The cold concrete floor. The metal door. Maxim's voice in my ear.
My body tenses, and I pull back, the smile fading from my face.
Adrian notices immediately.
"Leni?"
I shake my head, trying to push the images away, but they cling to me.
I can't keep doing this. Burying my head in the sand isn't how you get over shit.
I know that. I do.
But God, it's easier to laugh about things like burnt cigarettes and sour eggs than it is to face what happened.
Adrian's hand gently rubs my face.
"You okay?"
I take a shaky breath and force myself to nod, but I'm not okay, and I won't be okay until I start talking about it.
Until I start dealing with it.
The laughter we've been sharing feels like a lifetime away right now.
I need to break the cycle and stop running.
So I do the only thing I can think of.
I just say it.
The name that's been burned into my mind since the night I first saw him, since the first time he locked me in that room.
"Do you know who Cornel Lupu is?"
Adrian goes completely still.
His hand freezes, and his jaw tightens.
"What?"
I take another breath.
"Cornel Lupu. Do you know who he is?"
Adrian's eyes darken, and I see the shift, the enforcer sliding into place beneath the surface.
21
ADRIAN
Just the fact that she's asking about someone who clearly she's afraid of makes my blood pressure rise.
The warmth drains from the room, and the laughter we just shared, the memories of Bra?ov, the fountain, the burnt cigarettes on Mr. Popescu's roof, all of it evaporates in an instant.
I'm tense now. Every muscle in my body coils tight, ready to spring, ready to hunt.
Elena's watching me, her dark eyes on me, and I can see the question written all over her face. She's waiting for me to say something.