She stared at him, considering that—would it be such a bad thing?
Instead of waiting for her mind to come up with its own answer, Karine pushed open the door and stepped inside the apartment. Roman made his way in behind her, reaching beyond her shoulders to flick on a row of switches that lit up the open-concept floor of space to her view. Black marble pressed into the soles of her shoes while high, vaulted white ceilings waited overhead. She could see through the main floor of the space to where a long, glass dining table welcomed guests into a kitchen full of stainless steel, white marble countertops, and more black brick.
Roman remained at the door while she took slow steps further beyond black marble pillars to see the living space and entertainment section overlooking more floor-to-ceiling windows, but these were different than the ones in the entry. Curved outward in a domed shape. The life and buzz of an unknown—but strangely beautiful—city stretched out in front of her.
This high, it was like she was floating in the air above it.
“You still didn’t answer my question, Roman,” she said, enjoying the view but knowing he’d left something unsaid. Karine didn’t like that. Turning away from the windows, and forcing her stare up from the shiny black marble under her feet to meet his gaze, she couldn’t allow herself to get carried away. Not in anything. Not even in him until she had an answer. “You didn’t want to take me with you, did you? You were forced to.”
If he was shocked at what she asked, Roman didn’t show it. Lucky for him that he didn’t have to answer her question, either, because the approaching footsteps from the entry they had just come from had Roman turning away.
Masha didn’t seem at all aware that she had interrupted them. Karine hated to admit that she was relieved at the sight of her—she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear what Roman’s response would be.
She had a habit of doing that. Asking, but not wanting to know.
Karine was fine to let Roman busy himself with showing Masha where things were and disappearing with her down a back hallway where he said one of three bedrooms and the main bathroom could be found.
She remained standing where she was—quiet by the glass wall where she could see the hustle of a city. Where she really didn’t have to think.
Of course, she still did.
Overthinking.
Entirely numb.
Who was Roman?
Who was he really?
Despite being told to explore, she didn’t do much as Roman and Masha’s voice carried out from the back hall. She did marvel a bit at the touchscreen panel on a pane of the glass that controlled everything from the automatic blinds covering the glass dome-shaped walls to the massive, curved flatscreen television next to the oversized, squared leather sectional. There was even a full-fledged bar at the corner of the living space, melding between there and the dining space.
The apartment seemed fit for a man who had priorities for a good time, and few responsibilities. A bachelor’s life. There she was, ready to disrupt it all.
She still couldn’t come up with a single good reason why he would have willingly done this—taken her.
“Hey.”
Roman’s firm, but not unkind tone, had Karine jumping in her skin. She hadn’t heard him come back into the room. Spinning around, she found him standing at the entry of the hall, his shoulder pressed into another one of those black marble pillars as he looked her over.
Masha was nowhere in sight, clearly having chosen to stay out of focus. Maybe wisely.
Karine licked nervously at her bottom lip, determined not to blurt her thoughts, and making a conscious effort to keep the words inside the longer he stared and said nothing.
“What?” she eventually asked.
A little too sharply.
Roman still gave her a crooked smile—it was just as tempting as everything else. Then, he told her, “Just because I was forced in to taking you doesn’t mean that I didn’t want to.”
She hadn’t expected that.
“Why?” she asked.
Seconds ticked on as he took in a deep breath, and his shoulders rose and fell from the effort. His reply wasn’t what she was looking for. “I don’t really have an answer for that, Karine.”
“That’s a lie.”
If he could say he wanted something, then he should be able to say why. Besides, everything else about her life was a lie. It wouldn’t even hurt her feelings if he lied about this, too.
“The real question is whether you want to know the truth,” Roman returned just as fast, never once breaking her stare. “Because that requires accepting certain things, you know? I think we’ve both established you have—just a bit—of a problem doing that in different aspects. Think about it.”
That truth was cold.
He also wasn’t wrong.
Karine chose not to reply, and that time, it wasn’t hard to keep the prattle of words induced by her anxiety and fears inside. Maybe he understood her better than she was willing to admit.
She still thought he shouldn’t.
TWO
Roman woke up already tired the second he opened his eyes. Back in a familiar bed, in his own apartment, he could almost believe for a second that it had all been a bad dream. The sounds of a city he knew well told him he wasn’t in Chicago anymore, and that only meant one thing.
There was a beautiful, troubled woman sleeping in one of the other bedrooms. He really didn’t have the time to enjoy being back in his bed, considering that little detail.
Swinging his legs off the bed in a rush to start his day, a splintering pain pierced through his ribcage. Reminding him all at once that nothing was a fucking dream. He groaned, pressing a palm to the most tender rib as he straightened up.
One breath.
Then, another.
It really didn’t get easier.
Hell, a bad dream would have been better than the reality. Maxim Yazov certainly made sure Roman had no choice but to remember that baseball bat.
