His skin is hot. Under my fingertips, his blood moves like a secret. I feel each beat—quiet, measured, steady against my hand.
And the moment I touch him there, my own heart stumbles.
Not a surge. Just a misstep. A hard, stupid misfire inside my chest, like the engine missed a firing cycle.
Maksim's eyes shift and meet mine.
The city light makes his irises appear black. His pupils are wide, swallowing the color, giving him a stare that feels stripped raw.
I keep my fingers on his throat.
From here, I could hurt him. He knows it. I know he knows it. The knowledge sits between us, heavy and unspoken.
His pulse maintains the same pace.
"You're calm," I say.
"Yes."
"You're not afraid."
The words slip out before I can think.
His throat moves under my fingers as he speaks. "Should I be?"
That question doesn't sound defiant; it sounds genuinely curious. He is trying to understand the rules of a room that just changed shape.
I stare at him.
The answer isn't about tactics, microphones, or Boris.
It's about what I am doing with my hands.
And what I am doing with my hands has nothing to do with security.
"No," I say, my voice rougher than I intended. "You shouldn't."
Something flickers in his face—a loosening around the eyes. A quiet release, as if he had been holding a breath I couldn't hear.
I step back.
The air hits my fingers, cold now that they aren't on his skin. I curl my hand into a fist to trap the warmth.
"I didn't find anything," I say, forcing the lie into place. "But we need to be careful. If Boris wants to listen, he'll find a way."
Maksim nods once, waiting for the release.
"You may dress."
He pulls on the undershirt, the holster, the backup weapon, the jacket. Layer by layer, he disappears back into the weapon the world expects to see.
It happens too quickly.
The room felt different when he was bare. It felt smaller. The dark had edges. Now the edges recede, and the emptiness returns.
The obedience is complete. That is what I set out to confirm. He followed every instruction without hesitation. No line was drawn. He would have stood there as long as I told him to.
That should calm me.
