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“Are you sure about this?” He cut straight to the chase.
“Yes.” I didn’t miss a beat. “I’m not a little girl that needs someone else fighting her battles. Granted, this involves all of us, and I’m glad I’m not in this on my own, but your worry is unwarranted.”
He sighed, sitting down. “I know we haven’t always had the best relationship, but I do worry about you. And I don’t like Davorin at all.”
“You two are much more alike than you think.”
Aleksei took offense to my words, grimacing.
“Tomorrow is her birthday.”
He didn’t need to tell me who he was referring to. I already knew. Her birthday was burned inside of my mind, and I hadn’t been to her grave since the funeral.
“I’ll come with you.”
The subject changed quickly, but he didn’t forget about it. He was going to nag me for the next week to try and persuade me to stay behind.
“You don’t have to,” he said, voice low. “I won’t be staying for long. I’ll get some flowers and her favorite cake.”
“Do you think you’ll love someone else again?”
The whole ordeal regarding our father was slowly getting to me. The date of the final battle was approaching, and it was making me uneasy. Something was giving me the creeps, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it.
If something were to happen to either Davorin or me, would the other one ever move on?
Aleksei laughed at my question, as if it were a joke. “Never. I might marry someone to carry on the business, but love? My heart is buried next to Davina.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said without thinking.
“I’m sorry?”
“Well, I heard you and Doctor Beckett have gotten closer lately, and that’s disturbing. She was Davina’s friend, for fuck’s sake. Pick someone else.”
“What the fuck are you talking about?”
Not only was he confused, he was offended that I'd even suggested something like that. His eyes made me quiver slightly and take a step back. I grinned widely, as if to mask the discomfort his eyes caused me.
“I’m assuming it was a baseless rumor, then,” I mumbled. Fuck you, Rhea, for not disclosing everything. Given that she was the gossip girl, I thought she’d confirmed the gossip before passing it to me.
‘‘“No, no,’’” he said in a warning tone. “D, ‘‘do tell, Kaya. What kind of rumors about me were you able to hear all the way in New Orleans?’’”
Oh, Jesus Christ.
TWENTY-ONE
EKATERINA
As I closed the door behind me, Davorin barely had the patience to wait until I was buckled up and before the engine roared to life. It caught me by surprise — especially the way he did not want to look at me. He stared straight ahead, gripping the steering wheel with all of his might.
It took me a split second to register what was happening. The motherfucker was ignoring me.
It couldn’t have been because we stayed at Aleksei’s longer than originally planned. From what I’d seen, he was busy chatting with Ilya and Dominik whilst I was talking to my oldest brother.
I stared at his side profile for twenty minutes, at least. Not once did he glance my way or show that he knew I was watching him. His jaw was clenched, eyes focused on the road. Bit by bit, he drove faster and faster until I couldn’t handle the speed anymore.
“Do you plan on getting us killed?”
“Perhaps.” His sharp tongue made my eyebrows knit together.
