Page 153

She crossed her arms, willing her eyes to have some dignity and not dip downward. “What?” she asked him as he pocketed his lighter.

He stared at her for a moment, as if she were a book he was having trouble understanding. Smoke curled toward the sky from the cigarette he held loosely at his side.

“I want you to leave,” he said.

Shay blinked and drew back her head. “Excuse me?”

He took a drag, then rolled his shoulders, muscles rippling, and blew a stream of smoke to his left.

The wind gusted it right back in her face, and she waved a hand to clear it. “Care to elaborate—” She coughed. “—Or am I just being booted to the curb like trash?”

“You’re not being booted, and you’re not trash. But you’re not safe with us?—”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh fuck off, Roman.” His brows went up. “I’m far safer than I was in Yveswich.”

“Okay, which leads me to my next point.”

“I’m listening.”

“You’re not in Yveswich anymore, pup. You can leave. Start a new life. This—a fresh start—is what you’ve always wanted. Right?”

“So?”

“So it’s a blessing for you, in a way. Athene has no clue where you are. For all she knows, you could be dead. Take advantage of this and fuckingrun.”He gestured to the road like it was that easy.

“Run,” she scoffed. “Yeah, okay. Sure. Are you going to take your own advice?” He merely stared at her with a cold expression she couldn’t read. He was the wolf again, the curtain on his stage closed. She no longer had a back-stage pass to seethe real side of him—and that hurt. She explained, “You’re out now, too. Don’s empire of shit isburning,Roman. It’sburning.You can finally get away?—”

“Ican’t,”he snapped. “He’ll hunt Paxton to the ends of the earth, and I can’t have you with me while that’s happening.”

“So you’re doing all this—pushing me away—to keep me safe?” She wasn’t flattered—she was pissed. She could handle herself, and Roman deserved to be free as much as she did.

“Don’t be dumb, Shay. I’m begging you. Don’t forfeit your life for a fling.”

She tightened her crossed arms, fingers curling in her shirt—hisshirt. She would rip the stupid thing off right now if it didn’t mean she’d be standing here stark naked. “That’s not really what happened between us, and you know it.”

He stared at her with dead eyes. There was no spark in them, no emotion, not a single fleck of gold. “It was a fling, pup. A one-night stand. I’ve had plenty of those—I’d like to think I can recognize them at this point.”

Ouch.

He relit the cigarette that had gone out in the wind.

“A three-night stand,” she corrected.

He squinted at her, smoke rippling out of his mouth. “What?”

“We had five days alone together, and I think we fucked for three.”

He dragged his red-hot stare down her body, watching far too closely as his shirt undulated against her in the wind, the fabric switching between pulling taut and blowing up like a sail. “All right, a three-night stand. I think I’ve had a few of those, too.” Ouch again. Two points for Roman.

She watched him as he smoked. He watched her as she glared. But while she felt like a horribly open book whose back cover was in danger of flashing itself at the whole town if the wind decided to change directions, he was perfectly closed off.The emotionally unavailable Wolf of the Hollow she’d met in the Onyx Skull.

“If you’re worried about money, I can help you out,” he said.

“I’m not worried about money!” she retorted. But it was a lie. She had no money, and he knew it. Now was literally the worst time for her to start over. All her belongings were still in Yveswich, including the last of the money she had stolen from Roman. Her bank account was monitored by Athene, so instead of depositing the cash she’d received from selling the Hound on the Black Market, she’d had to keep the bills.

Roman stared at her, vexed. “Shay?—”

“You’retryingto be an asshole,” she accused. “I can tell. You’re weaponizing your words because you’re afraid for me, but you don’t have to be afraid. I can handle myself?—”