Page 118 of The Enemy Protector
The shower in my bathroom runs scalding hot. I stand under the spray, scrubbing away the smell and the images. The water circles the drain. I wish I could wash away the memory as easily.
It’s past two in the morning. Sofia is asleep in the guest room on the third floor where she’s been sleeping since our fight.
I should go to my own bed. Give her space. Let her have her anger.
But I can’t.
I need to see her. Need to know she’s safe. And I need something good after witnessing so much ugliness.
I pull on a pair of sleep pants and pad barefoot up the stairs to the third floor. Her door is closed. I open it slowly and slip inside.
The room is dark with muted light coming from the streetlamp. She’s curled on her side, her dark hair spread across the pillow. She looks peaceful. Young. Nothing like the woman who walked into my office and told me she’s hiring her own security.
She hasn’t. I won’t allow it.
I move to the bed and slide in behind her, careful not to wake her.
She stirs immediately.
“Sergei?” Her voice is thick with sleep.
“Yes.”
She doesn’t tell me to leave. Doesn’t pull away. She just turns in my arms until she’s facing me.
“You smell like soap,” she murmurs.
“I showered.”
Her hand comes up to touch my face. “Where were you?”
“Working.”
She’s quiet for a moment. I can feel her studying me in the darkness.
“Are you okay?” she asks.
The question surprises me. She’s still angry with me. But she’s asking if I’m okay. She knows what this life is.
And thankfully, she’s giving me a little softness like she senses I need it.
“I will be,” I say.
Her hand slides from my face down to my chest, resting over my heart. “You’re tense.”
“I needed to see you.”
“Why?”
Because I saw hell tonight and you’re the only thing that feels real. Because I’m terrified that what I found in that warehouse will destroy you when you learn the full truth.
I don’t say any of that.
“Because you’re my wife,” I say instead.
She’s quiet again. Her fingers trace absent patterns on my chest.
“I’m still angry with you,” she says.
