Page 201 of Hate to Love You

He returns with a new glass, I mutter a quick thanks with a nod. before he turns to serve someone else.

Quickly, I pull the glass close to me, twisting the ring open and dropping the Widowmaker in. I swirl the glass in my hand before walking over to Oleg and slide the glass along the bar to him.

“Tough day?” I ask.

He stares at me, his eyes wide, and I’m almost sure he’s not breathing.

“Uh…” He says, glancing around nervously. “Does the Boss know you’re here? On switch night?”

“Roman isn’t my keeper,” I smirk sarcastically, nodding toward the drink. “Take it, you clearly need it.”

“Thanks,” he says, throwing me a quick smile.

He grabs the drink, pulling it toward him with his hand. But his smile fades, and he once again lowers his gaze, looking just as defeated and depressed as before.

My brows furrow as I stare at him, and my stomach knots.

Truth be told, Oleg didn’t necessarily do anything wrong.

If anything, he is one of the better guys lumbering around at Nikotech Investments. Sure, he might make minor mistakes, like slamming a car door, but he’s always been a gentleman to me, and always treats everyone with respect.

The only reason I have for killing Oleg is that he could potentially connect me to Igor’s death. This wouldn’t normally be a problem, as I usually stay away from anyone connected to my mark once they’ve been put down. However, given that Oleg and I work together daily, it increases the likelihood that a suspicion could arise.

Swallowing down the lump in my throat I step closer to him.

“Wanna talk about it?”

He looks up at me, before his eyes cast down again.

“I thought coming here tonight would be a nice distraction,” he says softly before tilting his head toward me. “There was this girl…”

His trails off, sadness filling his eyes.

My knees weaken, and I sit down on the stool next to him, my body hyper aware of everything going on around it. The music feels louder, almost deafening, as blood pounds in my ears, and regret bubbles in my stomach.

“Oh yeah?” I ask, biting my lip. “Why don’t you tell me about her?”

“Well… She’s the prettiest girl I’ve ever seen, but we can never be together. It’s the twenty-first century and arranged marriages are still a thing.” He pauses, his hand tugging at his hair. “We had one weekend together, and that’s all we can have, and I guess, if I had more pull, I could fix it, I could save her. But I can’t.”

My stomach drops.

“Save her?”

“Yeah. The guy she’s gonna marry, well, let’s just say in my line of work, I know a lot of unpleasant people, but him…he’s a monster.”

Monster.

Staring at Oleg, my heart splits in half.

What am I doing? He doesn’t deserve this.

He didn’t do anything to justify the death I’ve just handed him.

Oleg lifts the glass to his lips and suddenly I stop breathing.

“Oleg, I—”

“Don’t drink that,” barks Roman, his hand slamming down between us.