Page 111 of Ruby Malice

“I think you’re forgetting something,” I snarl as I leave. “I can do whatever I want.”

* * *

Late in the afternoon, I leave my office and head up to Ilya’s apartment. I pass a few maids on my way. All of them duck out of sight as I enter the room or lower their heads as they pass. One woman dares a smile and a small “Hello, Mr. Zaitsev.”

In my mind, they all blur together. None of them stand out. None of them beg to be noticed. The moment they’re out of sight, they’re out of my mind.

All except for one…

I feel the shift in the air the moment I walk into Ilya’s apartment. There’s always a heaviness associated with seeing my brother. The possibility of who he could have been, what he could have become, hangs in our every interaction.

But today, I walk in and I hear him… laughing?

“… Look at me,” Rayne is saying. Her back is to me, but she’s holding her arms out wide in front of Ilya. I can see she has a set of large plastic goggles strapped to her face. A snorkel dangles to the side. “Am I supposed to sit on the couch dressed like this?”

Ilya laughs again. “Swimming.”

Rayne does a giddy little jump and nods. “Exactly! I’m supposed to go swimming. Do you want to come?”

Instantly, Ilya’s face falls. His brow creases with uncertainty. “Inside.”

“Yeah, you’re inside a lot,” Rayne says. “But you can go outside, too. You like being outside. The ocean. We can take a walk.”

He points to her goggles. “Swimming.”

“Or we can go swimming,” she adds quickly.

Ilya’s nose twitches. A second later, his eyes squint. I can see the anxiety bubbling out of him. He’s nervous.

Slowly, Rayne reaches out and touches his arm. He jolts, but she smooths away his worries. “We don’t have to, Ilya. Only if you want to, okay?”

He curls his fingers together into a tight knot, and Rayne lays her hand over his. “Breathe. Remember? Deep breaths.”

Ilya’s shoulders rise as he inhales. Then he blows out a loud, roaring breath. As he does, he starts to laugh.

Rayne claps her hands in celebration. “That’s amazing, Ilya! You’re getting good at the lion’s breath.”

Ilya sways side to side, grinning and shy. Then, finally, he looks up and spots me in the door. “Kirill!”

Rayne’s entire body tenses, but she doesn’t turn to face me. Instead, when Ilya comes over to give me a hug, she pulls off her goggles and slips into the kitchen. She starts quietly putting dishes away in the cabinets.

“It looks like you’ve been busy today.” I look around the room at the puzzles spread across the table, the books open across the couch, and watercolor paintings hanging on the window. “Did you paint those?”

“I made the horse. Rayne did a rainbow.” Ilya is beaming. He’s clearly happy. More relaxed than I’ve seen him in… years.

It makes my gut churn uncomfortably. “Why don’t you go get ready and we can go for a drive?”

Ilya’s eyes light up. “In the fast car?”

“They’re all fast cars,sobrat,” I tell him with a wink. “Go put some shoes on and we can go.”

Ilya runs into the back of the apartment to change. The moment Rayne and I are alone, the tension in the air pulls taut.

She is still moving methodically around the kitchen, putting away dishes and avoiding eye contact with me. But I can tell my presence is making her uncomfortable.

I walk to the island and sit down. “It’s a mess in here.”

She finishes putting away the silverware and then carefully slides the drawer closed. After a beat of hesitation, she turns and looks over her shoulder. “Sorry about that.”

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