AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Was it when you were in prison?” I laid a hand on his shoulder blade gently.
He braced his hands on the counter before angling his head toward me, but not meeting my eyes. “It was a long time ago. There is no point in talking about it.” His gaze snapped up to mine. “And don’t you dare say you’re sorry.”
I closed my mouth, biting my lips to make sure they stayed shut. Rubbing small circles on his back, I tried to think of somethingelseto say, but all I had were questions. I started with the most basic, hoping he didn’t shut down on me entirely.
“Why…? Why would anyone do that?”
He straightened and turned to face me directly, lifting the hem of his shirt above the snarling wolf tattoo and the Cyrillic beneath it. “‘Man is wolf to man.’ You want to know why? Because they can. They did it to me. Now I do it to other people. It’s how it goes. Don’t waste your time asking ‘why.’”
“But it doesn’thaveto be like that.” I knew from the way his eyes rolled he was already annoyed with my American optimism, so I pushed onward before he resumed his stony silence. “Youdon’t have to be like that, Sasha. Let other people be the Wolf from now on.”
“What are you saying?” The corners of his eyes tightened.
“When this is over with, I want you to quit. I want this to be your last job,” I said with way more confidence than I actually felt.
“Quit?”
“Yes, quit. Stop killing. Stop torturing. Retire. Whatever you call it.”
He scoffed, shaking his head. “You don’t ‘quit’ a job like mine, Roan. There is only one way out.”
“Ok, then we’ll leave.”
“And go where?” He cocked his head, less pissed than I thought he’d be and more resigned to the cards Fate dealt him. “Where do you think I can go that they won’t find me? Men like Sergei won’t stop looking. He’ll send someone like me, or Misha or Valery. Someone who feels nothing when they cut your heart out, or slaughter your children right in front of you.”
He stated it simply, factually, and without emotion. I knew he wasn’t saying any of it to scare me, but it left me queasy anyway. “Don’t tell me you don’t feel anything. You felt something that night you told me about Lada. About Pavel. When you saw me in the hospital.”
He looked away sharply, his jaw setting.
“I know not to ask you what happened, or to ask if you’ll tell me what you’re thinking, let alone feeling. I just…” I sighed, trying to think of the right thing to say to a guy who’d suffered more than I could ever imagine. “I’m here, Sasha. Just remember I’m here. And I’ll do whatever it takes to help you start over, without all of this.”
His gaze darted back, eyes narrowed, like he was suspicious of my true intent. “I don’t need your pity.”
“It’s not pity.”
“Whatever it is, I don’t need it.”
“It’s love. And I know you don’t need it. You don’t need anything or anyone. You’ve made that abundantly clear. But I’m here if youwantit.”
He looked like he was about to say something, then thought better of it. Wrapping his hand around the back of my neck, he reeled me in, folding me against chest. He huffed a sad sort of sigh, resting his cheek against the side of my head. “I’ll always want you, Solnyshko.”
29
SASHA
Three daysafter Roan sent the ransom demand, his mother emailed him a second time stating she’d done everything, as instructed. The bank Roan selected also sent an alert that the funds had been deposited, all thirty million of them.
Thus, I made one last trip to the basement of Delirium to be done with this asshole once and for all.
Jabbing a needle into the side of Phillip’s neck, I waited until he passed out before dragging him out again. Roan was right. He was already half-dead. There’s no way he’d put up any sort of a fight, but I’d rather haul around dead weight than listen to his moaning and whining apologies that were too little too late.
Stuffing Phillip into the back of another van, I climbed up after him and closed the doors.
“Where are we going?” Eduard asked, putting the vehicle into drive.
“State and Madison.”
“At this time of day? Are you crazy? It’s going to be crawling with people!”
