Page 95 of Cruel Honor

On the tip of my tongue are fighting words. I don’t stand for people doubting me.

But then I think about it. Evie has a valid point after how I treated Tatiana. The truth is—Tatiana never meant anything to me, and I didn’t care.

But Evie isn’t Tatiana.

“Only time will tell,” I answer. “You know that. You have to just choose to trust me. But I’ll tell you this, Evie. You make me feel more than I have in years. You make mecaremore than I ever have before.”

She thinks on it for a while then nods. “Ok.”

“Ok?”

“Ok. You’re right. I just have to choose to trust you. It’s so hard, though, with Tatiana in my mind. I thought coming here would help, but it hasn’t. And now, knowing her friends are here, it’s all too much.”

“So, then let’s go back home.”

“We just got here, though.”

I shrug. “So? I’m a man of spontaneity. If you want to return to the city, then let’s go back. I have to deal with Abram anyway. I can’t ignore him forever.”

Quickly, she hugs me and then lets me go. It doesn’t last longer than a couple of seconds. “Thank you, Dimitri.”

Seeing the softness in her eyes as she looks down at me gives me all the encouragement I need to grab her face and kiss her deeply.

Chapter

Fourteen

EVIE

The three of us are quiet on the drive back home. I can tell Katya is bursting to talk to with me about Tatiana’s friends, but she keeps it to herself, whether because she doesn’t want to talk about it in front of Dimitri or because she doesn’t want to upset me further.

I’ll admit I feel like a failure. I couldn’t have one fun day at the beach without having another panic attack. Dimitri is trying to help, and I’m appreciative of that, but he can’t take away what I’ve done.

No one can.

Maybe returning to New York will help. I can see Juno again. Go back to the library. Have some semblance of normal.

And then I see the fire.

Dimitri stops the car across the street from his house.

His house that’s currently going up in flames.

“What the fuck?” he whispers then gets out of the car. Both Katya and I scramble out after him.

He rushes across the street and to the house. “My house. It’s gone. It’s …”

“All my stuff,” Katya says. “Dimitri, we have to do something. We have to stop that!”

“How? How can I stop a fire? With my own bare hands?”

“I don’t know,” Katya mutters. “Just try something.”

While the two siblings bicker, I look closer at the house. Why is it that only Dimitri’s house is on fire? I know we didn’t leave the stove on. Unless it was faulty wiring, how else did it get caught on fire?

Abram. I know in my core.

Does he know Tatiana is dead? Does he know it was me?

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