Natalya had revealed what I’d told her. How could she do this to me? I’d just wanted to save her from my own fate. From the nightmares and memories that refused to stop stalking me.
Air wheezed out of me. Roman leaned in closer, seeming to relish the way I couldn’t seem to find my breath.
“Did you just want my attention? Becausenowyou have it.”
I leaned away, his presence was sucking all the air out of my lungs. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. And now his narrowed eyes were yanking me back to that night at the party. I couldn’t-
“Alisa,” Dmitri’s voice echoed near me.
Suddenly I could breathe again. Feeling tingled back into my fingers, and all the ambient sounds rushed back to life.
Roman leaned back, frustration etched on his face like this was somehowmyfault.
“Hey, man,” Roman said to Dmitri, forcing a smile on his face.
For the first time since I’d met him, Dmitri actually deigned to give Roman more than a passing glance. From the way Roman flinched away I doubted he was happy about the attention.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Dmitri said, his eyes narrowed at Roman’s hand on my barstool.
Roman’s hand flew away from me like it’d been stabbed. My stomach finally unclenched.
Roman cleared his throat a few times. It felt gratifying to see him lose his words instead of my own. “Just catching up. After all she’s friends with my newgirlfriend.”
The word tumbled into my stomach and sent bile straight up my throat. After everything I’d told her, Natalya had decided todatehim? Not only had she put my safety in jeopardy by relaying everything to this monster, she’d willingly chosen to be with the man who’d hurt me.
Dmitri frowned. His piercing eyes took in my expression, waiting for me to affirm or deny what Roman had just said.
Instead of voicing all the emotions digging into my gut, I said, “Dmitri, we’ve got work to do.”
His frown deepened. I was terrified Dmitri would see through me, yet secretly yearning for it.
Roman cleared his throat, and Dmitri slowly turned his head towards him.
“What are you still doing here?” Dmitri’s voice was pure ice.
Anger flared in Roman’s pupils, and I almost hoped he’d act on it. Roman might be ranked second in the competition, but Dmitri would crack him like a walnut. After the scars he’d seared into my insides, I wished someone would give him a taste of the pain.
Roman must’ve thought better of responding, because he walked away with a grunt.
“You okay?” Dmitri said, sitting on a stool beside me. His voice was softer, the edge gone.
“Just not feeling 100%.” I worked my shoulders up and around. “But it’s fine, I won’t let it affect the mission.”
“Go home, I’ll handle this.”
I blinked. My lonely apartment with the broken heater stared back into my mind.
Dmitri must’ve read something in my expression, because he amended, “Go back tomyplace. It’s supposed to snow again.”
I hoped it never stopped snowing.
Chapter forty-four
Alisa
The snow spiraled down Dmitri’s window into the darkness of the city. I leaned further into the couch, grateful to be nestled in its warmth instead of outside in the elements. Or worse, alone with my thoughts in my freezing studio.
Even though Dmitri was still out finishing our mission, his presence wrapped around me like a comforting blanket.
