Black shirt, black jacket, dark jeans, like he swallowed the night and brought it in with him. His eyes sweep the room in one ruthless pass—door, crates, Kay, Jace, Ricky—
Me.
They lock on me like a gunshot.
My lungs forget how to work.
He steps inside, slow, controlled, each movement coiled. He doesn’t have to raise his voice when he speaks.
“Did I tell you,” he says, gaze never leaving mine, “that you could leave the house?”
Ricky bristles beside me, shoulders squaring.
“You can’t talk to her like that,” he says, anger flaring, protective and stupid and so very Ricky.
I feel his body angle slightly in front of mine.
Maksim’s eyes flicker to him, then back to me, something lethal sparking there.
Perfect.
Now he thinks there’s something going on between us.
“Move,” Maksim says.
The word slides through the room like a blade. Kay goes still by the door. Jace sets whatever he’s holding down very carefully on the table.
Ricky doesn’t move.
“I said,” Maksim takes a step forward,“move.”
Ricky’s chin lifts. “She’s not your dog, man.”
Oh, fuck.
I feel Maksim’s temper snap like a live wire.
He doesn’t reach for his gun.
He just goes.
One second he’s beside the door, the next he’s closing the distance in a few long strides, all controlled violence and coiled muscle, shoulders bunching like he’s going to drive Ricky straight into the concrete.
I react before I think.
“Stop!” I shove myself in front of Ricky, palms out, catching Maksim’s chest.
It’s like hitting a wall. The force vibrates up my arms.
His momentum checks, barely. His breath slams out of him, hot against my face. He doesn’t step back. Doesn’t give me space. He just… redirects, looming over me instead.
His eyes never leave Ricky.
Not once.
I’ve been close to him—too close. Pressed to cold metal and leather and expensive fabric of that damn couch. But this is different. His breathingis rough, harsh, like it hurts him to hold it in. There’s something almost monstrous in his expression, carved sharp and cold, jaw clenched so tight I can see the muscle ticking.
I don’t understand it.
