“Well, what, then? I have the world’s best stalker?” His eyes widened. “Or do you have a leak on your side.”
Bartosz and Dmytro exchanged a glance. Dmytro said, “Not likely.”
“But not impossible?” Ajax asked.
Bartosz’s face was lined with exhaustion. “We’re just playing it safe.”
When the light changed, he turned back to the road. Dmytro thumbed through pictures on his phone.
As usual, Ajax had to fill every silence. “Are you talking to your girls?”
“They’ve been asleep for hours by now. You should follow their example.”
“I will as soon as my mind shuts down.”
“What will it take?” asked Bartosz.
Ajax rubbed his eyes. “Exhaustion, probably.”
Dmytro put his phone down. “You’re not exhausted? After the day you’ve had? Do you need me to read you a story?”
Ajax’s flinty look put Dmytro on high alert. “What will make you stop treating me like a child?”
“I’m not—”
“I could blow you. I’m awesome at it. I can give you references. I could rim you.” Ajax’s mutinous glare singed him. “Ride you like a horse until you scream and I cream all over your face.”
“Ajax.” Dmytro concealed the sudden burst of lust that shot through him at Ajax’s coarse words. He hoped he did.
“Or…” Ajax leaned closer and spoke at a near whisper. “You could fuck me from behind like an animal. Push me up against a wall and pound me. Or wait—I’d like to get on all fours while you grip my hair and push so deep you strike sparks in my heart.”
Bartosz shook with laughter. “Oh, brother, how I wish you could drive.”
Dmytro stilled every muscle in his body and forced his face into its normal neutral stare. The thing he couldn’t control, his treacherous heart, beat double-time while his shock passed.
“Or I could have Bartosz play an audiobook.” He narrowed eyes he knew to be too cold and not blue enough.
With a put-upon sigh, Ajax flopped in his seat. “What’ve you got?”
Bartosz took pity on Dmytro and cleared his throat before asking, “I’ve gotA Brief History of Time?That should put you to sleep.”
“I’ve already read that, and it probably wouldn’t. But anything’s okay as long as it’s not some self-help motivational book.”
“You don’t read those?’
“I read everything, but I bought this motivational audiobook for a long flight and that’s why I walked away from Ajax Freedom.” If possible, he made himself smaller. “After I read it, I couldn’t be Ajax Freedom anymore.”
“How come?”
“Because I loathed him and everything he stood for, and suddenly getting people to think about important things by pretending to be everything I hate made no sense.”
“It made sense before you read the book?” Dmytro asked, fascinated.
Ajax’s gaze slid away. “Not exactly. But I dug the attention, all right? It was fun. Sometimes.”
“You had power.”
“Yeah.”
