Vik (Shot Callers 2)

Roam blocked me in with the wall of his body, looked at me a long moment, and his words surprised me. “I’m a pill. The kind that sticks in your throat. Chokes you on the way down.” His brows creased. “And you are not what I thought you would be. You got this whole Grace Kelly thing going on. Classy. Poised.”

Was that a compliment?

God, I wanted this to be over. “I had a nice time. Thank you.”

He didn’t even attempt to hide his grin. “No, you didn’t, but that’s what I’m talking about. You’re polite. I like that.” His grin fell away to make room for a sudden frown. The words were quietly spoken and made my entire body tingle. “You’re a good girl, aren’t you?”

Why did that make me feel weak?

A better question was, why did I lick my lips?

Oh no. What was happening here?

Roam’s hooded gaze followed my tongue, and when he moved closer, I forgot to breathe. His face descended, and unconsciously, I reached up to place my hand on his chest. In a daze, I closed my eyes as my fingers glanced the front of his shirt, and when he snatched my wrist, grasping it tight enough to bruise, my eyes snapped open, and I peered up into his vicious expression with my mouth agape.

His nostrils flared as he ground out the words. “I don’t like to be touched.”

Oh my God.

It was as though I was under a spell. My heart raced as I realized what I’d almost done. I almost kissed this psycho.

Was I that desperate for affection?

Jesus. Nobody was that desperate for affection.

My eyes wide, my voice was whisper-soft. “I’m sorry.”

The response seemed to placate him, because his face gentled, and he released me. Stepping back, I discreetly rubbed at the heated area he’d seized, trying to soothe it. And he noticed.

A hundred thoughts went through my mind, and as though he could read each and every one of them, impassive features held me fast as he uttered roughly, “Oh, baby, no. Don’t do it to yourself. Trust me.” He made his way back to the driver side and opened the door, his obsidian gaze dangerously dim. “I can’t be fixed.”

He slid inside, shut the door, and drove away without a backward glance. And yet, I stood there trying desperately to think of what just happened.

The moment I opened the door, Vik was already there, walking the hall, waiting. He strode toward me, and the first thing out of his mouth was “What did he do to you?”

“Nothing.” I dipped my chin, because that wasn’t exactly true. He did something, all right.

He captivated me.

“Anika.” Vik looked crazed as he placed his hands on my shoulders and repeated, “What did he do to you?”

I frowned at my brother, shrugging him off. “Nothing,” I relayed once more with sass.

“You don’t have to protect me. I can take it.”

I shouldered passed him and spoke quietly, “Nothing happened.”

“Bullshit.”

And just as I rolled my eyes and opened my mouth to respond, I came to a standstill.

Why?

Because when I glanced in the living room, I saw them. And my heart shattered with humiliation. Turning back to my brother, I grated out, “I asked you not to call.”

Lev stood from his place on the sofa and took a step toward me. “Are you all right, Anika? I can’t tell.”

God, Lev. Not now.

Sasha glanced down at the coffee table, his jaw tight, his words clinical. “Watch the attitude. He was worried.”

“Worried?” I asked my brother caustically. “You were worried?”

“Of course I was.” He had the nerve to glare at me.

“Well—” I threw my purse down onto the cabinet to my right. “—congratulations. That’s exactly what he wanted, jackass.”

“What?” Vik looked confused.

“Yeah,” I told him. “He never had any intention of using me as his dolly. Hell, he was more interested in getting me to eat.”

Vik shook his head. “No, Anika. You don’t know him. He’s not a good guy.”

“I never said he was, Vik, but I’m telling you. He was messing with you. He told me so himself. Wanted you to be scared, wanted you to know who the better man was. The more powerful man.” At my brother’s harsh frown, I began to nod. “Yeah. He said that. And I sat there all night, conversationless, because the guy doesn’t like to talk. So, you can stop looking at me like that.”

“Like what?”

“Like I just lost my freaking innocence, okay?” I yelled, panting in anger. “Nothing happened.” Vik looked at me sadly then, and I couldn’t deal with it. I spun on Sasha, and his cool, golden gaze irked me. “Now you know.” My arms swung out in a wide arc. “I whored myself out to a kingpin, and he didn’t even want me. Happy?”

Sasha did not say a word. No one did.