Page 45 of Ruined

“You don’t have to stay. I’m okay.”

“You’re a long way from okay,” he growled. “You almost got yourself killed.”

I clenched my teeth. “I had to go after him.”

“Who? Alexei?”

Alexei’s scarred face swam into my mind. That bastard had made my life hell when I was with the Bratva. Seeing his face again made me snap. I had to take him down.

“Because he deserves it,” I hissed.

Dominic hardened. “What did he do to you?”

I let out a shaky breath. “He was the enforcer whomentoredme. The Pakhan wanted me toughened up, so Alexei took it upon himself to break me in.”

Dominic’s eyes narrowed.

“They called it training, but it was torture. Breaking you down until you had nothing left, and then using that emptiness to rebuild you how they wanted. Alexei took pride in it. He always made sure I knew how weak I was, just to see how far I’d bend before I snapped.”

Like that man who died on that filthy floor while I stood there, frozen. Alexei had looked at me, smiled, and called me a good boy for handling it.

Dominic’s jaw clenched. “He sounds like a piece of shit.”

“He’s worse than that.”

“He’ll get what’s coming to him. I promise.”

I laughed. “Sure.”

“No, Luca, I mean it. You shouldn’t have to fight him alone.”

That threw me off balance.

I licked my dry lips. “I’m not your problem.”

“You are while we’re living together. We’re laying low for a while until things calm down.”

My stomach flipped. “Here? In my apartment?”

“It’s ideal. Nobody knows where you live. You went out of your way to make sure of that. No utilities in your name. No paper trail. You don’t even use a credit card for groceries.”

Dominic’s gaze roamed over the mismatched furniture, the faded rug, the blank walls. My place was a dump compared to his. He didn’t say anything, but I felt the judgment in his silence.

He kicked up his feet on the coffee table. “I’ll take the couch.”

“No, I will.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You’re the boss. You should take the bed?—”

“I’ve slept in worse places,” Dominic said, sinking back into the couch. “Not like I had a bed when I was living out of subway stations.”

I blinked. “What?”

“When my family cut me off, I was homeless for a bit. Wasn’t long, maybe a few months.”

Dominic, with his tailored suits, sleeping on the streets?