“Okay,” I whisper.
I hang up, hugging my arms against my chest.
I’m both looking forward to seeing Ilya and dreading it all at once, and I don’t know which is stronger.
All I know is that I only have one chance to do this.
I can’t screw it up.
SEVEN
ILYA
“I don’t think you should go alone,” Boris says as I head for the exit. “Let me go with you, Boss.”
I shake my head. “No. You’d scare Micah. I’ll go pick him up, and maybe take him home.”
If it’s up to me, I’m definitely taking him back to my condo.
Somebody near the bar shouts, and another man stands up from his table to yell back. Something must’ve gone wrong with that poker game.
“See? You’re needed here. Go keep an eye on these idiots,” I say to Boris. “Make sure nobody’s trying to cheat us.”
Boris still looks unhappy about it, but he goes to deal with the poker players. I’m relieved he agreed so easily. I know Micah would balk if I showed up with another person. He needs to feel safe, and another big, scary man won’t do that.
As far as Boris knows, I’m being kind to somebody I feel sorry for. A young man who is young enough to be my son.
I grimace at that. I don’t think of Micah as a child. He might be younger, but he has to be in his early twenties.
No, I’ve been doing nothing but imagining kissing him and fucking him. Even when I first came to New Bristol and decidedto have casual sex with a few men—in secret, discreetly—I was never this completely taken with somebody so instantly.
I drive my luxury sedan out of the parking lot and head toward the restaurant Micah said he was waiting at. I hope he stays put. New Bristol can be an unsafe place, especially for people who don’t know how to defend themselves.
Thankfully, Micah is still waiting when I pull up to the curb in front of the restaurant. I park the car and get out so I can get a closer look at him.
“Micah!” I say as I approach. “Are you all right?”
He looks up at me through red-rimmed eyes, nodding even though he couldn’t look further from all right if he tried. “Thank you for coming,” he says quietly. “I didn’t have anyone else to call, and I…” His eyes dart away from mine, and he stares down at the ground.
Like my mother, Micah has no friends.
I can already envision the way Adam makes excuses and rages if Micah attempts to spend time with anyone other than him.
It’s too familiar.
“Of course,” I say, hovering close by. I want to pull him into a hug, but I also don’t want to make him think I only came because I’m attracted to him. “Can you tell me what happened?”
Micah lets out a sound that I’m not sure is a sob or a laugh. “He left. We… We were having dinner, and he just… left.”
He.
“Your partner,” I say, forcing myself to stay calm.
That fucking pig.
My father had done things like this. We would go out as a family, and something would upset him to the point where he would leave me and my sister and mother behind. My mother always pretended it was all right, but we all knew it wasn’t.
Micah nods again. “I left my wallet at home,” he says, swallowing hard. “I didn’t… I tried to call Adam, but… He’s not answering.” He trails off again. “I need to get home. Or maybe he broke up with me. I don’t know.”
