Page 43 of Ruby Menace

“Really?” She hisses. “Because the FBI transcript she showed me says otherwise. What the fuck do you think made me leave?”

An FBI transcript?

Jesus.

I stare at Tiana, trying to control my blood pressure as I put the puzzlepieces together. I already knew that Zoya was the one behind Tiana’s disappearance, but I didn’t know what she told Tiana that made her leave. First, she sold out to that fucker Petrov. Then she convinced Tiana that I killed her mother. Then she lured her out of the building so that Petrov’s men could kidnap her and use her against me.

Chert voz’mi!

When I get my hands on that bitch…

The woman is a snake. Worse than that. Her betrayal cuts deeper than I have ever imagined. But that doesn’t change the fact that Tiana believed her. She thinks I killed her mother.

“Zoya lied to you,” I growl through gritted teeth. “I never laid a hand on your mother. Didn’t it ever occur to you that she can forge the file and-”

“Enough of the lies!” Tiana snaps. “I don’t fucking care if the file is forged, Kirill!” Her last words come out as a small sob, and despite my anger, my heart clenches. “Tell me the truth! Did you kill my mother?”

“Ptichka, it’s not that simple-,”

“The truth!” She cuts me off again. “Now.”

Blyad.

I’m not getting out of this until I tell her the story, that much is clear. My blood is still boiling as I’m thinking of Zoya and her hand in all of this. The woman has interfered in my world for the last fucking time.

“Sit down,” I tell Tiana.

She shakes her head. “No! I’m done with jumping every time you snap your fingers!” Her jaw juts out. “Start talking!”

Impossible goddamned woman. Even after all she’s been through, she still gives me an attitude. I stand in front of her and fold my arms over my chest.

“Fine,” I snap. I’m battered, bleeding, and my patience is strung thin. “I never killed your mother,” I say, forcing myself to keep my temper in check.

“Yeah, right. And I’m just supposed to take your word for that?”

“Yes.” I nod. “You are my woman. You should take my word above all else.”

“Oh really?” she scoffs. “Firstly, that’s the most arrogant thing I’ve ever heard. And secondly, who says that I’m your woman?”

“I do.” I set my jaw. “But that is not what we are discussing right now. You want answers.”

“Yes!” She glares at me, folding her arms across her chest in a mirror of my posture. It draws my attention to how her dress has been hastily pulled closed. I can still see the crosshatching on her skin from where she was cut.

I should have taken longer to kill those fuckers.

“Are you going to tell me, or what?” She’s still glaring at me. In spite of her clothing being torn and her skin splattered with blood, she’s the picture of defiance.

“I did not kill your mother,” I say again. I loom over her, even though I’m pretty sure that I’m not intimidating her.

“You said that already. And?”

“I was told to target your father,” I acknowledge, and lock my eyes with hers. “My employer needed to keep him at bay. I decided it would be easier to manage him if I threatened those he loved. To use them as leverage.” I could say that it wasn’t my finest hour, but that wouldn’t be true – I’ve done worse.

“Like my mother?” She scowls at me. “You bastard! I-”

“I did not kill her!” I unfold my arms and rake a hand through my hair. “I had planned to get into your property, plant cameras, and take pictures of her going about her daily life. To show your father that I had been there and how vulnerable she was. But when I got there, she was already gone.”

“Gone?” Tiana frowns at me.

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