She tried not to touch the wounds, but a few times I jerked despite myself. She paused each time, waiting until I steadiedagain. I didn’t know how long we stayed in that steam-filled room. Eventually, thirst clawed at my throat.
She shut the water off. Stepping out, she reached for a towel and came back to me. Her movements were deliberate as she patted my back dry. Then she stopped. Blood stained it. Dorin had patched me well, but fresh wounds still bled.
Lina stared at the fabric.
“Thanks for taking care of me, Lina,” I whispered.
She turned toward me and pulled me into a kiss. Her lips were soft and warm, tasting faintly of the gum she chewed every damn day. My body wanted more, yet I stayed exactly where I was. She pressed deeper, breath stealing, until she stepped back again.
Her hands trembled against my chest.
“Thank you for saving my life.” She didn’t wait for my response. She walked out before I could reach for her.
Chapter 43
CEZAR
Lina felt guilty that I’d gotten hurt because of her. I could see it from the way her hands shook, from the way she looked anywhere but at my bandages. Every hour I spent with her pulled me deeper into the darkness, and I wouldn’t have traded that for the brightest life outside these walls.
She returned with clothes and helped me dress. Once I was decent, we walked to the living room. The house was quiet. It felt peaceful in a strange way, sharing the couch with her while she turned on the TV.
“You’re going to put holes in my head if you keep staring like that,” she remarked, not looking my way. Lina grabbed a blanket and draped it over us. I crowded into her space.
“How did you and Dorin meet?” I asked.
I expected her to brush it off. Maybe give me a sentence or two. Instead, she let the wall crumble a little.
“I saved his life. Or something close to it.”
“Oh?”
Lina shifted on the couch to face me directly, crossing her legs and leaning against the cushions. I adjusted to follow her, eager to hear her story.
She took a slow breath. “Honestly, it was an accident. I was seventeen. They’d started putting me on more assignmentsby then. Nothing major. I was mostly tagging along, watching, learning how the world really worked.”
Her voice carried the weight of those memories.
“We all had assigned posts. Look but don’t interfere. Report back. The house we were at was huge. Low-level mafia owned it. The kind who handled the filthy work organized crime didn’t want attached to their names. Loan sharks. Prostitution. All the background rot that kept the bigger players clean. The place made my skin crawl.”
She rubbed her arm absently, as if the feel of that place lingered.
“There weren’t many of us on that job. Most of the muscle was hired. I was placed in the back, out of danger. That part always pissed me off, but that night paved the way for what we are now. I heard screaming from below. I followed the noise, gun ready, staying against the wall while the voices grew louder.”
She paused, breathing in.
“The hallway was long and dark. Wet, too. I remember hearing something drip onto the floor over and over. When I reached the end, I peeked around the corner. The screaming had stopped, though I could still hear men moving somewhere beyond what I could see. I listened for a moment and pieced together what was happening.”
She swallowed hard.
“A guy owed a shit ton of money. They took his sister asinterest. They were going to make him watch everything they did to her. Maybe cut off a few fingers after. Nothing too damaging. They still needed him to work.”
My pulse shot through the roof. Vali. She had to be talking about her.
“I wasn’t supposed to interfere.” She sighed. “But I knew this wasn’t ending well, so I figured why not make things worse.And I sure as hell wasn’t going to stand by when I could do something.”
Her hand found mine, her thumb gliding over the scars. The gesture held more care than I deserved.
I couldn’t help wondering who she’d been running these jobs with. If they weren’t her men at the time and she was merely a helper, who taught her what she knows?
