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“Stop,” she whines, grabbing some paper towels on the table and wiping the milk.
He chuckles as he watches her and shakes his head. I recognize that shake. He’s happy.
I know it’s my moment to say what I’ve been dying to since we learned what Aleksei and his men did to Rose. It will undoubtedly ruin the mood, but it’s better to do it now than when he’s already broody.
“Sam,” I attempt. I need to take a sip of coffee before I can continue. “I have something to tell you.”
He looks at me, waiting without possibly being able to imagine what I have to say.
“You know how…Viktor found out it was us sending back the tracker to him, and we weren’t able to find him that way.”
His eyebrows draw together, and he nods.
“Well,” I hesitate, “I had another one. One I attached to Aaron Williams’ jacket when we saw him.”
The long silence that follows tightens my stomach. My face twists with regret when I see how the happiness from a few seconds ago vanishes and is replaced by a hardness in his eyes.
“Are you telling me we’ve had another tracker in Volkov’s compound for weeks, and you didn’t think to mention it to me?”
“I—”
“Are you out of your mind, Malik?!” His voice reverberates against the walls of the kitchen, making me and Rose jump.
It’s not often that Sam shouts at someone. Being on the receiving end makes me want to crawl into a hole and never come out.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to say anything because it’s been useless. I…” Shame engulfs me in knowing he is going to be so disappointed in me. “I forgot to turn it on.”
He literally facepalms himself before his hand drops to his mouth. He bites his fist, clearly trying to stop himself from saying something he’ll regret later.
“How, Lik. How could you forget?”
My gaze snaps to Rose before I look at Sam again. “I was distracted,” I admit. How could someone not be if they had Rose wrapped in leather at the end of a leash? Making herself come against your…That’s not the point.
“Look. I didn’t want to tell you because I knew you would be mad at me for not turning it on. The tracker has been useless, and there was no point in letting you know about it. But then…” I don’t have to say what made me change my mind, he understands from my look. “I had a new incentive to kill Volkov. This is personal now. If only we could find a way to turn the tracker on remotely—”
Not many people can cut someone off by remaining completely silent. Yet I know this is my cue to stop talking.
He stays quiet for a minute or so, and we both let him.
“I still need a new I.T. guy,” he finally explains, seemingly calmed down. “I haven’t found anyone I can trust yet.”
“I can help with that.” Rose’s voice seems foreign to me right now. It can’t be her who just offered to help find the brothers.
“You don’t have to,” Sam answers, surprising me even more.
“You were quite desperate for it not too long ago,” she fights back. She’s stopped eating, wholly focused on a conversation I should have started when she’d left. Unfortunately, I couldn’t wait any longer.
“That was…before,” Sam justifies. He runs his knuckles against his jaw, clearly cooking up a new plan.
“Before what?” Rose insists. “Before I told you Aleksei raped me? What, am I a victim now? You don’t want my help anymore?”
Both Sam and I wince at the word. It will never get easier to hear.
Sam takes a deep breath, trying to control a boiling rage. “Before I realized I was still completely and undeniably in love with you and decided I wanted you by my side rather than buried six feet deep.”
Her mouth drops open, rendered speechless for long seconds.
“Makes sense,” I come for help.
