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Leo lingered in the bathroom door but didn’t come inside. I tried to ignore him but he kept staring.
“What do you want?” I asked him in the mirror.
“You’re in shock still,” he said.
“I’m fine.”
“The mind goes through some shit, when you see things like— you know, like yesterday.”
“Like you murdering my cousin? And that… that guy?”
“Donald. Yeah.”
I grunted. “I don’t want to hear his name.”
“All right.” He kept staring at me.
I turned and spread my arms. “Seriously, what do you want?”
“I want to help you.”
I laughed, bitter and angry. “You could’ve left me the fuck alone. That would’ve been a good start.”
He grimaced. “I didn’t put you in that house.”
“No, you didn’t. But you also didn’t have to come in and ruin my life.”
“That wasn’t the intent.”
“What was your fucking intent, then?”
“To ruin your cousin’s life. You were collateral damage. If I weren’t for me, you’d be dead right now. If Pavel had his way—”
“Fuck you. Fuck you, Leo.” I turned to him, rage flowing through me. “Fuck you.”
“Okay,” he said, staring at me with expressionless eyes. “I hear you.”
“No, you fucking don’t.” I took a step closer to him, my breath coming in fast. “Fuck. You. Leo.”
“Okay.”
I hit him in the chest. I slammed my palm against him, then slammed it again, then again. I hit him with my fists
He took a step back. I hit him again, harder. He grunted, but let me do it. I hit him again, then curled my hand into fists, and punched.
He caught my wrist. I screamed, struggling, hit him again.
He turned me, twisted my wrist, and shoved me against the wall. My face pressed against textured wallpaper and I let out a soft gasp of pain as he locked my arm up.
“Enough,” he said.
“What, am I hurting you? You think that hurts?”
“Enough,” he said again. “Okay? That’s enough.”
“Let me go, big man. You’re so big and bad, let me go, let me go, let me go.”
He let me go.
I let out a surprised groan. He took a few steps away toward the bed. I rubbed my wrist.
“I understand why you’re angry. But try to see this from my perspective. I didn’t put you in that house. I actually saved your life. I’ve treated you well, way better than anyone in my position would treat you. You’re a huge fucking liability, and yet I’ve saved your life not once, but twice. And the second time, I saved you from your own goddamn family. You still think I’m the enemy?”
I stared at him, breathing hard.
I walked him to him and hit him in the chest again.
But there was no anger behind it. There was no force.
He caught my wrist, but didn’t have to grip it hard to keep me at bay.
I felt a sob rip itself from my chest.
He was right. I knew he was right. My family tried to kill me yesterday. That man was sent by my uncle, and instead of trying to save me, he tried to strangle me to death. It would’ve worked if Leo hadn’t heard me fighting back.
He turned my wrist, but this time he wrapped it around his neck and pulled me close against him.
I cried into his shoulder. I felt stupid, like a pathetic little girl, but all the emotions that had built up over the last couple days came spilling out. He hugged me, held me, and let me sob like a little baby.
“It’s all right,” he whispered. “It’s going to be all right. I know it hurts now. But it’ll be okay.”
Sweet lies. Pleasant fictions.
It wouldn’t be okay. My life as I knew it was over.
Gone, everything gone.
I don’t know how long we stood there. But he didn’t rush me and he didn’t push me away. I let it all flow until I started to calm down.
There are only so many tears inside a person, only so much deep, wrenching emotional pain. At some point, you just become numb.
A knock at the door broke the moment.
He gently moved me away. I stood to the side and used the shirt I slept in to wipe my face. He walked to the door and looked out through the little peephole then opened it up.
“Room service. Shall I bring—”
“Right here’s fine.” Leo grunted something else.
“Very good. Have a nice morning.”
Leo shut the door and rolled a tray into the room.
Bacon, eggs, coffee, cereal, and milk.
“Eat,” he said.
“No. I’m not hungry.”
He sat me down at the end of the bed. “You have to eat,” he said. “Once you eat, we’ll talk about what our next move’s going to be. Okay?”
I blinked, nodded, and accepted a plate with bacon and eggs. “Coffee too,” I said.
He smiled, poured me some.
I ate like a robot.
He sat on the couch and ate like an animal.
I didn’t know how he could be so calm. His life was as fucked as mine. His apartment wasn’t safe anymore and he just killed two men in the Volkov crime syndicate.
