Page 20 of Fate and Family

“Hi, Katya,” he purrs. Like a fucking cat.

She tucks her hair behind her ear and— No…her cheeks. They’re pink. Fuck, is she blushing?

“Good afternoon,” she says.

He reaches for her wrist, and she willingly hands it over. His hand snakes up her arm, pulling her closer to him. “Thank you for last night.”

Her lips curl. “Thank you for breakfast.”

No. No. No.

They didn’t sleep together. They didn’t fuck. It’s impossible.

He leans forward and pulls her close. I blink a few times to confirm what I’m seeing. He’s kissing her. Actually kissing her.

Uri—my cousin, my best friend—is kissing my... bartender.

It should be noted that she is a willing participant. My fingers grip something, but I’m not sure what. How could they both betray me? Svetlana and my brother are bad enough, but them? It doesn’t make sense.

Fuck him. Fuck her. Fuck both of them.

When he finally ends the kiss, loud enough for the whole table to hear, he says, “Thanks for the best night I’ve had since coming to Russia.”

She winks at him and says, “Any time,” then walks away like she didn’t just shatter my whole world with one giant atom bomb.

What the fuck? My brain can’t move past it. What. The. Fuck? Was she really his type all along? Was he just trying it out, and he liked it? I don’t understand.

“Dimitri?” I’m not sure who’s calling my name. I know the sound of the voice, I’m just not sure who it is. All I see is red, and the drumbeat in my head drowns out anything else trying to get in.

Someone repeats my name and punches my arm. I blink at my brother for a few seconds. “What?” I growl. Jesus, I actually growl.

“Got some big feelings you’d like to share with the group?” Damien seems more concerned than smug.

“What makes you say that?” Again, there’s a darkness to my voice I’m not ready for.

My father says, “Because you’re pointing your gun at Uri.”

I blink for a second. The rage blanket lifts, and I see it. My gun is aimed at my best friend. To my horror, my finger is on the trigger. “Fuuuuck.”

Uri reaches for my gun and moves it toward Mikhail. “We need to unpack your feelings here.”

“There’s nothing to unpack. You fucked the bartender. I have zero feelings about that.”

My cousin sits back in the booth and crosses his arms. “I didn’t fuck the bartender.”

The tightness in my chest loosens, and I take a deep breath. They didn’t betray me. He didn’t touch her... well, he might’vetouched her, but he didn’t fuck her. My lips curl. “I didn’t think you did.”

“Yes, you did. You wanted to shoot me at point-blank range.”

My father tilts his head. “Dimitri, is there a problem?”

I’m about to speak when my stupid brother says, “He wants to fuck the bartender.”

“No, I don’t.”

Uri leans in and grins. “No, he doesn’t just want to fuck her,” he sings. “He liiiikes her.”

Mikhail makes kissy sounds, and my brother punches me in the arm. Fuck, why is this worse than being a kid.

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