Page 33 of Destined for the Devil
"Nothing much.” She spoke as if uninterested. “He asked how I knew you. Are you good friends?"
"Yes. I've known him since I was a kid."
Isla nodded and smiled politely at the waitress when she dropped off the milkshake.
"Mm. He said you were business partners too. You run yourconstructioncompanytogether?" She used air quotes, and it was painfully obvious she was catching onto the fact that it wasn’t legit. "You know who else owned a construction company? My dad. But we didn't live in a penthouse. And he did very well." She sipped on her milkshake, keeping her eyes on me.
"Isla...if you want to ask me something, just ask."
"Roman...if you want to tell me something, just tell me." She reversedit back on me and sat there in trepidation. Fuck me.
"Tell me what Sergei said to you first...and then I’ll tell you what you want to know." I set my own terms as her eyes sparkled with tears.
"Yeah? You really want to know what yourgoodfriend said to me?" She double-checked, and I was actually scared to hear it. I nodded slowly.
"He said..." she trailed off, taking a deep breath to calm down. "He said that he wouldn't do anything inappropriate there, because his wife was close by. No. He was going to find me alone. And next time he gets his hands on me…he hopes I will be shaking from fear and pain.”
All of me began to shut down at her story.
“And he said he wanted to hear me scream and…and beg him to stop..." Tears were now running down her cheeks, but she kept talking. “But he wouldn't stop until he took everything that he wanted from me."
She got it off her chest as I sat there frozen, glued to my seat, her angelic eyes begging for an explanation. "Who thefuckare you, Roman? If you have friends who threaten women they don't know with rape? Is that who you are too?!"
She was heartbroken, and rightfully so. HowcouldI have friends like that?
This was the straw that broke the camel's back. Sergei and I had been drifting apart for years, but he had crossed into some kind of uncharted territory now. It was hard watching him treat his wife like shit, but that was their dynamic, and I closed my eyes to everything he might have been doing on his own time. But now that he threatenedmygirl?
This. Was.War.
"No. That's not who I am," I responded forcefully, blinded by rage. "But I do run the company with him and another guy. And we embezzle money from the government. And take out anyone who gets in our way." This was the most succinct explanation I could offer, and I hoped that Ididn't have to go into more details.
Isla was defeated. Her shoulders slumped, she studied the table before lifting her gaze to mine. "You know, Roman...besides the tattoos and the weird sexual fetish of having others watch you have sex…you look like a really normal and chill guy. And I have to admit that I-I can't stop thinking about you.”
She spoke quietly, but I heard every word, and my heart literally jumped into my stomach. What?! What was she saying?!
“And now, clearly, you’ve made it your mission to get me into bed, which I have fantasized about wildly." My heartbeat stalled at her words as they permeated every inch of me. "I really can't accept your money and let you pay for my school. And also, maybe it's best that we don't see each other anymore. It won't lead to anything good."
I couldn't breathe from everything she said. She couldn't stop thinking aboutme?! I was crazy about her! No! I couldn’t stop seeing her—ever! Even if nothing ever happened between us, I was addicted to having her in my life.
"Isla, listen—" I reached across the table for her hand, but she pulled back and placed her hand in her lap. That was expected. "Tonight really went off the rails. I'm so sorry Sergei said that to you. He's a fucking psycho. But Isla, I…I'm not like that. And I'm not like him. Please trust me on this."
She nodded slowly, her bitter smile screaming disbelief.
"Stay with me until school starts and the–"
"I'm not letting you pay for school, Roman! It's one thing to let you pay for my clothes and something completely different to let you pay for my tuition!" She was becoming angry, and it turned me on, goddammit. "Look. I may not have friends here, but I do back home. It was a colossal mistake coming here. Right away, the universe let me know that I wasn't welcome when it burned down my apartmentand—"
"I burned down your apartment," I confessed loudly and focused my eyes on the milkshake. Fuck, this night was just a fucking explosion. I looked up at her once more, her eyes wide, all of her stunned at my words. "Obviously, I didn't know you were there. The place was empty except for the first-floor tenant for a whole year. And my men fucked up. They didn't know you moved in over the weekend. It was me standing on the side of the house before you climbed out. And then I saw you, and completely shocked and surprised, caught you before you hit the ground." I finished getting it off my chest but felt much worse than before.
Yes, she was really scared now. Her bottom lip quivered, and her eyes filled with tears again as she pressed herself into the back of the seat she was sitting on, trying to make as much distance between us as possible.
"What the fuck? What the fuck are you saying, Roman? Why the fuck did you burn down the house? Who are yourmen?" She asked one question after another, hungry for knowledge of what could have possibly derailed her move here in such a way.
"The guy who lived on the first floor of the house...killed my sister. I wanted to watch him burn. You happened to move in at the worst time, and one of my men—the one who was responsible for surveilling the house—made a mistake and didn't know you were there before it was set on fire. He paid for that mistake with his life."
The information overtook her, large goosebumps covering her exposed skin. Her soft and naked shoulders shivered, the shock of it all slowly washing over her.
"Holy shit,” she concluded. "Is that why you let me stay at your house? And bought me stuff? Because you felt guilty that I lost everything because of you?" she asked me innocently.
