll beunder now that she’s in your life. She has no fucking clue the kind of mess she’s in.”

“She knows who Katerina is. She isn’t stupid?—”

“No, but she’s scared. I know because I saw it.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “You destroyed the evidence and stormed off, but I saw Nova last night. She was a wreck, man.”

When I tried to close my eyes last night, all I could see was her face as I backed her against the wall. The way she almost screamed when I touched her. And the way she swallowed that scream right back down before it could pass her lips—as if she’s had a lifetime of practice of cowering in the face of violent men who mean to do her harm.

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