He turned to me, the smirk still plastered on his face. “So… is this your new charm to get la—”
“Do not finish that sentence if you want to walk out of here in one piece.” I warned, my fists clenching again.
“Easy…dude.”
“Why are you here?” My fists were itching to punch his nose.
“We need to talk.” He poured some drink into his glass.
“Then talk…NOW!” I didn’t care what his game was—I wanted this conversation over.
“Here…?” Rocky glanced at Kiara, his tone dripping with fake concern.
“I’ll be at the table.” Kiara began to walk away.
“Pull back the deal, or it's going to be another nightmare for you.” His voice was devoid of any trace of humor now.
“The deal isn’t going anywhere.”
Rocky leaned in slightly, his devilish smile returning. “Those Russians are not gonna help you if you don’t heed my warning, and I doubt you have any energy left after what that little girlfriend of yours did to you…”
My jaw tightened. “LEAVE. NOW.”
“Well, don’t say I didn’t warn you,” he grabbed his keys from the counter. As he walked toward the table where Kiara was sitting, my blood was boiling, and every instinct in me wanted to stop him and punch his face.
“Hey, it would be my pleasure if you could sign some of the books for me,” he said, smiling.
“Sure,” Kiara replied with a flicker of unease.
Rocky, of course, wasn’t done. “I’ll be in town for a few more days… Let’s catch up for dinner sometime soon?” he said, his eyes deliberately flicking toward me like he was testing how far he could push. “It'll be a date.”
Kiara simply smiled at the odd comment, but she could feel the tension radiating off me as Rocky left.
I turned toward her, my jaw still clenched. “Let’s go.” I hate it when my anger takes over the situation.
“But we just got here…”
“And we'releavingnow!”
She narrowed her eyes in confusion.
“Let’s go… It’s late,” I said, this time trying to sound calmer. I need to punch something before I lose my mind.
Kiara picked up her purse and followed me out to the car without saying a word. The next forty minutes were bound to be filled with awkward silence.
Rocky Mehra… that name had been a thorn in my side for as long as I could remember. We had known each other since childhood—our families were once close. But over the years, things shifted, and he became more than just a nuisance. He’s the kind of guy who exudes charm on the outside but is rotten at the core.
A playboy to the extreme, he treats women as if they’re mere toys. It disgusts me how easily he manipulates people, and it bothers me even more that he has his sights set on Kiara now.
I glanced over at her briefly as I drove, watching her silently staring out the window. The thought of Rocky manipulating her the way he does everyone else… It made my blood boil all over again. If I find him anywhere near Kiara, he’s as good as dead.
I’m not supposed to feel this.
But here I was, feeling oddly calm in her presence, almost as if her being here unlocked a part of me I’d kept buried. Why was my heart outright ignoring the rules my brain had lived by for the past two years—the simple rule: no attachments? Nogirls.
I’ve already lost a piece of my heart once, and I can’t afford to make the same mistake twice. And now, I could barely think straight with her so close.
I swallowed hard and forced my eyes back to the road, my mind already drifting toward a glass of whiskey to drown this madness. Tonight, I’d need more than one. Hell, I’d need the whole damn bottle to forget how she made me feel alive again.
