Page 158

“Yes.”

Nikolai’s jaw tightens. “Has he done this before?”

“Yes.”

“How often?”

“Whenever he thinks I’m getting too comfortable without him.”

His expression changes slightly.

I look down at the phone. “That’s what this is. He doesn’t need to know anything for certain. He just needs enough to make me doubt where I am.”

“And is it working?”

I want to say no. Instead, I say, “A little.”

He doesn’t look offended. That makes it harder.

“I know you’re dangerous,” I add. “I’m not pretending otherwise.”

“No,” he says. “You’re too intelligent for that.”

“That almost sounded like a compliment.”

“It was.”

I look at him then, and for a second the fear settles into something quieter. He is not asking me to excuse him. He is not telling me Evan is lying about everything. He is standing there, letting the worst parts remain possible, and somehow that makes him easier to believe.

“I don’t need you to explain your entire life to me,” I say. “Not right now.”

“What do you need?” The question is simple enough that it catches me off guard.

I look toward Anya’s door. “I need him to stop being able to do this.”

“I can take care of that,” he says.

I shake my head. “No—just no. I don’t even know what you mean by that,” I say shaking my head. Is he suggesting killing Evan? Even though the thought is tempting, and even though the man has made my life a living hell for the past few years, I don’t want that.

I grip the phone a little tighter. “I mean it, Nikolai. I don’t want some violent confrontation because Evan sent me a few ugly texts.”

“He found you at the party and manhandled you.”

“Yes, and you handled that by nearly breaking his face,” I say.

His expression barely changes. “I showed restraint.”

I stare at him.

He looks completely serious.

“That was restraint?”

“Yes.”

“Your definition of restraint is terrifying.”

“I know.”