“Oh, babe,” she said, her concern immediate. “I can’t. My license got taken a few days ago.”
“Jesus, were you driving drunk again?”
“Yeah,” she muttered. “Don’t start.”
I exhaled shakily and swiped beneath my eyes with the edge of my sleeve. “Fine. I’ll figure something out. Either way, I’m coming.”
I ended the call and grabbed my head in both hands, fingers pressing into my temples as I tried to think. I needed to get out of this house, and I needed someone to drive me. Sneaking out was the only option—but since mom had been taken, even that wasn’t easy. Back when she was here, she’d cover for me, let me slip out sometimes, even hand me some money. But now, with father being the control freak he is, I couldn’t step outside without a prison warden’s shadow.
Still, I hadn’t really needed to sneak out—not lately. I had Maksym. He was my escape, my rebellion, my sanctuary. He was all I wanted. All I craved.
The thought of him sliced through me again, sharp and merciless.
I didn’t want to callhim. But deep down, I knew he’d be the only one who’d come. The only one who could.
And I needed to be out of this house. Now.
I called Ruslan.
“Hey, want to hang out at Valeria’s?” I asked, trying to sound normal, like my world hadn’t just been ripped apart. “Can you give me a ride?”
“Absolutely,” he replied, no pause at all. “Should I head out right now?”
“Yeah. But don’t come to the house. I’ll meet you down the road a bit, past the service gates. I’ll send you the location.”
“Leave the headlights off,” I added.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” I lied. “Just hurry.”
I slipped out through the staff gates, past the cameras and the guard taking a smoke—just like I had done a hundred times before. Then I kept walking.
Ruslan was already waiting when I came around the corner, engine running low at the curb, headlights dark exactly the way I told him. The moment he spotted me, he got out—like some fucking gentleman—and pulled the passenger door open.
It should have felt sweet, the kind of gesture girls are supposed to melt over, but instead it sent a slow, crawling discomfort over my skin.
The last thing I needed was some guy trying to play hero tonight. But I slid into the seat anyway, too tired to fight.
He got in behind the wheel and glanced over.“Kira, what’s going on?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” I said flatly. “Can we just go to Valeria’s and get smashed?”
He hesitated. “You know you can tell me, right?”
I looked at him without blinking, like he was a stranger asking the wrong question. “There’s nothing to say. Drive.”
He shut up and did what I asked.
When we pulled up in front of Valeria’s apartment, I got out before he could make another gentlemanly move. He followed, glancing at me like I might fall apart at any second.
Valeria opened the door in pajama shorts and a crop top, a glass of wine already in hand. The second she saw me, her expression shifted. “What the hell happened?” she asked, stepping aside to let us in. “Did that psycho do something to you?”
I slumped into the couch and dropped my bag like it burned me. “Just leave it alone.”
Valeria scoffed, setting down her wine. “Of course he did. I knew this would happen.”
Ruslan’s brows pulled together. “Who are you talking about?”
