“Package has been received, and payment has been transferred as agreed.”
I stared at my account, the zeros growing until every penny had been delivered.
“Pleasure doing business with you.” With a flick of my wrist, I tossed the phone onto the dash, the clatter louder than it should’ve been in the quiet car.
I didn’t move. Didn’t breathe.
Just sat there, staring through the windshield at the warehouse in the distance, like if I stayed still long enough this strange feeling weighing me down might dissipate on its own.
It didn’t.
Reaching into my pocket, I traced my thumb over Violet’s necklace.
This had always been the plan. Yes, everything had gone a bit sideways, but it resulted in the same thing. Me with more money, and her out of my life. Nothing else ever mattered.
So then why did my chest feel heavy… cold, as if I’d swallowed ice?
It was probably adrenaline. A delayed reaction. Residual stress catching up with me now that the job was done.
Right?
Violet excited me, that was it. Her presence, the way she pushed back just enough to make it interesting. It was in the looks she gave me, the hesitation, and the way she said my name like it meant something.
She sparked something no other woman ever had.
Not lust, exactly. Something newer. Sharper.
A disruption I mistook for novelty, maybe?
You see, this was the problem when you spent too much time with someone.
I do not recommend.
A knock on the window jolted me. Clearly, I’d been too wrapped up in my own damn pity party to notice the ugly fucker Maxim standing there. I hadn’t even noticed him approach, and the realisation that he was able to sneak up on me pissed me off more than his presence.
“Rome send you?” I grunted, not in the mood for company. “Knew I shouldn’t have told him the fucking details.”
Maxim only levelled me with a stare before slipping into the passenger side. He remained silent, but his presence was enough.
“Yeah,” I muttered, raking a hand over my face.“She should’ve seen this coming. It’s not my fault she’s so fucking naïve and impulsive. I literally gave her no reason to trust me.
She’s just… too fucking optimistic. It’s irritating.”
I turned toward the warehouse once more, studying the car that had pulled up, committing it to memory for reasons I refused to acknowledge. Maxim maintained his silence,eyes steady, and for once I almost wished he’d mutter something in Russian just to break the weight of it.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I snapped. “You literally tortured a guy by his balls. Don’t start acting like you’ve got the moral high ground.”
The words rang hollow, even to my own ears. It sounded a lot like excuses. And I didn’t make excuses.
Fucking hell.
I had to be losing it, because there was no way in hell what I was feeling was… guilt.
Shit.
It had to be something, because what other reason was there for me not to tie the knots tighter? Or for me to leave her my favourite bloody weapon?
I wasn’t careless.
