Page 75 of Wicked Savage

Fionn stays silent. I know it hits him.

“If I’d kept going, it would’ve been bad for both of us. I can’t marry a Marinov. I can’t have kids with her. The thought of our blood mixing…it makes me want to burn everything down.”

Tynan exhales. “Look, I’m not gonna tell you what to do. You’re a grown man. But don’t let this consume you. And get some sleep. You look like shit.” He smirks.

“Yeah, yeah. Fuck off.” I shake my head. “Are we done here?”

“Yeah, go. But get your head in the game. The board doesn’t need to see you like this.” He waves me off.

“Right.”

I head for the elevator, almost bumping into a woman. My pulse falters, because for a second, I swear it’s her.

“Dinara?”

She turns, a look of confusion crossing her face, and my stomach clenches.

It’s not her. Of course it’s not her.

“Sorry,” I mutter, stepping aside as the woman enters the elevator.

I wait for the next one, my stomach sinking.

This is crazy. She isn’t here. I’ll never see her again. And it’s all my fault.

CHAPTER17

DINARA

TWO WEEKS LATER

It’s beentwo weeks since I’ve heard from him. Since I’ve felt his touch, smelled his cologne, felt his skin on mine.

Every day should be easier, but it’s not. It just keeps getting harder.

I see him everywhere I go. Every man, for a second, feels like him—until I look closer and realize it’s just my mind playing tricks on me.

He’s never coming back. He doesn’t even want to talk to me.

It’s over. Cillian is really gone.

Alisa and Natalia are speaking, but I can barely hear them. I’m staring at my phone, hoping for some sign, some reply, but he hasn’t answered. He probably never will.

Dinara

Hi.

That’s all I wrote. It was stupid. I know that. But last night, the memories hit me like a wave—us ice-skating in New York City at Rockefeller Center. It was so real. I could almost feel his hands on my hips, his breath in my ear.

“Steady, baby,” he whispered, tightening his grip. “You’re doing great.”

I laughed, not even afraid of falling because he was always there to catch me.

“Dinara, are you even listening?” Natalia’s voice breaks through my thoughts.

I jerk toward her. “Huh? What?”

She tilts her head. “I won’t ask what you were daydreaming about. I already know.”

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