Silence crashes down inside the car.
Maybe I should talk to Charlotte instead. She might actually kick my brain back into working order.
“Fuck, Drago,” Reggie mutters. “I didn’t realize it was this deep…”
“Tatiana fucked it all up,” I tell him.
The air shifts instantly.
“What? How?” Reggie asks.
“I reached out for contact,” I say, scrubbing a hand down my face. “She appeared in the middle of the night in my lockdown fucking penthouse dressed as Lily.”
The words taste vile.
“She kissed me. And I’m certain Lily saw it. And instead of fighting for her to listen to the truth, I let her push me away.”
“Fucking hell, Drago,” Reggie hisses.
That’s when I know it’s bad. When Reggie thinks you’ve fucked up, you really have.
“And Tatiana’s name won’t mean shit to Lily,” Reggie adds. “She doesn’t know.”
“Yep. Except Lily doesn’t care for any explanation. She called us a fling and shut me down.” I pull into the Inferno parking lot and cut the engine.
“A fling,” Rowan says quietly. “Man, that’s harsh.”
I grunt, staring straight ahead. “Maybe she’s right,” I admit. “Maybe it’s safer for her this way. I can focus on taking down the Preacher and keeping everyone alive.”
Reggie chews on his lip like he’s holding something back. As Rowan gets out of the car, Reggie stays put, turning to face me. His dark eyes hold mine.
“As a man who has spent most of his life protecting the ones he loves instead of looking for his own happiness,” he says carefully, “just remember you deserve a life too, Drago. This fucking world is not all death and destruction. We can carve out some light for ourselves.”
I nod slowly. “I thought I found that in Monaco. It was the first time I’ve ever really felt alive. Like I’d found my real purpose rather than my duty.”
“So don’t let her go,” Reggie says firmly. “Tell her who Tatiana is. Tell her how you feel, before it’s too late. You never fucking know when your time’s up.”
“Wow. That took a turn.”
He shrugs. “Ya don’t know. You’ve come close to death before. Our clocks are ticking a lot fuckin’ faster than most people.” He gets out of the car, leaving me alone in the silence.
He’s right.
It hasn’t even been a day, and I can’t live without her.
I pull out my phone. An email notification flashes across the screen.
Russian encrypted.
Fuck.
I open it. A passcode prompt stares back at me—one I haven’t been sent.
Great. Tatiana and her fucking games.
“Reggie,” I call out, leaning out of the car.
He stops and looks back.
