Page 84 of The Last Inch Of Ice
He steps away then, melting back into the party like he was never there.
Leaving Kai trembling on the cold, dark terrace.
For approximately thirty seconds, Kai considers it.
Part of him—the part that’s had three glasses of champagne and hasn’t slept properly in weeks—wants to go. Wants to follow those instructions, wants to fall back into the familiar pattern of self-destruction and desperate need.
But a larger part—the part that still has some self-preservation instinct left—recognizes this for what it is.
The same cycle. The same dynamic. Rykov issuing commands. Kai following them. And then what? Another refusal? Another public confrontation? Another grandmother’s doorstep?
Kai has sworn to himself: no more. No more of this self-destructive madness.
So he stays on the terrace. Finishes his cigarette. Lets the three-minute deadline pass.
Then he goes back inside briefly, only to leave this party entirely and head to another one.
* * *
Two hours later, the Uber ride back to his rental bungalow after Kai left the second party in Venice takes forty minutes, crawling through LA traffic.
He spends the entire time staring out the window, his phone in his hand, ignoring the texts that start coming through.
Unknown Number:where are you?
Unknown Number:Kai.
Unknown Number:answer me.
He doesn’t respond. Doesn’t even save the number, though he knows exactly who it is.
The bungalow is a small place near the beach.
Kai hates it, but it’s only for two days and it’s private.
The driver drops him off on the quiet residential street. It’s late—past midnight—and the neighborhood is silent except for the distant sound of waves.
Kai is halfway to his front door when he sees him.
A dark figure sitting on the low garden wall across the street, illuminated by a single streetlamp.
A baseball cap pulled low over his face, but there’s no mistaking the sheer size of him, the coiled stillness of his posture.
Rykov found him. Found his rental address somehow. And he’s been waiting.
One of the biggest stars in the league, sitting on a wall in Venice Beach in the middle of the night like some kind of stalker from a Lifetime movie.
Kai stands frozen on the sidewalk, key in hand.
26
Chapter 26 Nazar
Kai pushes the door open and pauses in the doorway for a moment before stepping inside— leaving it open behind him. Nazar takes it as an invitation. What else can he do?
Kai doesn’t look at him. He drifts over to a sleek kitchen island, his movements careful. His back stays firmly to Nazar.
“Coffee?”
