Page 34 of Cashmere Ruin

“Let me see! Let me see!”

“Meow.”

I mouth a silentThank youto Grisha over June’s shoulder. Then: “Wait—who meowed?”

Rob raises his hands in protest. “Wasn’t me.”

Then I notice the carrier on the ground. “Is that… Mr. Buttons?!”

June grins. “Thought you could use a pick-me-up. Still no pets allowed here?”

“And no friends?” Corey asks with puppy eyes.

I think back to Matvey’s draconian rules.No visits, no guests, no nothing.

Then I decide I don’t give a damn.

“The rules have changed,” I tell them. “Come on in. I want you all to meet someone.” I hold out the bundle in my arms. “This… is May.”

As the trio’s eyes grow wet—June’s especially—and my cat finally returns to me, sniffing suspiciously at the stink-bomb in my arms, all I can think of is one thing.

I still have a family after all.

12

MATVEY

I hateI-told-you-so’s.

No, more than that: I despise them. There isn’t a single string of words more annoying than that, in the English language or in any other.

The fact that Grisha isn’t saying them doesn’t fucking help matters.

Because he’s sure as fuck thinking them. I know it; he knows it; hell, even the goddamn hot dog man on the curb behind me knows it. If he had it tattooed on his face, it wouldn’t change a thing—that’show obvious my third-in-command is being.

And the worst part is… he’s right.

I doubted him. I had him followed by the same man who was pulling my leg the entire time. And when he tried to tellme—when he tried to point out Yuri’s suspicious behaviors to me, or worse, my own failings—what did I do?

I bit his fucking head off. I pushed him out of the inner circle, accused him of being disloyal, even threatened him in the middle of the street. I did everything short of kicking him out.

And I was goddamn wrong.

He greets me next to the car, expression impassive. “Moy pakhan.”

But all I hear is,I told you so.

“Grisha,” I say back stiffly.

But all I want to say is,Shut up. I know.

We get into the car. Grisha merges into the rush hour New York City traffic. “I saw April at the penthouse,” he mentions offhandedly. “She seemed glad to have her friends back.”

I told you so.“Hm.”

“I also saw Yuri there. He left with Petra soon after, though.”

I told you so.“I see.”

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