““He swallowed again. “Why?” When I opened my mouth to answer, my lips started trembling - from nerves or regret I don’t know - and it took a few seconds to actually force the words out. “Because you have to find Nicholas. And I can’t handle that right now. I know I said I could, but I can’t.” Breathing as deeply as I could, I took Daniel’s closeness inside me, feeling all the while like I was on the edge of suffocating. “I’m about to fall apart, and I need time.” “I need you.” “You need me to kill-” “No!” Daniel’s face flushed, and he fixed his mouth shut, inhaling rapidly through his nose while trying to regain control. “You aren’t going anywhere near Dmitri. Not ever. He’s my responsibility.””
