I was still watching the space Misha left behind.
And I hated that it felt colder without him in it.
The engine of the car hummed low as we pulled out of the club parking lot. The night outside blurred past the windows, but I only saw Yuri, his grip on the wheel too tight, his jaw locked like he was clenching something he wasn’t ready to say.
“That Bratva guy almost hit me? You didn’t even flinch.”
Yuri lit a cigarette, eyes fixed on the road. “He wasn’t going to touch you.”
“He almost did.”
“And Misha handled it.”
Something twisted hard in my chest, sharp and bitter.
“Handled it? He yanked that guy off me—and then made it very clear I was his problem to handle.”
“That’s what men like him do, Luna.”
“And what exactly does that make you?”
He looked at me then. Briefly. Annoyed.
“I’m not Bratva.”
“But you’re not clean either, are you?”
Silence.
I leaned back, heart thudding.
“What the hell do you want me to say?” he snapped.
“That I was scared? That I didn’t want to cause a scene? You were the one swinging fists a few days ago. Maybe I thought you had it under control.”
“Or maybe,” I said slowly, “you didn’t want to piss off someone you secretly work with.”
His jaw tightened. “That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it?” I snapped. “You’ve been cagey for weeks. You always disappear on cartel business but never tell me what family you’re working under. My father thinks you’re disposable. Misha looked at you like you were an ant. And you didn’t say a damn thing when his soldier tried to lay hands on me.”
Yuri slammed the brakes too hard at a red light, then leaned both hands against the steering wheel like he needed to stay grounded.
“What do you think you’re accusing me of, Luna?”
“I don’t know,” I admitted, voice quieter. “But I don’t like the feeling that I’m sleeping next to someone I can’t trust.”
That landed. I saw it in the twitch of his brow and the shift in his breathing.
But I didn’t care anymore.
“Do you work for Misha Petrov?” I asked, gaze steady. “Or against him?”
“Are you serious?” he said quickly. “I’d rather eat a bullet than work with Petrov.”
“You sure about that?” I asked. “Because if you’re lying, Misha’s not the one you should be worried about.”
“Oh yeah? You're gonna kill me now, Luna?”
