Page 150 of Ruby Mercy

His feet fly off the floor and he lands in the main room in a crumpled heap.

Immediately, the chatter in the ballroom dies.

But I don’t care about the gawkers. Not a single fucking one.

I turn around and find Rayne with my hands. I curl my palm against her cheek. “Did he hurt you?”

We’ve been here before. Part of me expects it to play out like it did five years ago. Rayne telling me she can handle herself, getting upset with me for intervening.

This time, however, her cool hand smooths over mine. She brushes her thumb over my knuckles and turns her face to press a kiss to the center of my palm.

“I’m okay, Kirill. I’m okay.”

The knot in my chest loosens slightly.

“I didn’t see where you went. I didn’t know—” I blow out a breath, the worry quickly channeling to rage. “I didn’t see him follow you in here. I would have been here sooner.”

Rayne draws close and presses a hand over my heart. I’m sure she can feel how hard it is beating. “You’re here now. That’s all that matters. That is enough.”

I look down and her blue eyes are glassy. Not with fear or anguish… but with happiness.

There’s so much here I want to unpack. But I can hear a few brave voices from the other room calling out to Sasha, and I am not about to let that little prick slip out of this party unscathed.

I bend down and press a kiss to Rayne’s lips. It’s soft and quick, but I feel the way she stretches into me. Something has changed since this afternoon, and I fully intend to figure out what.

After, though.

After I finish something that is long overdue.

I pull away from her and make a beeline straight for Sasha. He’s made it to his knees and a man from the crowd is stepping forward, hand extended like he plans to help him up.

“If you want to keep that hand, you’ll step back,” I growl.

The man wilts back into the crowd and leaves Sasha alone in the center.

“You’ve had your fun,” Sasha coughs as he wipes his lips with the back of his hand. “Your maid did, too. I think you’ve made enough of an example of me, don’t you think?”

“You’re still breathing. So no, I’d say I have some work left to do.”

Sasha huffs, but the confident effect is lost when blood drips down his forehead. “Here we are again. Fighting over a maid. Some things never change, do they, Kirill?”

“We’re not fighting,” I tell him. “A fight is fair, and the devil knows a fight between the two of us will never be fair. I’m kicking your ass because you’re a worthless piece of shit who likes to assault women who don’t belong to you.”

“I didn’t assault anyone,” he says, loud enough for his voice to echo off the back wall. “You’re just pissed I touched your maid.”

He looks past me to where I assume Rayne is standing. I quickly shift into his line of sight to block her from his view. “Don’t look at her. Look at me.”

“You trying to seduce me, Kirill?”

There’s a low chuckle from somewhere in the crowd. Sasha looks towards the sound, a defiant smirk on his face. He thinks having friends here will save him.

It won’t.

My jaw gnashes hard, molars grinding. “You’re used to your father stepping in to protect you, Sasha. You’re accustomed to being the little boy standing behind his big, strong daddy. Well, Daddy isn’t here anymore.”

“I never needed my dad’s protection!” he spits.

“Except the last time you touched my woman, and I nearly killed you,” I remind him. “The respect I had for your father is the only reason I let you walk away then.”

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