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“Sounds like masochism to me.”
“Says the man watching horrible old movies in the dark by himself.” She shakes her head, a spark of vicious satisfaction glowing in those deceptively innocent hazel eyes. “You pretend like you have no morality, no conscience, and no feeling. But if that were true, I wouldn’t be here. He may have left the family, but you didn’t leave him. Did you, Kolya?”
I freeze. My body knows how to react when someone strikes unexpectedly—I school my face into an iron mask; I keep my fists tight and ready at my sides.
But my heart refuses to obey orders. It’s stampeding in my chest, angry and taken aback by the fiery little hellcat in front of me.
June presses in on her advantage. “You cared about Adrian. YoulovedAdrian. You just don’t want to admit it, because admitting it would mean that you’re not the unfeeling beast you claim to be.”
My father’s words lash out in my head.You do her no favors by going easy on her, boy.So I do what I’ve spent a lifetime training for: I step into her space and blot out the light, the hope, all of it.
“If you’re looking for a heartwarming story, keep looking, Junepenny. You won’t find it here. Adrian was‘krov.Blood. Family. I helped him because the dictates of our shared blood compelled me to. It had nothing to do with sentiment. It sure as fuck had nothing to do withlove.”
I feel like I’m watching a bird die mid-flight. She thought she saw something in me, but I snuffed it out. Clipped her wings right as she aimed herself up to the sky.
And now, she tumbles down to the earth, feathers peeling off one by one.
That’s the feeling I was taught to pursue. Not just victory over anyone who dares challenge me, but annihilation of their will to live. For my whole life, that’s been my north star.
It’s never felt less satisfying than it does now.
“Am I interrupting something?”
June and I turn as one. Milana is standing at the foot of the stairs, her eyes trained on the two of us. June jerks backwards, and I realize just how close together we’d been standing. Her scent dances on the edge of my perception. Caramel and lavender.
I clock the worry on Milana’s face instantly. My brow furrows. “What’s going on?”
“Ravil is here,” she says, lowering her voice. “He’s alone and unarmed.” She glances back towards the staircase, where I hear footsteps.
I grab hold of June and shove her into the closest room with a door. “You are to stay here silently, until I say so. Is that understood?”
Her eyes narrow, that old spark of defiance flaring hot again. Maybe I didn’t fully snuff it out yet, actually.
She opens her mouth, and I realize in the instant before the sound emerges that she intends to scream.
Unfortunately for her, I’m too fast. I clap my hand over her mouth and march her to the rear wall of the room. Her scream is muffled and hot against my palm while I pin her against the bricks.
“You’re playing with fire, woman,” I snarl down at those gleaming eyes. “That man out there is not the ally you think he is. In fact, he’s the very person I’m trying to protect you from.”
She tries to say something, but my hand is still pressed against her lips. I can feel her heartbeat against my chest. Her hips flush on mine. Her eyes never yielding, never blinking, not even once.
I break away only because I realize that I like this stance much, much more than I should.
“Why should I believe anything you tell me?” she spits, wiping the back of her hand over her swollen lips. “I don’t know this Ravil from Adam.”
“You don’t have to. Adrian knew him.”
“Yeah, and I knew Adrian, and for as many problems as he had, one thing he didn’t have was murderous fuckingenemies!”She throws air-quotes around that word, “enemies,” as if her incredulity would stop Ravil from gutting her like a pig, pregnant or not.
“You don’t know Adrian half as well as you think you did,” I growl. “You don’t even know his real name.”
The truth of that seems to knock the fight right out of her. She stands there, silent and sullen and confused, looking around the room like she wants to hide.
“You will stay here until I send someone for you,” I tell her firmly as I start to leave. “Disobeying me will come with consequences.”
“I don’t understand why—”
I whirl on her furiously. “You don’t have to understand!” I roar. “You just have to fucking listen.”
