Kimi
She hadn’t realized how cold she had been outside until that moment. Her fingers trembled slightly as blood rushed back into them. She tucked her hands into the pockets of her jacket so no one would see. But there were too many eyes already on her.
The room had gone quiet when Gorgon walked in. Not the awkward quiet of strangers. The controlled quiet of people who understood exactly who held power in the room. And right now, that power stood beside her like a wall.
The man at the pool table straightened slightly. “You want to expand on that?”
Someone behind the bar suddenly spoke up.
“Someone get the girl a drink,” a woman called.
“She looks like she drove through the apocalypse.” A few smiles appeared around the room as though people were trying to be friendly.
The woman behind the bar had dark hair piled in a messy knot and eyes sharp enough to cut glass.
She slid a whiskey across the counter and gestured toward a stool.
“Sit,” she said. “Nobody likes interrogation on an empty stomach.” Kimi hesitated.
Instinct told her not to trust strangers, but experience told her not to refuse kindness either.
Her gaze flicked to Gorgon, and he gave a small nod.
That was all the permission that she needed.
Kimi walked to the bar and sat down carefully, the stool creaking under her weight.
The glass was warm in her hands. The woman leaned her elbows on the counter, studying her like a puzzle.
“So,” she said casually. “You planning to tell me why the scariest man in Manitoba decided you’re moving in?”
Kimi stared at her, and then a tired smile slipped out before she could stop it. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “He didn’t tell me either.”
The woman laughed. “That’s fair,” she said.
Kimi lifted the glass but paused before drinking it down in one swallow. The whiskey burned even through the smell. Her hands tightened slightly around the glass as she set it on the bar.
“You bring trouble with you?” the bartender asked quietly.
Kimi let out a slow breath. “That obvious?”
“Honey,” the woman said gently, “nothing shows up here alone unless trouble drove it.”
The bartender poured her another drink, and Kimi looked down at the amber liquid. Images flickered in her mind—Cole’s face and the shouting that usually happened whenever he was around. She remembered the moment she grabbed the envelope from him and ran. Her stomach twisted at the memory.
“I didn’t mean for any of this to happen,” she murmured.
The bartender didn’t push her for more answers, and Kimi was thankful for that small kindness. She simply watched Kimi with an understanding that made something in Kimi’s chest loosen slightly. Before either of them spoke again, the door opened, and cold air rushed into the room.
Every head turned as a tall man stepped inside, snow dusting his shoulders. “Road’s clear,” he said to Gorgon. Kimi released a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. Cole was gone—for now. But that didn’t mean he’d stay gone.
Gorgon started walking toward the bar as people shifted aside without even thinking about it.
Kimi noticed that he didn’t demand space.
The room simply gave it to him. He stopped beside her stool, and she studied him.
Up close, he was even more intimidating than he had been outside.
He had broad shoulders and dark eyes that seemed to see far too much.
“You warm enough?” he asked.
Kimi nodded. “Yes.”
His gaze dropped to the glass in her hands.
“Drink it,” he ordered, and for some reason, she obeyed before she could second-guess the instinct to do so.
The whiskey burned like fire down her throat, making her cough slightly.
Someone chuckled behind her as Kimi wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“First time?” the bartender teased.
“Not even close,” Kimi muttered. A faint ripple of amusement moved through the room. “What happens now?” she asked quietly. The question hung in the air as everyone seemed to be waiting for the answer.
Gorgon didn’t hesitate. “You stay here.”
Kimi frowned. “For how long?”
“Until the problem that followed you stops breathing,” he growled. The bluntness made her stomach drop.
“And if I don’t want that?” she asked carefully. His gaze held hers.
“Doesn’t matter what you want tonight.” Anger filled her chest. Of course, it didn’t matter what she wanted. Men like him decided things for her—men like Cole. Kimi was getting tired of men deciding everything about her life.
“And tomorrow?” she asked.
For the first time since meeting him, Gorgon paused. Then he said something that surprised everyone in the room. “Tomorrow we’ll see.”
He turned to the bartender. “Set up the spare room upstairs.”
Kimi blinked at him again. He was giving her a room to stay in. Kimi expected a couch or even a chair, but not an entire room.
The bartender grabbed a key and tossed it into the air before catching it.
“Sure thing, boss.” Then she leaned closer to Kimi, voice dropping to a whisper.
“Just so you know,” she said with a grin, “no woman lasts five minutes under that man’s stare without confessing something.
” She winked at Kimi and glanced sideways at Gorgon.
Kimi did the same and noticed that his expression hadn’t changed.
But his eyes were sharp, watching her—always watching.
Kimi turned back to the bartender. “What makes you think I have something to confess?”
The woman’s grin widened. “Honey,” she said, “around here, everybody’s got secrets.”
Kimi felt Gorgon’s gaze settle on her again, like he was already trying to uncover her secrets. And the terrifying part? A small voice inside her whispered that maybe, just maybe, he already had.