Page 93 of No Longer Safe

“Fun?” Her confusion was thick and I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t want to do this. I had no other choice. Her life depended on it. For anything else, I would have ignored the threats. But this… I couldn’t chance it.

“But I think it’s time we go our separate ways,” I was doing so well until my voice cracked and my emotions started bleeding through. I wanted her. I wanted her so desperately. The wildness in her, the joy, the warmth. When she was gone, I would be a cold dark person, just like my father. That was what he wanted all along, and he always got what he wanted.

She reared back as if I struck her. “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t think we should see each other anymore, Audrey.” I clenched my jaw to keep myself from crying, from taking it all back, from pulling her to me.

“Why?” She whispered.

“Because I got everything I wanted from you and that’s that.”

My driver opened the door for her and she stared at me with glassy eyes. She lifted her chin, blinked a few times, and shook her head. “I want to say I didn’t see this coming, but I guess I did. Have a nice life, Alexei. I hope you end up finding everything you’re looking for.”

When the door shut behind her, I leaned back in my seat and let out a string of curses. My heart, whatever was left of it, was completely shattered.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Audrey

“He what?”Carina exploded as I explained what happened in between sobs. Brian put his hands on me and I thought it destroyed me. It was nothing like this. Nausea rolled through me as I tried to tell her everything I could around tears. “He broke up with you like that? In the car?”

She shook her head as she paced the floor in my bedroom. “Do you need me to hurt him?” Her face was red with her rage as she stomped around.

“No,” I whispered. I should have known better. I should have guarded my heart better. I should have known to stay away from him since the beginning. I knew the other shoe would come down eventually. I knew it was entirely too good to be true. But here we were and I was learning the biggest lesson of all.

“Do you have clothes at his place?” Carina sat down on the corner of the bed and looked down at me with so much pity, I just wanted to disappear.

“I have a few things.” I couldn’t even remember what they were.

“I’ll get them for you.”

“Don’t hurt him.” I knew she would try to.

“Tell that to my mother when she finds out! She’s going to hunt him down for me!”

“Who are we hunting?” Ace asked quietly from the doorway. I buried my head under the blankets. I was sure I looked like a clown caught in a rainstorm and the last thing I needed was for him to report back to his brother.

“You brother,” Carina seethed. “He broke up with Audrey.”

He didn’t say anything which led me to believe he knew it was going to happen. What had I done with my life? Why hadn't I stayed away? I should have stayed on the dating apps. I should have said no to Alexei every single time he got into my space but here I was crying under the blankets like a child.

“You deserve the best, Audrey,” Ace said quietly. “I’m sorry that couldn’t be my brother.”

With his parting words, more tears erupted from my eyes. I stayed under the covers until I could no longer hear Carina seething and I knew I was alone. I appreciated her and his fiery spirit but I also needed to be alone. I needed to think.

When the tears finally dried up and the pity party didn’t feel good anymore, I unfolded myself from the bed. I dragged my sorry ass into the bathroom and looked at the mess he’d left behind.

All the makeup I’d spent so much time on to prepare for tonight’s fundraiser was a mess all over my face. Mascara was smeared down my cheeks in thick currents and my eyes were puffy. It wasn’t the worst thing I’d ever been through. I would survive it, but dammit, it hurt.

And more than anything, it didn’t add up. It didn’t make sense. He was dressed in his suit when he picked me up. I swiped my phone open and went to my pictures. All of the pictures I’d taken in the last… I didn’t know when… were of us or there were pictures I’d snapped to send to him. Every picture we weresmiling and each one of his smiles met his eyes. He looked genuinely happy.

I scrubbed my face clean as I tried to rid myself of the heartache that was rocking my world. Maybe I had been through worse, but not emotionally. I knew it was coming with Brian. He was such a walking red flag, I’d mentally prepared myself for him since the beginning, even if I hadn’t realized it until too late.

Alexei?

I thought I’d prepared myself for him. I thought I knew the other shoe was going to drop. I kept reminding myself that it was too good to be true but in the end, it didn’t matter. It still hurt so badly that I could hardly breathe.

“Hey, babe,” I hadn’t even heard Carina come in.

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