Page 131 of Ruby Malice

Kirill watches his brother make his way through the dunes. Only once he’s up the stairs and back in his own apartment does he turn to glare down at me.

Looking up at him now makes last night feel like a dream. Because there is no comfort between us. No ease. There’s only fire.

And I know I’m about to get burned.

30

KIRILL

Her shirt is damp, clinging to her skin even more than usual. The ends of her hair are wet, too, and bright with ocean water where they curl against her chest.

All of her glistens and glows.

None of it eases the knot in my stomach.

Rayne shoves hard against my chest. “He was afraid of you, do you realize that? You scared him.”

Iscaredhim? When I looked out and saw the two of them in the water together, I felt an unknown, throbbing kind of fear I’ve never felt before. But now, I feel something else: rage.

“That’s rich,” I snarl, “coming from the person who threw him in the ocean against my direct orders.”

She rolls her eyes. “I didn’t throw him anywhere. He wanted to come out here.”

“Yeah, and sometimes he wants to punch holes in the wall. Not everything we want is good for us, Rayne. Did you even think about what could have happened?”

Her brows knit together, and I can tell she did think. That she considered the worst-case scenario. And even with that image in her head, she walked out into the water, anyway.

I thought she was just being careless. Realizing that she was being deliberately obtuse just makes me that much angrier.

“You don’t know what’s best for him. I do. You ignored my order and put my brother at risk.”

And yourself,I add in my head.

Ilya could have dragged her under without even trying. He isn’t a strong swimmer, either. He could have fallen under the water and been carried out to sea. Rayne would have died trying to save him.

Every possible terrible permutation runs through my mind, ordering and reordering themselves until my chest is tight. Two dead bodies lying like blotted shadows on my shore. Nightmare fuel.

Instead of reading my dark mood and backing down, Rayne seems to feed on it. She pulls her shoulders back and lifts her chin. “Maybe it’s good for him to—”

“I’d be quiet if I were you.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “I won’t. Because you asked me to help take care of Ilya, and I—I think I’m right about this.”

“He could have killed you,” I bark, closing the distance between us in one step. The last time we were this close was last night on this very beach. But now, the air crackles with a very different kind of energy.

“Ilya wouldn’t hurt me.”

I clench my hands into fists. The urge to grab her and shake some sense into her is overwhelming. “Because of your little tricks? Do you think you cantap-tap-tapaway decades of trauma, Rayne? Do you think you cantap-tap-tapaway a brain injury? He’s seen every single one of the best neurosurgeons in the world and you’re just a fucking waitress, but hey, maybe you know something all the M.D.s don’t.”

I’m being an asshole; I know that. But this is the only way to get through to her. She doesn’t listen when I try to be gentle.

“I never said that,” she grits out between clenched teeth. “But don’t treat me like I’m stupid. I’m not stupid. Just because I don’t have a degree doesn’t mean my opinion is worth less than yours.”

“You’re right. Your opinion isn’t worth less than mine because you didn’t go to college; it’s worth less than mine because you’ve known Ilya for two weeks, and I’ve known him his entire life.”

She crosses her arms and glares up at me. “Okay, but maybe I’m able to have a different perspective because I’m not as emotionally involved.”

I inch closer to her, breathing fire in her face. “Do you know why we come here three months out of the year? Because the quiet is good for him. He can get out of the city and have more fresh air without constant sirens and voices. He is better when he’s here. This is as good as it gets.”

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