Part of Your World

Interruptions

 I leaned back, gripping my glass of whisky, a fierce headache blooming behind my eyes. Niko sat across from me, rubbing his haggard, scruffy face, Serg slumped next to him, passed out. Aria lay curled next to me, her head in my lap as I ran my fingers through her hair. I wasn't sure when she'd fallen asleep, but her fever was dissipating. I brought the fiery liquid to my lips, grimacing a bit at the overpowering taste.

"You know what we have to do, Maks," Niko said finally, voice low and rumbling across the dim space. My eyes flashed to his as I tensed.

"No."

"It's worked before—"

"There's too much that can go wrong. I'm not risking her like that."

He sighed in exasperation, leaning back. We'd watched the tapes a thousand times. Brad had worn all black and a baseball cap, but we knew it was him. He'd waited in the garage until we left, catching the elevator and using a master key to gain access to the penthouse. Niko had suspicions that he'd been schmoozing the building manager's assistant—a pretty, young woman—and that he'd stolen the key card. He worked fast, I had to give him that, seeing as Aria hadn't been here all that long.

He was in and out in less than fifteen minutes. He still had the key, so far as we knew, but to contact the police seemed folly; they would undoubtedly be on his side, knowing who his father was and his background in law enforcement. This was something we needed to handle on our own, for various reasons.

My phone buzzed on the arm of the couch.

"Nick," I muttered, scooting myself from under Aria as carefully as I could. I'd been waiting all night for his call. I answered, stepping into my office.

"What do you know?" I growled. I heard his exhausted sigh on the other end. I felt somewhat guilty, pulling him into something like this once more. He'd just gotten over everything that had happened with Ellie. But he didn't seem to mind.

"She spilled a lot about their relationship. Said he was a large part of her leaving Maine."

"What did he do to her?" I seethed, clutching my phone so tight I worried it would snap in half.

"Just listen, alright? Keep a level head, Maks. Now isn't the time to be impulsive."

I snorted, leaning against my desk and staring out into the darkness.

"Impulsive is my middle name."

"She said everything was fine at first, that it was a normal relationship, but there were certain warning signs she missed."

"And?"

He sighed again.

"And, she told me why she disappeared for those few months before she graduated."

I steeled myself, tensing in apprehension.

"Why?"

"He told her he was taking her on vacation as a graduation present, to their family's cabin. She...she said that she went willingly, intending to come home after the weekend. But they had gotten into an argument. She found out he'd been cheating, and then found...well, photos of herself. He'd been obsessed with her for years, stalking her from the time she was thirteen..." he said, his voice adopting its menacing rumble. My body felt alight with caustic fire, but I stayed rooted, wide eyed and livid as I attempted to even my breathing.

"She tried to run. He chased her down, beat her up pretty bad. She wasn't sure what all was...broken, because he didn't take her to the hospital. He was so intent on not going to jail for what he did that they waited it out until all her injuries healed up. She convinced him to take her home. Said she lied to him and played along with what he wanted. She said she knew he would kill her if she set him off again..."