AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I duck into the kitchen to stash my contraband in the freezer and grab a beer for Arlo. He accepts the bottle with a charming grin. “Spasiba.”
“Pustike.”
“Slang. Impressive,” he adds with a toast to me.
“Sofiya’s teaching me ‘street Russian.’ She says it’s important to not sound like a textbook.”
Arlo chuckles and we sit in comfortable silence for a while. It’s one of the things I’ve noticed about this guy—he’s got a warmth to him that makes anyone feel like they can be open and honest in his presence.
That being said, I have a suspicion that, as with most things in Pasha’s world, he’s hiding a much darker and more dangerous side.
“I also wanted to check in on you, truly.” Arlo sips his beer and smiles at me. “How are you feeling?”
“Physically? Or emotionally?”
He tilts his head. “Emotionally. You look like you’re in pretty good shape otherwise.”
Something in the way he says that reminds me of Pasha. I shake it off and wave a dismissive hand. “I’m doing good. Truly. Better, actually, knowing my attacker won’t be coming back.”
“It must have felt good to be able to defend yourself, too.”
“It did. I’m just…” I try not to scoff at myself, but it still comes out. “I’m not sure if I’m supposed to feel proud about kicking her ass. Or anyone’s ass, really.”
“You’re allowed to be proud about it. Your first fight, your first win, is always something to be proud of. Especially when losing would have meant dying.”
I study him for a long, silent moment. Something within me tugs at the string he’s left dangling: a fight he’s talking about that has nothing to do with punches or kicks.
“Is that how you felt when you lost Asya?”
I wince as soon as I say it. I should really learn to shut my mouth.
To my surprise, Arlo doesn’t seem fazed. He just takes another swig and nods. “Every day of my life. Nothing hurts like living when your soulmate is ripped from your arms.”
I… I don’t know what to say to that.
“I know he may seem overbearing,” continues Arlo, “but you’ll have to forgive Pasha in the face of knowing he’s like this because he loves you. And losing you would not only undo him—it would destroy him.”
“You seemed to make it out okay.” I don’t know how else to ask about his wife and children back in Russia.
Arlo catches my drift and again, doesn’t seem offended by my poking around in his personal life. “I made do. I busied myself with travel until I had no choice but to marry. She ended up being a very dear friend, and someone I needed at the time to get through the darker days.”
“Did she know…?”
“She knew. I did not… how you say? … hold back. In our early days. I was bitter and blamed her for making it impossible for me to win my Asya back. I made sure she knew she was second choice.”
“Sounds like something Pasha would do.”
“I’ll admit, men like us don’t always have our best qualities up front.”
Don’t I know it. “You seem happy now, though. Are things better? Now that you’re back with Asya?”
Arlo stares off into the distance for a long moment, seemingly deep in thought. Finally, he sets his bottle on the side table and looks at me. “I’m alive again. I can breathe again. I did—for the record, just so you don’t think I’m a heartless monster—treat my first wife very well, once I got over myself. So I do miss her company. Even just to talk like we used to. But now?”
He breathes through his laugh. That grin… I know it so well.
It’s Pasha’s.
“It’s like I got used to swimming, but now, I’ve finally reached the surface. Asya is my everything. She always has been, and always will be.”
