Page 104 of Dirty Damage

“Miss me, sunshine?”

I know that voice all too well.

Drew fucking Anton.

My ex materializes behind me like the ghost I can’t shake, his heavy breathing tickling my skin. I whirl around to face him, my heart jackhammering against my ribs.

He’s got a black hoodie pulled low over his white-blonde hair, but it doesn’t hide the brutal purple-blue bruise blooming across the bridge of his nose.

I take an instinctive step back, my spine hitting the cold glass of the freezer door. “Absence really must make the heart grow fonder. Because every time I see your face, I remember I hate your guts.”

He clicks his tongue, closing the distance between us. “Now, now. Is that any way to talk to the man who’s here to save your ass?”

“The only thing my ass needs saving from is this conversation.” I try to slip past him, but he blocks my path with his body. Same game, different day. Drew always did love playing cat and mouse.

“Does your new sugar daddy know you’re out shopping alone, Sut?” His eyes flick to the store entrance. “Well,almostalone. Uri’s still playing watchdog in the parking lot, right?”

The casual mention of Oleg’s security detail makes my blood run cold. Drew’s been watching me.

Of course he has. Some habits die harder than others.

“What happened to your face?” I ask, deflecting. “Karma finally catch up with you?”

“Wrong place, wrong time.” He shrugs, but there’s tension in his shoulders that wasn’t there before. “Speaking of wrong places… you’re in deep shit, sunshine. Deeper than you know.”

Given the shootout last night, I think I know just fine the kind of shit I’m in.

But Drew doesn’t need to know that.

“Thanks for the warning. I’ll add it to my collection of things I never asked for from you.”

“Still got that smart mouth.” He reaches out, his fingers brushing my cheek. I jerk away like his touch burns. It does, in a way. It burns with memories I’ve spent a year trying to forget. “I always loved that about you. Even when it pissed me off.”

“Don’t,” I snarl. “Don’t act like we’re reminiscing about the good old days. There weren’t any.”

His eyes darken. His hand slides to my wrist, squeezing to sight he’s in danger of cutting off my circulation. “No? What about that night in Vegas? The one where you?—”

“Finish that sentence and I’ll scream so loud they’ll hear me in Miami.”

He hesitates, like he might call my bluff. Then he shrugs and rakes a hand through his hair. “I’m heading back to Vegas,” he says, switching tactics. “Thought you might want to know, considering who I’ll be working for.”

My heart stops.

Restarts.

Stops again.

Paul Lipovsky.The man who owns my sister’s soul.

“Who would’ve guessed you’d go crawling back to Paul? I’m not sure why you ever left. You were always his favorite pet.”

Drew’s eyes flash with a violence I remember well. “You know why I left, Sut. You don’t get to walk away from me so easily.”

“Except I did. And I will.” I dart forward to move past him, but he shoulder-checks me back against the freezer door.

“Walk away if you want, but I’ll be seeing a lot of your sister.” He hisses the words against my neck. “Might even be able to keep an eye on her. If you’re interested.”

It’s a promise.

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