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A minute passes before she says, “I’ve figured something out about you.” She pauses for a couple of heartbeats. “I think something bad happened in your past, and you got out too late.” Her tone is somber and brimming with compassion. “I think something vital broke inside you, and now you’re lost. You can’t let someone in because you’re always on guard. You think keeping others at a distance is safer.”

She has no idea how right she is.

Closing my eyes, I lower my head.

With a low and rough voice, I admit, “You’re kind, warm, and compassionate. It’s foreign to me.” Feeling more lost than Annie could ever imagine, I add, “Everything is overwhelming. I don’t know how to adapt to this life.”

“I could help you if you’d let me,” she whispers.

Just talking to her through the shut door calms me. I suck air deep into my lungs and exhale slowly while I try to figure out how to handle things.

In the past, I would’ve packed up and removed myself from the risky situation.

Whenever it looked like someone showed any kind of interest in me, I moved. When it felt like I was compromised, I moved. When I caught myself looking at a person twice, I moved.

I never stuck around long enough to get used to seeing the same faces. I didn’t know how many freckles were on the bridge of a woman’s nose.

Twenty-three.

I didn’t find anything adorable, and sure as fuck didn’t get cuteness aggression just because of a pair of eyebrows pulling together.

I didn’t feel curious to get to know a woman better.

I didn’t experience such a powerful desire that it stripped me of years of training.

The people passing me in the hallways and on the streets always remained strangers, targets I could eliminate at a moment’s notice.

How do I navigate things between Annie and me without letting her get too close? The risk is too high. Besides the fact that I’m in uncharted waters, the Bratva could track me down, or Laufer could move me.

“Owen?”

I shake my head, and climbing to my feet, I take the stairs down two at a time.

When I step out into the alley, I pull my phone out of my pocket and bring up my very short contact list, which contains only one number.

My thumb hovers over Laufer’s name.

I should tell him what’s happening so he can pull me out of this life before I get more involved with Annie.

I should walk away so she’ll remain safe and oblivious. She’ll think I’m just some damaged guy she once crossed paths with.

She’ll never find out who I really am, because no matter how I pretend to be Owen Casey, I’m still Rowan Teller, the Wolf who’s killed hundreds of people.

Call Laufer.

My thumb still refuses to move.

You’re putting Annie at risk.

The screen of my phone goes black.

You can’t get involved with her.

My hand lowers to my side, and tilting my head back, I look up at the starless night sky.

But Annie sees the fragment of me that’s left after living a violent and brutal life.

She looks at me like I’m more than a monster. Like I’m a man who could do better, who could deserve to mean something to her.