Page 11 of Kings of Cruelty

“Inviting Konstantin to the party, the storage drive, the whole you nearly killing me thing?” I prompt, even though I can’t believe I’m reminding him of why he should have every reason to smother me with a pillow right now.

“I wasn’t trying to kill you!” Yuri hisses. “I was aiming for your brother!”

I flinch at the reminder. Yeah. Yuri had tried to kill my brother, had shot and almost killed me, but I’m somehow less angry at him than I am at Kyran.

He bends forward and rests his head on my lap. “And I don’t care what else happened that night.”

If he’s willing to let it go, I’m not going to argue with him.

I tentatively lift my hand, starting to stroke his hair. The roots have grown out more into his long blond hair. He needs a touch-up and a cut, but I know that’s the last thing he cares about right now.

Because somehow, impossibly, he cares about me.

“I really hope someone found that drive,” I say, half to myself and half to him. “Well. Konstantin or Nikolai, at least.” I don’t know what sort of chaos everything had descended into once I’d been shot, but the last thing I want right now is for them to end up screwed over. Whoever picked up and found that damn thing…

“I don’t remember,” Yuri admits. “I don’t remember much from that night.” He laughs and props himself up to look at me. “I remember seeing you, and?—”

The door slams open, and Konstantin storms inside, a murderous expression on his face. “What are you doing here, Yura? Get the fuck out.”

I lift my head up and start to grab for Yuri’s arm even though it hurts to jostle my shoulder. I don’t want him to get up and leave even though I know that’s what his instinct will be. Fuck. I know my face is tear-stained, and my eyes are probably red, and Konstantin is going to think the worst of Yuri. “No!” I say quickly. “Please. I want him here. Please, Kotya.”

The nickname feels natural, somehow, though I don’t know if he’s going to chastise me for using it this time.

Konstantin’s expression softens, but he shakes his head. “No. Yura, leave. Nikolai and I haven’t decided what to do with you yet.”

Yuri nods and gets up, squeezing my hand one last time before letting go. “Yes, Kotya.” He keeps his eyes on the floor as he walks out, the door quietly shutting behind him.

Konstantin takes the chair Yuri vacated. “Sierrochka.” He reaches out to stroke my tear-stained face. “Did he hurt you again?”

“No,” I say, frustration making it difficult to form words. “It… No. It wasn’t him. I was thinking, is all.” He probably knows Silvano was here, or he’ll find out. I can’t tell him Silvano made me cry, though. I have a feeling he’d react without thinking.

Maybe I should tell him anyway, so Silvano finally faces consequences for all the pain he and his family have caused.

“I wish you hadn’t sent Yuri away,” I say quietly.

“Yura needs to be punished,” Konstantin says, the same reasoning he’s given the past few days. “If he was anybody else, we would have ‘removed’ him already.”

My heart skips a beat as I’m reminded of what kind of man I’m dealing with. Why had I decided to stay? What the actual fuck is wrong with me, to the point where I’d chosen to return to Konstantin when I could’ve gotten free of him forever?

“I would never have forgiven you,” I tell him. “Yuri is mine as much as yours.”

Konstantin presses a kiss to my forehead. “And that is why he still lives.”

I nod mutely.

There’s so much I could say, so much Iwantto say, but I can’t find the words.

So I say nothing at all.

FOUR

Yuri

I siton the entryway stairs, tension making my shoulders ache. I know I’m lucky to still be at this mansion. I might not get to stay here for much longer, depending on what Kotya and Nikolai decide.

Sierra would be better off without me. No wonder they’ve been edging me out. Those two years I was gone were probably a nice reprieve from my carelessness and recklessness.

My phone buzzes, and I startle before pulling it out of my leather jacket’s pocket.

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