Page 38 of King of Envy

If you were my fiancée, I wouldn’t look at another woman. Entertainment or not.

Vuk’s gaze narrowed.

I wondered if he could read the thoughts scrawled across my face. If he heard my pounding heartbeat or noticed the telltale heave of my chest when I couldn’t hold my breath anymore and expelled it all in one great rush.

Time slowed. The whir of espresso machines retreated into a dull background roar.

Then he straightened again, and the thread holding this moment aloft snapped with disorienting swiftness.

Noise rushed back in, punctuated by the jingle of bells above the door as a new customer walked in.

Hypothetically speaking, of course.Vuk’s expression was one of impersonal civility.

“Of course.” I managed a bright tone. “Well, I hope you have fun next weekend. That’s when I’m having my bachelorette too.”

He started to sign a response, but he froze halfway. His attention snapped to something over my shoulder, and his face darkened with such animosity I instinctively recoiled.

I have to go.He pushed back his chair. The metal screeched against the tile floor.Thank you for letting me join you for coffee.

I stared, mouth agape, as he disappeared out the door. I was so thrown by his abrupt departure that I didn’t dwell on the novelty of his first-ever thank-you to me.

I spun around and searched out the window for what might’ve caught his attention. Nothing stood out.

The only thing I saw was a pizza delivery guy, Vuk’s retreating back and, further down the street, a tourist in a blue baseball cap.

CHAPTER11

Vuk

Same height. Same build. Same cap as the man from the surveillance photos.

From the back, my target was a dead ringer for the mystery Brother, but his gait gave him away. It was too hesitant.

Nevertheless, he was another thread in the Brotherhood’s web. It was the only thing with the power to tear me away from Ayana.

He turned left onto a side street. I followed him, keeping enough distance for discretion but not so much I risked losing him. My pulse drummed in my ears.

He’d been tailing me all day. I’d picked up on it immediately after I left the house, but I’d lost him somewhere between the Upper East Side and Beaumont’s headquarters.

He didn’t pose an immediate threat—if he wanted to kill me, he would’ve tried the instant I stepped outside my house—so I’d pretended not to notice. But passing by so deliberately when I was with Ayana was a clear fucking violation. I didn’t want her anywhere near their radar.

The Brotherhood usually didn’t drag innocent civilians into their business, but one could never be too careful. Their rules of engagement might’ve changed over the years.

I should’ve slipped into Beaumont’s office like I’d originally planned instead of changing course to follow Ayana when I saw her leaving their headquarters, but I couldn’t resist. An extra moment alone with her was worth the disruption—unless it put her in danger.

The man in the blue cap slowed his pace while I kept mine steady.

The street we were on was so narrow it wouldn’t fit even the smallest car. Shuttered windows and graffitied walls lined the grimy path, and a stray cat scampered behind a dumpster when I approached. Otherwise, there was no other sign of life.

Blue Cap nearly reached the end of the street before his self-preservation instincts kicked in. He whirled around, his expression like that of a rabbit who sensed a predator looming.

It was too late; I’d already caught up with him.

He swung at me, but I easily dodged the hit and slammed him against the wall. My forearm pressed up against his chain. He flailed, trying to throw me off, but his struggles gradually weakened as he ran out of energy and oxygen.

Considering how he’d gone out of his way to provoke my attention at the café—he had to have known I would see him through the window and follow him—he was putting up a valiant effort to escape.

Either he was an imbecile, or he was arrogant enough to think he’d escape my notice.

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