“I gave you the personal guarantee you asked for.”
“You did, but it don’t mean shit without the test of time.”
Cam rose, his strong body unfolding and swamping the room.
Gianni Sambini shifted, uncomfortable, and I did not entirely blame him. This version of Cam—single-minded, hard-headed—it was frightening. It was beautiful, and I regretted that I’d missed some of it to being lost in my own head.
Still, we were not quite done here. I stepped forward and pressed my fists on the desk Gianni sat behind and exhaled through my teeth, a low hiss that was barely a sound.
He paled, and my work was done.
His soldiers escorted us out. Cam was still tenser than his neutral expression allowed for, but Viktor’s presence in my periphery distracted me. He was watching me, gauging his moment.
He took it in the car park, calling my name in Russian.
I turned.
He motioned for me to return to the spot where he had chosen to stop.
I did not move.
He blinked first and ventured close enough to put a hand to my arm.
I removed it. “You forget yourself.”
The Russian flowed out of me, barbed and unwelcome. I had grown too used to not speaking it for weeks and months at a time and I wanted to forget it. It grated on me that it was the essence of who I was. A dead person.But who are you now if he is dead?
A man that would take Viktor’s arm from its socket before I let him touch me again.
“What do you want?”
Viktor glanced at the Kings who had silently surrounded us, Cam and Rubi flanking me, Mateo a fierce presence at Viktor’s back. “I have a message for you. Perhaps we can talk in private?”
“They do not speak Russian.”
“They are protecting you. It is unnecessary.”
“Tell them that if you wish.”
“I feel they would not listen.” Wry humour graced Viktor’s expression. If I had not decided his presence was as welcome in my life as leprosy, I might have liked him.
But I did not.
I could not. “Say what you need to say.”
“I have a request. From our mutual friend.”
Sidorov.“We are not friends.” My tone was vicious. A warning.Know your place.“Our association came to an end the night you and I met.”
“That is between you. All I have is a request for a contact number. So you can be reached if it becomes necessary.”
“Why would it?”
Viktor held my gaze. “I do not know.”
He’s lying.Had we been alone, I might have forced the truth from him, but with Cam close enough to be caught in the crossfire of any repercussions, I remained in place, flattening my expression. “I do not know either. Tell your friend that I heard what he said when we last spoke. Tell him I believed him.”
I walked away, leaving Viktor beneath the light rain that had begun to mist from the night sky. Truly, I did not dislike him, but I had no time for whatever game he was playing. Sidorov would find me if he needed me.