Arguing is useless while I’m one-legged and in his arms, so I point down the hall. “Last door on the left.”
We move without a word, and somehow, this feels like our first real fight.
Hermes and Apollo take position outside the door, holding heel like statues.
“That’s him?” Maksim asks once we’re inside, setting me gently on the desk.
“Yeah. That’s Cole.”
The muscles in his neck flex as his fists clench. He turns toward the door like he’s already imagining tearing through it…and through Cole. But he stops, one hand gripping the knob, his back to me.
“Did he disrespect you?”
“Nothing he says or does now matters,” I tell him. “He’s no one. Not anymore, and not ever again.”
He turns back around slowly, and that’s when I really see him. His wild blue eyes rimmed in red, sleepless, and restless. His voice is quieter now, but there’s a tremor underneath it.
“It’ll always matter because you matter. And is that your way of saying he did and you’re just brushing it off?”
I cross my arms, rolling my eyes. “You think I’d let him? He was two steps away from being eaten alive, and I would’ve watched with a smile.”
The sound that leaves Maksim isn’t a laugh. It’s darker. Before I can blink, he moves. Two strides, and he’s there, palms slamming onto the desk on either side of me, the wood groaning under the weight of him. “Is that so?”
I want to stay mad, channel the rage and disappointment that’s been eating at me since he stood me up, but having him this close chips away at my resolve.
Damn you, Maksim.
I keep my chin lifted, refusing to back down even as his closeness makes my skin tingle.
“Why are we in my office?” I ask.
Maksim surprises me by resting his forehead against mine. “Because I knew it was him. And if you knew the things I imagined doing to his face...it might scare you.”
“It’s a good thing I don’t scare easily.” I shove at his chest, but not hard enough to make him move far. “But I do have a short temper and razor-thin patience.”
His eyes lock on mine. “About yesterday,” he starts, but I raise a hand, cutting him off.
“I waited for you,” I snap. “You could’ve at least sent a text saying you were too chicken shit to show up…Or that you don’t want me.”
He smirks, tongue tracing the ridge of his top teeth. I hate that I want to lick them too.
“Is that what you think?” he asks, wrapping a hand around my throat, his thumb under my chin until all I can see are those eyes. The ones that undo me every damn time.
“What else am I supposed to think?” I shoot back. “Your hand’s inside my body one day, then the next?—”
My words shrivel when I see it. The bandage wrapped around his knuckles, stained through, with smaller cuts surrounding it. I grab his other hand, and it’s the same story.
“Ran into a little snag yesterday. Business deal gone sideways. Silas was with me.”
Guilt twists in my stomach. “What happened? And don’t bullshit me, Maksim. Tell me the truth.”
“We got set up,” he says simply. “An ambush. Killed some assholes, dodged a few bullets, got pinned for a while. Made it out with Mom and Santino’s help.”
My eyes widen. “Wait—Aunt Leni? Santino? Why didn’t you call me?”
“Why the hell would I do that? So you could worry? Or end up in the middle of it? Neither were options.”
“So, leaving me in the dark was better? Stop trying to protect me when I’m not asking. It’s the last thing I want from you.”
