Stone Cold Knockout (House of Pain Book 1) (26 page)

For a second, he could pretend that they were back to normal. He was tempting to keep driving, to take her away with him. He didn't know where they would go, but for a minute he held onto the fantasy. However, he wasn't stupid. He couldn't leave his problems any more than she could.

The ride was over too quickly.

He rolled to a stop outside of House of Pain, dropping his feet to the ground to steady the bike. “That was fun,” she said, breathlessly.

“I told you you would like it,” he said, coldness clawing at his chest as she disentangled herself from him and hopped off the bike. Her face was flushed and her eyes were bright as she turned back to him. Her smile faded when she saw his face.

“
Are you coming in?” she asked.

“
No,” he shook his head.

“
Oh.” She fidgeted with her bags. “When will I see you again?” she said, still not looking at him.

“
I do not know,” he answered, not sure how long he would be able to stay away.

“
Okay,” she said, like it meant nothing. “See you later.”

“
Goodbye, Gennifer,” he replied. Then she turned and disappeared inside of House of Pain. He didn't waste any time. He gunned the engine and sped away, leaving all the pain and the longing and the uncertainty behind.

He left his heart behind as well. He wouldn't need it where he was going.

Chapter 22

T
he rhythmic
click click click
of the jump rope and the drumming of her heart lulled Gennifer away from the gym and her workout and pulled her deeper into her own head. She was in the gym for the first time in two weeks, and it felt good to get her blood pumping and the oxygen flowing. But her mind wasn't on exercise.

Her mind was on Mikhail.

Tonight, he'd been cold and quiet. He'd held his body tight as if he didn't want to slip up and touch her. He kept his distance, revealing his past like he was certain she would be disgusted by it. Like he was sure she would reject him. Then he told her he was leaving. Just like that. After everything. He was leaving her.

The change in him was startling. A few nights ago, he'd been angry. He'd been fiery and passionate. He'd been close to fucking her in the middle of the street. She had no doubt that if she hadn't run away, he would have bent her over his bike and showed her what she was missing. Then he would have taken her back to his apartment and fucked her some more. The wild light in his eyes told her all she needed to know.

Gennifer closed her eyes for a quick moment, almost tripping on the rope when she missed the beat. Getting back on track, she forced herself to focus. Her life was so fucked up at the moment. Her main goal was to get as close to normal as possible. She was going to keep training and keep working and eventually, she would meet her goal. Mikhail didn't factor into that, she told herself.

He was sexy as hell, but he was a distraction.

She dropped the jump rope and swiped her sweaty forehead. Not wasting any time, she went to the weight rack and began doing bicep curls. She turned her back to the mirror, not wanting to look at herself. Tate and Austin were at the weight bench and she smiled at them. They smiled back, but she could see the questions in their eyes. They were wondering if she was okay. They were wondering if she was healthy enough to be back at the gym. She rolled her shoulders, letting their concern roll off her back.

She hated feeling weak. She wasn't going to let them make her feel that way. She turned her eyes away from them and stared straight ahead at the empty ring. Before she knew it, she was racking her brain for memories. The scream of the crowd, maybe. The sound of her gloves hitting flesh. Anything that would make her remember Bout It. Despite her need for answers, nothing came to her. Frustrated, she lifted weights until her muscles cried out in protest. Then she slammed them back on the rack, sweat molding her T-shirt to her chest.

“Christ. Has it always been this hot in here?” she asked Tate, as he walked by.

“
A/C is out,” he answered with a chuckle. She peeled her hair off her neck and fanned herself, glancing up at the office. Hector and Erica were up there together. She couldn't hear what they were saying, but she could see them laughing. At least someone was happy, she thought.

“
Hey,” Tate said, turning back to her. Gennifer steeled her spine, waiting for the questions she was so used to hearing.
Are you okay? How do you feel?
How are you doing?
“You talked to Mikhail lately?” Tate said, surprising her.

“
Yes,” she nodded slowly, wondering why he wanted to know. “Just today.”

“
Good,” Tate said. With a nod, he turned and headed toward the locker room. Gennifer furrowed her brow, wondering if Tate was friends with Mikhail. Tate didn't make friends easily, and he didn't like just anybody. She wondered what Mikhail had done to ingratiate himself. She wondered who else was friends with Mikhail in her family. Her curiosity piqued, she climbed the stairs to the office. She knocked on the door, not wanting to interrupt Erica and Hector's love-fest.

“
Hey G!” Hector said, his voice too cheerful. “When did you get back?”

“
Tonight,” she said, leaning against the door.

“
You look amazing,” Erica gushed.

“
Thanks. Do you talk to Mikhail?” Gennifer asked, cutting to the chase.

“
What?” Hector asked, confused.

“
Do you talk to him?”

“
When you were in the hospital I did. We're not exactly
mejores
amigos
, G.”

“
Do you know where he's going?”

“
He's leaving?” Hector asked, leaning forward in the creaky old chair. Gennifer nodded, impatiently, and he shook his head. “
Cabron.
”

“
Why is he leaving?” Erica asked, cocking her head.

“
I don't know. I mean, maybe it's for the best.” Gennifer scratched her nose as a bead of sweat rolled off the tip.

“
You're kidding right?” Erica said. Hector gave Erica an annoyed look and turned back to Gennifer.

“
I think you should just focus on getting better, G. That was some crazy shit you went through.”

“
I'm fine, Heck,” she said, waving off his concerns.

“
I mean it,” he said, his eyes so sincere that she felt herself nodding.

“
Fine,” she murmured. “But you're sure you don't know where he's going?” Hector shook his head no and Gennifer sighed, not knowing why she cared so much.

“
Okay. Well. I guess I'm going to go home then.”

“
Big J's?”

“
No. I'm back home now.” She turned, her mind already wandering back to Mikhail. “See you tomorrow.”

“
Be careful, G!” Hector called after her, but she didn't respond.The gears in her head were already turning. She grabbed her bag from the locker room and headed out the door. Once outside, she flagged down a cab. She had no intentions of going home. Not yet, anyway. She had to make a stop first.

***

“Ms. Gennifer, how good to see you,” the doorman in Mikhail's building said, his dark face breaking into a white smile. Gennifer glanced around the gleaming, slate-tiled lobby, surprised at the luxury. Mikhail had money, obviously.  She should have guessed. “Mr. Ivanhof has left you this,” the doorman continued, sliding a white envelope across the gleaming black marble counter of the front desk.

“
He's not here?” Gennifer asked, her heart jumping in her chest.

“
No ma'am,” he shook his head. “But you can go right up.” Curious, Gennifer picked up the envelope. Her name was written in black ink on the front, and she ran her thumb over his slanted writing.

“
I'm not going up. I just need to pick my car up from the garage,” she said vaguely, her mind preoccupied with what was in the envelope. She had come to finally wash him out of her hair, but here he was, drawing her back in. After she picked up her car, she would have been officially done with Mikhail. He was leaving and the sooner she forgot about him, the sooner she could get back to normal.

“
Ah. The garage is right through that hallway,” the doorman said.

“
Thanks,” Gennifer murmured, giving him a distracted smile.  As soon as she pushed through the door leading to the garage, she tore open the envelope. The only thing inside was a key. Attached to the key was a small fob labeled “20H”. She stopped in the middle of the walkway, staring down at the key. He was gone, but he'd given her a key to his apartment? Turning the metal key over in her palm, the urge to go upstairs took over. Glancing up, she could see her white Mini-Cooper, parked near the front of the garage.

All she had to do was get in her car and drive home. Then she would be done with the confusing conundrum that was Mikhail. And yet... the curiosity was driving her insane. Gnawing at her lip, she stared down at the key that was burning a hole through her hand. It took her another minute before she was heading back into the fancy lobby on her way to the elevator bay.

The plain white door unlocked with a loud
click
and she pushed it open. Immediately she was assaulted with the smell of him. She took a deep breath as she stepped into the dark apartment and closed the door behind her. She ran her hand along the smooth wall, searching for the light switch. Light flooded the front of the apartment when she found it. Mikhail's apartment was nothing like what she expected. It was decorated in all white, with sleek modern furniture and a big wool rug. She kicked off her shoes, not wanting to dirty the rug and then padded through the apartment, turning on lamps as she went.

In the kitchen, she opened the fridge and the cupboards, not knowing what she was looking for. Signs of him were everywhere, but so were signs of her, strangely enough. Her brand of organic cereal was on the counter and a pint of her favorite ice cream
—Tahitian vanilla—was in the freezer. She opened the container and found it half empty. Without thinking, she found a spoon in one of the drawers. Carrying the ice cream to the living room, she froze in the doorway, a spoonful halfway to her mouth.

A huge bouquet of yellow tulips was on the sideboard in the living room, next to an old record player. Licking the spoon clean, she crossed the room and ran her fingers over the soft petals. How did he know? She racked her brain trying to remember if she'd told him what kind of flowers she liked in the hospital. There was a card tucked amongst the blooms and she pulled it out and read it quickly.

I will not give up, solnyshka.

She turned the note over in her hand, but that was all it said. She lifted the paper to her nose, then set it on the sideboard.

“You're good, Mr. Ivanhof,” she murmured to herself, her attention grabbed by his record collection. She ate more ice cream as she thumbed through the colorful old records. He had way too much Elvis for her tastes, but as she ran across a Johnny Cash album, a shiver of recognition ran over her.

Without questioning the desire to do so, she pulled out the flat black disc and set it on the record player. A minute later, the opening Mariachi horns of
Ring of Fire
broke the silence in the empty apartment. Feeling eyes on her, she turned toward the big picture window, but there was no one there. That was when a flash of a memory came to her.

Mikhail tilted his head toward the bedroom, wordlessly communicating an unspoken invitation, his eyes never leaving hers. She didn't need him to say anything. She knew exactly what she wanted. As Johnny Cash's grave voice filled her ears, she rolled the strap of her green dress slowly down her shoulder, revealing the swell of her breast to his hungry gaze...

Gennifer took a deep breath, lust stabbing her right in the stomach. She closed her eyes, remembering how it felt to have his eyes on her, looking at her like she was the sexiest woman in the world. She wasn't willing to settle for the one memory, though. She wanted more. Setting the ice cream down on the coffee table, she made her way into the bedroom. His bed was big and covered in white bedding. It looked infinitely comfortable. She ran her hand over the fluffy duvet at the end, but continued on into the bathroom.

She flicked on the light and let out a low whistle. The spacious bathroom was all marble, with a big shower and a separate jet tub. She turned to the sink and wasn't surprised to find a tube of her fuchsia lipstick on the counter. A bottle of her face wash was beside the faucet, along with a soap dish full of ponytail elastics and hair pins. She caught her own eyes in the big mirror, facing the reality of the situation.

Before she'd come to Mikhail's apartment, she could pretend that it wasn't a big deal she didn't remember him. She could pretend that whatever they had wasn't that serious. But now she knew. Her things were everywhere. As far as she could see, she'd practically moved into his apartment. She'd never done that with any boyfriend she'd ever had.

Her eyes drifted to the shower stall behind her. Another memory struck her, out of nowhere.

His hands ran through her hair, softly washing the thick strands. She moaned and leaned into him, loving the feel of his hard body against hers. She turned around in his arms, pressing her soapy breasts against his chest and snaking her arms around his neck. He kissed her nose, his fingers still working their magic in her hair. She could feel his erection, thick and hard between them, begging for her attention...

The memory fizzled out in her brain and goosebumps prickled on her arms. It was so strange. She'd barely remembered anything in two weeks, and now memories were coming faster and faster. She went back into the bedroom and sat on the bed, her head spinning. The drawer on the bedside table was calling her name and she opened it. Inside were condoms and lube, but the condom box was almost empty. Only two packets remained out of the large box. Giggling to herself, she rolled onto her back on the bed. No wonder he seemed so frustrated. It looked like the man was used to a lot of sex. Her sex drive was high as well. No doubt, they'd fucked like rabbits. Every night and every morning...

Gennifer's smile faded as she realized that he was gone. She wondered for the thousandth time that night where he was going. As she stared up at the ceiling, she wondered if he was going to come back to his apartment that night. Longing for him to walk through the door, she closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. All of her emotions were jumbled up and confusing and there seemed to be no solution in sight. She tried to fool herself into thinking that her memory wasn't important, but now she knew that was a lie. But she was still no closer to making sense of what it all meant.