CHAPTER 233
ROMEO POV
The door closed behind me with a sound that was barely there. I didn't slow my steps as I walked down the hall.
I didn't look back. I didn't need to. Katya was exactly where I'd left her—standing still, breath held, waiting for something she didn't yet understand.
People always thought restraint meant mercy. It didn't. Restraint meant timing.
I entered my room and shut the door, this time properly, the lock clicking into place with a dull, solid sound.
Only then did I exhale. Not relief though
Michael. The name lingered unpleasantly, like a grain of sand you couldn't quite get rid of. I replayed the call in my head—not the words, but the rhythm of it.
The pauses. The way Katya's voice shifted when he suggested coming over. Panic, sharp and unfiltered.
She hadn't been afraid for herself. That mattered. I crossed the room and poured myself a drink, the glass clinking softly against the counter.
