Criminal Affinity [18+]

Chapter 89

Julien lets them borrow a car from the garage and drive to the closest hotel room. Ava's shoulders stay stiff as Ivan drives, neither of them speaking a word to each other. They move to their room in silence, but the tension on Ava's face doesn't smoothen even as they enter the room and lock it behind them.

They stay standing in the large room, looking at everything but each other.

"Do you want to eat something?" Ivan asks no one in particular.

Ava's heart plunges in her stomach. "No."

"Do you need anything?" He asks again, busying himself with a glass of water. Ava swallows, frustration rising inside her.

"Do I need anything?" Ava asks. "How about you look at me when you're talking to me?"

"Let's not do this right now, Ava. We've both had a rough day." Ivan shakes his head, finishing his glass of water. Anger, hurt and exhaustion drags on Ava's knees as she watches him wordlessly enter the washroom.

She follows him. She'll be fucked if she has to deal with Ivan's attitude with the kind of shit that she's been on lately.

"Are we going to talk about what happened?" Ava asks, arms crossed and cheeks flushed.

Ivan removes his shirt in a fluid motion, followed by his pants. Ava gasps at the lashes of red on his back and shoulders. They whipped him. He has no fresh cuts on his body. They were kind enough to restitch his wound and place a waterproof bandage over his existing wound.

They had done the same for her, even though they weren't the ones that caused the damage to her body.

He steps into the running water and she wordlessly watches the grime, blood and dirt come off his body. She watches as he runs his hands through his matted curls with care before washing them and smoothing them back.

She doesn't think before discarding her clothes and moving into the shower with him.

He turns with surprise, as if not expecting her to still be there.

"I'm talking to you," Ava says softly, the sound of the water almost drowning it out.

"Ava," Ivan's eyes drill into hers. "Put your clothes back on."

"I need to shower, too." Ava says, and it is true. She feels filthy.

"Alright, I'll come back when you're—" Ivan turns to walk out of the shower but Ava grabs his arm in haste. He snatches it back reflexively, causing Ava to step back. Shock and hurt roll down her body in waves as they stare at each other, chest heaving.

"Why are you acting like this?" Ava asks, tears burning in the back of her throat.

His eyes narrow as he leans forward. "I need some space."

"You need space? After everything that happened, you need space from—"

"I thought I fucking lost you. I thought Ivak killed you, Ava." Ivan's voice shakes with restraint. He drags her angry gaze away from her to the floor, taking another step back from her. It hurts so much that she's surprised she didn't hear her heart cracking open.

Wheels begin turning in Ava's head as she studies his face. "And I thought Pandora fucking buried you, Ivan. I couldn't fucking eat or sleep knowing you were captive. I couldn't even keep food down. What the hell are you talking about?"

Ava sucks in a broken breath, hands shaking as she pushes the hair out of her face. "I had to watch my sister and my best friend kiss for a whole week while not even knowing if you were still fucking breathing. I was hurt, I almost fucking died and you want to sit here and give me the fucking silent treatment?"