Page 56 of Bratva's Mercy
A beat passed between us, then he stepped back slightly, hands sliding into his pockets. “I should go. It was nice seeing you again, Dr. Cavanagh.”
“Thank you,” I said, nodding toward the flowers. “For bringing those.”
His expression softened a little as he stared at the grave, then he turned and walked away. I watched him go. When he reached the edge of the cemetery, he got into the BMW I’d been admiring. He’d come a long way since I last saw him, which was over a year ago.
I turned back to the grave. For a moment, I just stood there, staring at Brad’s name like I was trying to memorize it all over again.
“I’m sorry,” I said finally, my voice quieter than I expected. “I should’ve come sooner.”
The words felt inadequate for everything sitting inside my chest.
“I just… I couldn’t face this.” I let out a slow breath, dragging a hand through my hair as I crouched down slightly, closer to the stone. “But I’m here now. And I’ll come back more often. I promise.”
My fingers brushed lightly over the edge of the headstone before I pulled my hand back, the cool surface lingering against my skin.
“I’m going to fix this. They’re going to pay for what they did to you. I’m working with someone who knows a lot more about them than I do, but it’s not going to be easy, and it’s dangerous, so I have to be cautious.”
“I just wish you’d confided in me, Brad. We were together for so long. Why couldn’t you tell me?” My eyes misted over with tears, and I swiped them away with the back of my hand. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to blame you. I have to go now, but I’ll be back. I promise.”
I straightened, stepping back slowly, my gaze lingering one last time before I forced myself to turn away.
17
LEO
Sergei had been inside my home during my absence, and he hadn’t bothered to hide it. If anything, it felt deliberate, like hewantedme to know.
In my rush to leave, I’d abandoned everything mid-thought—laundry sitting damp in the washing machine, the bed stripped bare, and the fridge a science experiment waiting to happen. Quite frankly, I’d walked out of my own life like it was a movie I could pause, then return to later.
I expected to find everything the same way I’d left it, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.
The fridge was clean. Not just cleared out, but organized. Expired food gone, containers wiped down, shelves aligned the wayIdid it. Ready-to-eat meals on the middle shelf, raw ingredients separated below, proteins sealed and kept away from everything else. Dairy grouped to the left, juice to the right, labels facing forward.
Other people might have overlooked it, but as I stared at the shelves, a low tremble set off in my stomach. If Sergei hadobserved me to the point that he knew exactly where everything in my fridge was to go, what else had he noticed about me?
Even the garbage I’d forgotten in my haste had been taken out, the bins replaced with fresh liners.
I entered the laundry room and paused. The washer sat open and empty, the dryer door slightly ajar. I stepped closer, fingers brushing the edge of the machine. He’d taken care of the laundry.
A strange, unsettling feeling crept under my skin. How could I hide anything from a man like that? One who didn’t miss anything?
I turned slowly and walked up the stairs, pulling my suitcase along with me. I held my breath until I was in my bedroom and found it empty. I’d been half afraid I would enter Sergei’s presence. That he had taken up residence in my home in my absence.
Once I confirmed I was indeed alone, I realized he’d made the bed. The same sheets we’d slept on that night stretched tight across the mattress.
My stomach tightened. He hadn’t just been here to check if I’d returned. He’d stayed. Long enough to clean. I swallowed hard as my skin prickled all over. I couldn’t afford to underestimate this man, and I was already failing at that. Why was he ingraining himself into my life like this? He claimed to like me, but I hadn’t done anything to attract this man’s attention.
I exhaled slowly and dragged a hand through my hair. I needed to reset. To ground myself for when I would see him again, because then the game would begin, and I didn’t intend to lose.
I left my suitcase in the middle of the room and went straight through the bathroom door and got into the shower. The water hit my skin in a steady stream, hot enough to sting,and I leaned into it, closing my eyes as I let it wash over me. For a moment, I allowed myself to pretend none of the memories had really taken place by keeping my back to the bench and ignoring everything.
But I couldn’t do it. My mind drifted back to him. To the way he’d felt. The way he’d looked at me. The way he’d moaned and unraveled under me. His reaction to my touch had been so open. He hadn’t tried to hide how turned on he had been—had made no attempt to conceal his desire for me.
“Fuck.”
I was hard from thinking about it. I squirted conditioner into my palm, braced my legs apart, and placed one hand on the wall to keep me steady. With my head bowed, I tried to push Sergei from my mind and concentrate on Brad, but his features kept glitching until Sergei’s face took over.
God, those muscles.
