Page 104 of Sapphire Tears

Adrian scoffs, but his expression is laced with jealousy. “You always did have a knack for acquiring loyalists who follow you like trained dogs. Or maybe there’s more to it than just loyalty?” He arches his eyebrows, waiting for Milana or me to confirm it. “I always did find it hard to believe that all these years, nothing happened between the two of you.”

“That’s because you can’t conceive of a relationship that’s not transactional,” I growl.

He scoffs. “Because there is no such thing.”

“Spoken like the piece of shit you are,” Milana spits.

Adrian rolls his eyes. “Still sore, Milly? And to think, we used to be friends.”

“We did—right before you tried to put that shriveled little cock inside me,” she says, her eyes glowing like lit coals. “And we both know that the only reason you tried is because you thought there was something going on between Kolya and me.”

I laugh sardonically. The drunkenness is clearing now, burning away like fog in the path of the rising sun. “You did always want what I had, didn’t you, little brother?”

His fists knot tight at his sides. “That’s ironic coming from you,” he snarls. “Considering you tried to marry my woman.”

“I didn’t want her because she was yours; I want herdespitethat. I want her because she’s an amazing, kind, brilliant woman. It has nothing to do with you.”

His squinted eyes turn into little pinpricks of rage. “How romantic. So it’s true then: you do have feelings for her.”

“I love her, Adrian. She’s the most important thing in my life. She will always be the most important thing in my life.”

He takes a step forward and I notice how his hands shake. It’s a dead giveaway. The one little gesture he makes just before he completely loses his shit.

“She’s carryingmychild. She lovesme.”

“Maybe she did once,” I suggest. “But not anymore. The irony is that if you had stayed, even if she’d met me, this would never have happened. Because that’s who June is—loyal to a fault. But youdidleave. In the worst way possible. And you paved the way for her and me to be together. You did this. You have only yourself to blame.”

His whole body is shaking now, not just his hands. Milana seems to notice the same thing, because she moves forward, her hand reaching for her coat pocket.

“STOP!” Adrian screams. His own gun, pulled out of nowhere, is pointed right at Milana. She freezes in place, hand hovering just a few inches away from salvation. “Put your hands in the air. Move over there, next to Kolya so that I can see both of you.”

She has no choice but to do as he says. The moment we’re standing next to each other, Adrian comes forward, gun wavering dangerously in our faces, and disarms both of us.

“There,” he says with some satisfaction as he kicks our weapons under the couch. “Now, we can have a real conversation.”

“Is that possible while you still have a gun?” I ask casually.

He drops his hand, but he grips the weapon tightly. “Apparently, that’s the only way I can get a little respect around here.”

“If that’s the only way you can get respect, then it’s not worth having.”

“Spare me the fucking lecture,” Adrian hisses. “You really are beginning to sound like Otets, you know that? He was a miserable bastard who looked down his nose at everyone else, too.”

“Why do you think I killed him?”

Adrian shakes his head. “Don’t try and make it seem like you did me any favors. You wanted control of the Bratva. I was just your convenient excuse.”

I told the black-haired June imitator at the bar that I had no heart. But that was a lie. I have a heart for June. I have a heart for Milana.

I have a heart for Adrian, too, even now.

“I never wanted the Bratva,” I growl. “It was the mantel I was born to bear, so I accepted it. But I was content to let Otets run things. Until he started making decisions I couldn’t get behind.”

“See?” he says triumphantly. “It had nothing to do with me.”

“It wasn’tonlyabout you,” I clarify. “But it was most definitely about you. Don’t you remember that conversation, little brother? You’d just turned eighteen. You begged me for a way out. You swore that you’d be happy if you just had a way out. Remember that?”

Adrian stiffens in response. Of course he remembers. He was drunk when he came stumbling home. But when he’d woken up, several hours later, he looked at me with sober eyes.“Please, brother, help me. Save me. I can’t be here anymore. It’s too much. I will never be what he wants me to be. And he won’t let me go. Help me find a way out. Then I’ll be happy. I swear it…”

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