Page 23

For the first time in my life, I feel seen.

Not the Wolf, who’s just a mindless assassin. Me, Rowan Teller. The man who got dragged into the pits of hell and was forced to become the best killing machine so he would be feared and stay at the top of the food chain.

Annie surprises me when she scoots closer and places her hand on my forearm. Her touch is soft, and more warmth spreads up to my shoulder before trickling into my frozen chest, which is thawing around this woman.

“Just in case the thought crossed your mind, you didn’t fail. You had to stop working in that sector because staying would’ve broken something you couldn’t put back together.” She gives me a gentle squeeze. “It was the same for me.”

Annie’s words hit incredibly hard, and for a few seconds, I can only stare at her.

She’s right. I had to leave before I lost the fragment of humanity I had left.

Seeing Lily, a mere kid, sitting next to the head of the Bratva was one hell of an eye-opener. If I had stayed in that world, what would’ve become of me? Would I have ended up being the same as Bastien Tarasov and the Nikitin brothers? Would I have hurt innocent little children?

As my eyes drift over Annie’s face, I realize she’s worming her way beneath my skin and into my heart.

If I spend more time with her, she might figure out who I really am. The riskiest part? I want that even though I shouldn’t.

Laufer can yank you out of this life at the drop of a hat. The Bratva could walk through that door tomorrow.

You can’t form a bond with her.

Shut it down.

Her hand moves up to my shoulder, and her expression tightens with concern. “Did I overstep and push a button I shouldn’t have?”

I shake my head, then force the words over my lips, “I can’t do friendships or any kind of relationship for that matter.”

“Okay.”

I should stand up and leave, but I can’t make my body move and continue to stare at Annie.

At some point, I start counting her freckles, and by the time I get well into the two hundreds, her lips curve up into a sweet smile.

“Can you do acquaintances slash neighbors slash coworkers who sometimes check in on each other?”

Her hand has slid back down to my forearm, and before I know what I’m doing, I place mine on top of hers. As I brush my thumb over her soft skin, I take in the difference between us. Her hand is half the size of mine, and where she has freckles, mine is pale from staying out of the sunlight and only moving around at night.

“I can’t do friendships,” I say again, then I lift my eyes to hers and admit, “But I want to.”

Fuck, do I want to.

Maybe I can steal a moment in the sun with Annie and be more than a retired assassin who’s lost all direction in his life.

I want to be what she sees when she looks at me.

Just for a little while.

Chapter 7

Owen

There’s so much compassion in Annie’s eyes as she moves onto her knees and places her arms around my neck.

For a moment, every muscle in my body tenses, and I freeze while a tender emotion spreads through every part of me.

Near my ear, she says, “It’s just a hug between friends and coworkers who’ve had a hell of a night.”

A hug.