“I know, I know. I will make sure the man you want will be watched.”

“Thank you, friend.”

He tapped the doorframe. “You know anything for you,” he said before he left, shutting the door behind him.

Dimitri and I had been friends since we attended school together. I trusted him more than I trusted my own brothers. Brothers who my father would leave the business to. Another reason I’d moved. Not that I cared; they were older and would inherit the business before I did. Where I was vicious and ruthless when I had to be, they were all the time. My parents witnessed this when I wouldn’t kill a man for stealing from me after I’d discovered he had just wanted to feed his family. My “kindness” could have been why they “allowed” me to move to the United States.

I didn’t see the point in killing for the name. To put fear in others. I wanted reasons for it, evidence first.

Instead, I killed if anyone threatened my family and friends. I killed to protect. My hands had been bloody on many occasions. The dirtiness did not bother me when it came to protecting me, mine, and what I’d built for my life.

People here were figuring out I didn’t sit back and take shit. I would fight. I would make blood spray if needed, and what they thought never bothered me, as long as it meant they would leave me alone in the end.

I thought I liked being alone. I had Dimitri, a friend I could not see life without.

I didn’t need a companion—a lover.

I was happy. Content.

Then West walked in, and I second-guessed my choice. I wanted someone by my side. I wanted someone to come home to. And I wanted that someone to be him. It surprised me how quickly he had captured me. With that being said, I hadn’t met anyone like him, so I could not have known I would hold feelings for the man in such a short amount of time.

Usually, I preferred dark-haired men with blue eyes. Yet, I did not care that West had blond hair with topaz eyes. Because they were eyes I wanted to stare into all the time. He had a mouth I wanted to take with mine. And a body that was made for me to touch, to hold, to fuck.

I could fall for you.

He had said it. I did not imagine it. Why would he say something like that and then call off our time together? Had it to do with someone, or was there a possibility West was scared about feeling the same way I did? Consumed by one another?

Khristos. A thrill rolled through my gut at the thought.