Page 95 of One of Them

The sound carried on the wind and got his attention.Oops.Rushed steps sounded in my direction, and the man came to a halt in front of me. The tips of our shoes briefly touched when he threw me over his shoulder, carrying me to the makeshift dance floor.

In the circle, surrounded by all these people, I let my guard down again and threw my hands in the air. We danced, laughed, and goofed around for hours. Buzzed off Alisa’s eggnog, we were all determined to last the night.

After finishing her shift at the hospital, Mila, Andrei’s wife, returned home.

We were all too excited to see her, but her husband immediately whisked her away, and the two vanished for the night.

At midnight, the eggnog disappeared, replaced by bottles of the same brand of vodka.

Ravager, as I now called him, remained seated on the couch, confusion written across his familiar features.

Imagine my surprise when the man I was dead set on killing alongside Malek turned out to be a ghost from the past. His presence was perhaps the biggest shock of the night. To find out that he and Maxim served together not long before we met? Mind-blowing.

For a spare moment, I considered a bigger game at play. Thankfully, the pure fury on Maxim’s face cleared me of any doubt. Regardless of our past relations, I was wary of Ravager. The name he used deserved an eye roll of its own. A double roll at the laugh the fates were having at my expense.

The past, the present, the future all under one roof. I knew how to pick ‘em.

His eyes followed me across the room, silently requesting a private moment. I wasn’t ready for that conversation. If today taught me anything, it was that things had a way of working themselves out with time, space, and a sprinkle of luck.

For now, I would let him tag along.

When my legs felt like giving out from all the dancing and action, I staged a bathroom break. Maxim’s absence didn’t escape me upon my return.

We desperately needed a moment alone, a chance to talk.

The last door on the left, in the upstairs portion of the Galkin residence, revealed the man I was desperate to locate. He casually sat on the ground, his back resting against the massive bed.

He was aware of my presence but remained staring ahead, even when I slid down next to him. Heat radiated off him in waves. His stomach expanded with each inhale before shrinking back to the formation of muscles I remembered.

Wide shoulders cast a shadow over the room. Tempted by the image and fueled by a handful of memories, I dug my fingers into the plush carpet beneath us.

This damn brain was forcing me to relive the last time whenever he was around, no matter the seriousness of the situation. What it felt like to unravel under his touch.

I craved his touch. Even more, I missed his presence.

There was something oddly intimate about seeing a man shirtless with bare feet. Or maybe it was just him.

A primal urge awoke within me. To possess. To own. At that very moment, I wished for nothing more than to be the only one to see him like this. Lock the door and keep him behind it. Allow him to be every version of himself he wished to be in my presence.

I wanted to behissafe space.

The fire reflected off his strong features, matching the inferno brewing within me. I wished to be the ember that lights his fire. To let the flame rage and burn within us both.

The green in his eyes stunned me every time. I let them pull me in and hold me hostage while I used the moment to decode whatever was going on inside him.

As eager as I was to add to the memories, something was wrong.

Maxim appeared relaxed, except for the iron grip on a bloodied shirt scrunched up in his left hand. From the angle I sat, it would’ve been easy to miss the item: a long-sleeved piece I wore earlier tonight. The same one I’d stuffed into the bathroom garbage, disposing of it before I took that never-ending nightmare of a shower.

Surprise filled me at the sight, but I gave him time. Long moments passed.

We just sat there.

A moment longer and I would’ve resorted to shaking it out of him, so I spoke instead. “Is this the part where you shout at me for being reckless?”

A somber voice answered. “No.”

I grasped the true meaning of the word. Maxim wasn’t one to restrict me, and while I might have pretended to be many things in life, not with him. Never with him.

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