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He snorts out a laugh as if he isn’t afraid. I try to walk past him again, moving along the way, but he moves his wide body into my path.
“Do you really want to do this?” I ask.
“Just saysorry. That’s all, doll.”
“I’m not doing that, and I’m not your doll.”
“Then you better get comfortable. Or bring your man in here so I can bust his nose wide open. I’m a dangerous man. I’m not somebody you want to mess with. Believe me.”
“And my boyfriendis?”
“Mila?” Mikhail calls from the doorway. “Are you okay in there?”
Lowering my voice, I tell the cleaner, “Just move out of my way.”
The man’s smirk gets wider. If I could see his code, I bet it would be something like:This girl’s scared. She knows I’m going to hurt her boyfriend. She knows I’m going to win. My bitch wife left me. I won’t be disrespected anymore.
“She’s not okay, buddy!” the man yells.
Right away, Mikhail bursts into the bathroom. When he sees the man blocking my path, he darts forward and grabs the man by the shirt, then spins and shoves him up against the wall so hard it’s like the entire bathroom trembles. Mikhail is slightly shorter than the man—which is saying a lot—but even so, he lifts him off his feet with two hands buried in his shirt.
The cleaner’s entire demeanor changes as he kicks his feet uselessly. He grips onto Mikhail’s forearms, staring down at him in disbelief.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, pal?” Mikhail says, his loose hair flowing wildly. “Hmm?Speak.”
“I-I …”
“He was being a jerk,” I tell Mikhail. “Trying to rush me. When I washed my hands anyway, he started talking about his ex-wife. He wanted to bully me so he felt better about her leaving him. Who cares? He’s not worth it, Mikhail.”
Mikhail nods as I speak but never takes his eyes off the cleaner. Slowly, he lowers him to his feet but keeps his hands on his shirt, staring at the man like he’s ready for a fight.
“What were you going to do if I didn’t come in here? Or let’s say I did, but I was smaller, weaker, and scared. What were you going to do, tough guy?”
“I-I-I’m sorry,” he says.
“Don’t apologize to me.”
He turns to me. “I’m sorry, okay? I’m just, jeez, I’m sorry.”
It’s like he’s suddenly woken up to find himself in this situation. There’s just something about Mikhail beyond his size, beyond his strength, beyond the fact he lifted this man off his feet without hesitation.
Mikhail glances at me. “Mila?” he says.
“Yeah?”
“What do you want me to do with the prick?”
Mikhail’s tone turns darker, flooded with fury, and I know right away, without a doubt, that he’ll do whatever I say. He’ll always stand by his woman.
CHAPTER 14
MIKHAIL
I’m not in the mood for this asshole. When I called into the bathroom, I was more worried that Mila had run away, not that some dickhead had used her to make a point. Especially after what I’ve recently done and the actual violence I inflicted, I’m ready to dismantle him.
Mila hesitates. In the corner of my vision—I’m staring at the man, waiting for him to move—she shifts from foot to foot. I wonder if part of her wants to tell me to beat him to a pulp. The thing is, I would. She’s spent too much of her life living in fear. She doesn’t deserve this.
“He’s not worth it,” she says after a pause. “Come on. Let’s not let him ruin the day.”
