But if it goes right, my son’s future is secured.
“Man plans,” I say.
Andrei chuckles. He doesn’t need me to finish the sentence.
CHAPTER 25
AMALIE
Roman rolls in like a storm that evening. I hear him before I see him; the low murmur of voices in the entryway, Andrei saying something, the heavy click of the massive front doors closing and locking.
Roman finds me in the sitting room. Dusk has already settled and the lamps are on.
He enters, eyes blazing. He doesn’t sit. “Where is Sasha?”
“In bed.”
“Good.” A beat. “Now. Tell me about Max Russo.”
“We already talked about this.”
“We didn’t. I brought him up, you deflected. And now he’s stalking you at the goddamn mall. I’ve allowed a bit of privacy on personal life matters. But not this.”
He’s calm, but this calm is unmistakably dangerous. It’s not anger, not yet. I unexpectedly find myself wondering if he’d ever direct the anger I know he’s capable of toward me.
“He’s a detective,” I say. “Kind of a dick.”
His gaze doesn’t flinch. “That’s not the whole story.”
“We dated. It didn’t work.”
“Why?”
The question lands heavily. “People break up all the time.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t be evasive with me. I remember the look in your eyes when you talked to me about him that night. And regular breakups don’t involve stalking at the mall.”
Jealousy flickers briefly in his gaze. It’s dark, sharp, and possessive. It sends a shiver through my body that’s part fear and part heat.
“He liked control.”
“Over everything,” he replies. “Including you.”
I nod once. “Yes.”
His jaw tightens. “Did he touch you?”
“Yes,” I answer. “We dated. Of course he did.”
“Did he hurt you?”
“No. Not like that.”
Roman exhales sharply. “What did he do, Amalie.” A demand more than a question.
Something about the way he says my name affects me far more than shouting would.
“He was cruel. About my body.” Roman freezes. I force myself to keep going before I lose my nerve. “Toward the end, he startedsaying things like how embarrassed he was to be seen with me. He told me I could be so much prettier if I just tried harder, if I lost weight. If I took up less space.” The last sentence comes out quietly.
