I stared at her, completely stuck on her dark brown eyes. “Shorty…Iset,” I said, using her hacker name deliberately, “if there’s one thing I know you don’t suck at, it’s math. So don’t even pretend. Let’s just leave it at this and part ways amicably. Be a smart girl.”
She cocked her head to the side, then scrunched her nose. “Apparently, I’m not that smart either,” she said, moving closer instead of away.
I narrowed my eyes, feeling cornered by her recklessness. “You’re scary smart, blindingly beautiful, and breathtakingly annoying. And if you don’t stop antagonizing me, I’ll show you what kind of man I really am.”
“What kind of man are you?” she challenged, leaning into my space.
I growled, then bridged the gap until my nose met hers. “The one that drags you into his cave, gags you, and does whatever he wants with you.” The threat came out harsher than intended, a desperate attempt to make her understand the danger, the massive black hole I was.
“Hmm. I’m down,” she said simply and, before she moved back, gave me a peck on the nose as if I was five years old.
And everything inside of me went completely still. Even my brain stopped working for a moment. I sighed, closed my eyes briefly. “You’re what?”
When I opened them again, she was reaching for my hand. Intertwined her fingers with mine in a deliberate gesture of connection that shook me to my core.
God have mercy…
“This is what I heard. You did what you had to do to survive,” she said softly. “And you probably protected your siblings while doing so. There’s zero shame in that.”
Her understanding blindsided me. No one outside my family had ever looked at me or my past without some kind of judgment. Yet here she was, this fierce, brilliant woman, looking right through the monster to the broken child beneath.
She moved closer, her free hand coming up to rest against my cheek. The gentle touch sent an electric current through my body, more powerful than any kiss we’d shared.
“You might’ve been a wild animal or a fighting machine as a child,” she said, her eyes never leaving mine, “but as a grown man—you’ve proven to be so much more than that. I see you for who you really are, Ivan. Beyond the scowl. Beyond the barking.”
Something cracked inside me—a fissure in the walls I’d built around my heart. I remained perfectly still, afraid that any movement might break this fragile moment.
“I became Iset because I needed power in a world where I felt powerless,” she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. “I did things that weren’t legal because sometimes, that was the only way to feel I mattered.”
Her thumb stroked my cheekbone, the simple touch anchoring me as her words washed over me.
“Sometimes, survivors become criminals, and sometimes, they become predators because they have to,” she continued. “But we don’t have to be that. Not with each other.”
I stared at her in disbelief. “After everything I’ve told you, you should be running.”
Her lips curved into a small smile. “I’m done running. Actually, I really hate running—don’t have the body for it.” Her smile deepened before she turned serious again. “So I choose to stay right here. With you.”
The barriers I’d maintained for years—the professional distance, the emotional walls, the careful compartmentalization of my life—crumbled completely in that moment. For the first time since I was a child, I allowed myself to be truly me. To be truly seen.
I leaned forward and pulled her file out of the stacks of files. I needed to show her. Needed her to know about the past. About how my fate and hers were intertwined. I was actually surprised she hadn’t made the connection yet. “There’s a part I didn’t tell you. Something that put you onto Grey’s radar. Because he’s been watching you for a long time.”
She nodded. “I know about the past. He told me all about it. We can worry about that later. Right now, we need to find out what exactly is in the Paraskia database that has Grey so desperate,” she said.
She knew? He told her? Or did she make the connection already? And it wasn’t even important enough for her to talk to me about it?
A knock at the door interrupted us. I rose to answer it, not surprised to find a scowling Vince Salvini standing there with Mira, Matt, and Jemma behind him. Mira held a bundle of clothes, presumably for Isabella.
“All of you didn’t need to come,” I said.
Vince’s eyes narrowed. “If I want to check on my sister, I will do so. Don’t need your permission, asshole.” He took a step until we were face to face, both scowling.
And before I could step aside to let them enter, Isabella rose from the sofa. “Stop it. I’m fine. Really.”
Mira pushed both Vince and me to the side and crossed the room in record time, while the rest spilled into the room, as well, and Matt closed the door.
Mira handed Shorty the clothes with a concerned smile. “We were so worried.”
The sisters hugged.
