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“I like to think fate did me a favor by keeping him unconscious until I could get to him and peel off his skin with a straight blade.”
“You know, he mentioned Armstrong.”
My head whipped around. “What? How the fuck does he know about that?”
Will shrugged. “He was obsessed with Emmy. If you could find out who her dad was, I’m sure he got the information in a similar way.”
My stomach twisted as I considered the unholy alliance of Orlov and Armstrong. “Fuck. I don’t like that. At all.”
Will nodded. “Yeah, Drago is having Anya go over the surveillance at Armstrong’s to see if we can find any connections to Orlov that we missed. Especially since we know what he looks like now. We were mostly focusing on shit related to Emmy.”
“Let me know the minute you find anything,” I demanded.
Will nodded, but as if on autopilot, my eyes flitted away from him to seek out Emmy once again. She wasn’t where she’d been a moment ago and my gaze rapidly scanned the bar to find her. My shoulders relaxed when I found her sitting in a booth with the other girls, chatting happily, oblivious to my crazed hypervigilance.
Fuck, was this how it was going to be? Trying to carry on a conversation or do whatever I needed to do with half my mind focused on where Emmy was, my eyes constantly wandering the room to seek her out? It would be so much easier if I could just force her to stand beside me. That way I could focus on what I needed to do without the distraction of her absence consuming me. It was like she had become some strange link to my sanity now and if I didn’t keep track of her, I would lose my shit.
“Jesus Christ, Petrov, she’s fine,” griped Will. “Dude, you should see yourself. Your face is completely expressionless, but your eyes are darting around like a fucking pinball. Are you half cyborg?”
“Fuck you,” I said blandly.
Will leaned in and stared at me for a moment. “Is that a hickey?”
Irritation spiked through me as I felt myself flush. Fuck, when was the last time I’d been embarrassed? I forgot about Emmy biting me, so much had happened since then. Letting her have so much access to me, touching me, kissing me—it was a jarring adjustment.
I had gotten very accustomed to the physical barrier I put between myself and the rest of the world, but after a short time of giving Emmy permission to touch me, I was made aware of how touch-starved I was. In the short time I’d allowed her unfettered access, I came to realize I liked the feel of her light, delicate hands on me, her affectionate pats, a comforting touch on my arm, her innocent groping.
“Shut the fuck up.”
Will snorted. “How the mighty have fallen. Christ, Petrov, who are you anymore?”
I wanted to snap at him that nothing had changed, but who the fuck was I kidding? “Jealous, Antonoff?”
“Hardly,” he murmured, but his expression turned thoughtful. “Is Emmy’s roommate coming tonight?”
My eyebrows raised lightly in surprise. Will was the definition of a fuckboy these days, so his interest in Delaney was noteworthy.
“I have no idea,” I replied as the bartender returned with my drinks. “I’m going to give Emmy her drink.”
“Shit, you’re whipped.”
I didn’t reply. He was right.
Chapter 40
Emmy
I stared at Ivan’s retreating back, knowing I was wearing a goofy, infatuated smile, but unable to stop. I had to stop myself from giving my arm a little pinch. Was this reality? This cold, aloof, gorgeous man was mine?
“I can’t believe it,” I heard Katya’s voice behind me and turned to find three stunned faces staring back at me.
“What?”
She shook her head, red-gold waves swirling around her shoulders. “I can’t believe how my brother’s acting. I never thought I’d see him so…so…smitten. He’s obsessed with you. How did you do it?”
Anya nodded her head emphatically. “I agree. I’ve known Ivan for a while and, no offense, but he’s not exactly a charmer.”
I flushed with pleasure. “I don’t know. It just sort of…happened. I’m kind of still in shock, to be honest.”