“I’m not afraid of you.”
My throat tightens.
I turn back to the window. “I can’t tell you.”
“Can’tor won’t?”
“Both.”
Silence settles again. Heavy. Suffocating.
The city blurs past. Everything looks different at night. Softer. Like all the sharp edges get swallowed by darkness.
I wish I could disappear like that.
Just fade into nothing until people forget I ever existed.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“My place.”
“I don’t want to go to your place.”
“I don’t care what you want right now, Beda. You need rest and food. You’ll get both.”
I close my eyes. Let exhaustion pull at me like a current. Fighting him takes energy I don’t have anymore.
The car slows in front of a townhouse. He parks and kills the engine.
“How many places do you have?”
“Enough,” he chuckles.
I don’t move.
My body feels like lead, every muscle screaming, every breath shallow and wrong. The pain medication Moronov gave me is wearing off faster than it should.
Maksim gets out, comes around to my side. Opens the door.
“Come on,” he says, reaching for me.
I want to tell him I can walk. Want to prove I’m not completely helpless.
But when I try to move, my ribs protest so violently I gasp.
He doesn’t wait for permission this time. Just scoops me up like I weigh nothing and carries me toward the entrance.
“I can walk,” I mutter against his chest.
“You keep saying that.”
“Because it’s true.”
“Beda, you can barely breathe without wincing. Save your energy.”
I hate that he’s right.
Hate that I’m letting him carry me again.
