Page 90 of Scarred Ruin

When given the all clear, we moved onto the sidewalk. I wasn’t the type of man to walk hand in hand. I’d never been that way, but touching her, keeping her close was a different story. The street and sidewalks were still crowded, the visual display of costumes as unruly as the crowds had become.

“I love living here,” she said absently. “The beach. The ocean. The restaurants.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I hope you like the people as well.”

She smiled without looking at me. “Some of them.”

“Well, I hope that includes me.”

“Some of the time.” I was surprised she hadn’t pulled away, walking slowly as we headed for the two SUVs. “I had a good time.”

“In truth, so did I.”

She stopped short, spinning to face me with her hand placed on her heart. “I think I’m living in a dream.”

“Very funny.” I moved toward her when something caught my attention, a sound that instantly caused a reaction. I swung my head toward the sound, immediately reaching for my weapon. “Incoming.”

My men reacted instantly, rushing in front of me.

“What’s happening?”

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

Everything happened quickly, including me pushing her against a brick exterior to try to shield her. I heard her cry from either shock or injury, but had only one thing on my mind.

Neutralizing the enemy.

Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

“Stay down, Isabel.” Both hands on my weapon, I crouched low directly in front of her, swinging my body around just as a car passed by at a high rate of speed. I took aim, prepared to fire when my arm was suddenly jerked before I could take the shot.

“Stop!” Isabel yelled. “They’re fireworks. Listen. Look.” She pointed down the street toward the sky where the horizon was lit up in vibrant colors of blue and gold, silver and red.

“Fuck,” Sergei hissed, immediately dropping and securing his weapon. “Stand down.”

I finally lowered my Sig Sauer, realizing a dozen people were scuttling away in terror. After taking a deep breath and shoving my weapon into my jacket, I turned to face her. “Did I hurt you?”

Her expression presented a close enough glimpse into her mind. This time the tether between us had snapped as the reality of who and what I was settled in.

“Don’t say it, Maxsim. Just please don’t.” She backed away from me, her arms folded. “I understand you were just trying to protect me, but you could have gotten people killed. Innocent people. I just…” She looked in another direction, backing away again when I moved closer.

“Isabel. You don’t understand.”

“You’re right to a point. I don’t. But here’s the thing, Maxsim. I also don’t want the constant worry and danger in my life. I just want peace. Normal. Just like I told you. Normal. And I know you can’t provide that and I do get it. But I can’t do this. I’m not angry with you. I’m just… I just can’t handle wondering if someone will get hurt for the wrong reasons.”

What was I supposed to say? Sergei had the men back off and I tried to find the right words, but what could they be? What could I possibly say that would help in this situation? So I did what normally worked for me and I knew would push her away.

I said nothing.

“Please, just take me home.”

CHAPTER 18

Isabel

Maxsim Aristov was a pushy son of a bitch. “Asshole,” I gritted out while reading over his email again.

“Who’s the asshole? Although I bet I could guess.”