Page 144 of Only for Him
I breathe out.
Then he walks out, dragging the last of the normal world with him. The silence he leaves behind feels heavier.
I turn my attention back to Afanasy, the name wrapping around my mind. Obviously, he has something to do with Roman, and if he has something to do with Roman, he probably has something to do with the Starkovs.
“What do you want?” I ask, words steeped in confidence even as the knots in my stomach tighten.
Afanasy leans forward, resting his elbows lightly on the table. The corner of his mouth curls—something far more calculatedthan a smile. “Tell me, how long have you been working with dear Romochka to bring down my family?”
That’swho he is!
Afanasy. The outcast brother. The one Teddy said the Feds have watched for years but couldn’t find anything to pin on.
Shit!
“What do you mean?” I manage through a tightening throat. Playing dumb is cheap, but it’ll buy me time.
“Relax, detective.” He chuckles, soft and low. “I’m just checking in on my investment.”
The air thickens. An electric charge pushes at my temples, prickling up my spine, particles coming together like a sixth sense.
He’s here.
My heart leaps as Roman strides through the door. Even from this distance, over the beer and sweat, I smell him: cloying sweet spices and friction. He takes in the situation as his eyes flicker between me and Afanasy.
Once again, I feel that impossible pull and the urge to run until I’m too tired to do anything but fall to my knees.
My fucking shadow always catches up to me.
He’s not your shadow, Giselle. You’re his.
Afanasy doesn’t move as he watches Roman with quiet interest the same way that a man might examine a prized weapon.
“Roman,” I say, nearly panting. He strides toward us, all confidence and cold fury. A part of me wants to sink into the ground beneath his gaze, bury myself alive in penance because I know I’ve disappointed him.
My world is slowly crumbling, the edges blurring between trust and betrayal. Afanasy’s watchful eyes linger on Roman, and I brace myself for what comes next.
I’m trapped between two monsters.
One I’ve already surrendered to, one I don’t yet understand.
But both want something from me.
And I’ve gone far too deep now to refuse.
36
ROMAN
They’re both fucking here.
The woman I need like air, but who I can’t trust to keep me breathing.
The man I owe far too much to, and who will never let me forget it.
I stare at them, sitting here like we’re all old pals about to wax nostalgic over fucking cartoons or some shit.
A tight coil wraps around my chest and I know tonight won’t end quietly.
