Page 44 of The Fixer

Did I crack earlier than expected? Did I surprise him, or was he acting? Those questions and many more circled behind my eyes, but I didn’t care to find the answers. Not this time.

Shutting the door with myself on the wrong side, I huffed lightly as my heart slowed dangerously. My eyes throbbed wildly. I wiped my nose and mouth with the back of my hand. I was 22 years old— I shouldn’t be dealing with this. I was barely an adult, butbarelydidn’t seem to mean much in this business.

“Ophelia?”

The curious, feminine voice drew my muddled attention, and ice lodged in my chest.

Envre looked concerned.

Well, maybe, she was genuine, but I wasn’t sticking around to find out. I’d fucking walk all the way back to Moscow than stay here one more minute.

“What’d he say?” She sounded annoyed as she stalked past me and into Aleksander’s office. Her angry chiding droned into white noise the closer I came to the stairs, and I stood at the top. They looked hard…of course, they’re hard. They’re marble stairs.And there were a lot of them, at least 25.

Aleksander had it all figured out; he didn’t need me. He was using the Santino issues to keep jerking me around. I couldn’t get ahead of him, and he was never going to leave me alone. That’s what people did to objects ? used them and fixed them when they were broken ? and then kept using them until repair wasn’t an option anymore.

“Ophe—“

The stairs grew longer, the droning in my ears turning into a whistling as I closed my eyes.

“Ophelia! Ophelia—no!”

30

Ophelia

Groaning gutturally, I cracked open my eyes as Envre rolled off me. My right wrist ached hotly, drawing a hiss from between clenched teeth as I struggled to figure what thehelljust happened. Pushing myself up to sit, I shook my head wildly while the nerves in my forearm were engulfed in flames.

“What thefuckiswrongwith you, huh?” Blinking hard, I slurred heavily as the shock wore off and my eyes found Envre.

Holding herself on her hands and knees, she, too, shook her head.

I glared hotly when her gaze locked on mine. Gingerly cradling my broken wrist, I huffed steam as irritation flooded every cell in my body.

“I-I thought you were gonna throw yourself down the stairs or something— you looked…” Standing as she sputtered a reply, Envre frowned as she raked back her mahogany waves.

My knees ached in protest, my hip flaring in disdain at being forced to move. Flexing my toes against the marble, I clenched my teeth and sucked in a huge breath to steady myself. Rearing back my hand, theslapof my palm on Envre’s face echoed through the wide, tall halls behind both of us.

She stumbled to the side from the impact.

I fisted my hand as my bones rattled up my arm.She’s got a hard face.

Wide, brown orbs flew to me as she held her cheek, mouth agape, body slouched against the wall.

Behind her, Aleksander noticeably tensed, his hair puffing out like a cat ready for a fight.

I ignored him to gnash my teeth at her. “Even if I was— who the Hell do you think you are trying to stop me?”

If possible, her eyes got even wider— until the brown and gold flecks in them almost disappeared at my snarl.

“Believe it or not, but I’m very fucking much capable of thinking critically. If I was going to kill myself, it wouldn’t be here and it wouldn’t be some half-cocked method of throwing myself down the stairs.”

“I was trying to—“

Igrowledlike a dog.

Envre shut her mouth.

Enraged shivers raced down my spine. “Trying towhat, you nosy bitch? Trying to stop me? Trying to help me? You all think you know what’s better for me than me? Do you think butting your fucking noses where it doesn’t belong is going to make me want to serve Makovich? When my parents were alive, I fixed their messes, and they were the ones that took all the risks from you people. And you know what? You’re right. Idofix… I fix, and I fix well. But if I can’t fix the shit storm you’re trying to encircle me with, then I’ll cut my fucking losses.”