Page 27 of Sapphire Tears

He keeps his eyes fixed on his hand as he flexes and unflexes his fingers. Tendons pop and crackle. “I was talking about the baby.”

“‘The baby,’” I scoff. “Call it what you really mean. Your heir. Your insurance policy.”

Kolya sighs and looks up at last. I despise myself for looking back. His jaw is chiseled to perfection, his long chin taking prominence whenever his expression is this dour.

Something so broken shouldn’t be so beautiful.

“He got inside your head,” he says mournfully.

“Funny—he claims you’ve got into mine.” I push my greasy hair off my face in a huff of frustration. “You’ve both told me different versions of the same story, and you know what I realized? I can’t trust either version. I can’t trust either one of you.”

He just sits there, watching me. “Did you know he was alive?”

“Of course I didn’t know,” I hiss. “I found out a week ago, when he picked me up outside of Ravil’s house.”

“And you left with him?”

I despise the insinuation in his voice, like this is all my doing. Like I’m not just the one caught in the middle of two brothers who’ve never stopped fighting. “You have no right to judge me. You have no right to expect anything from me, least of all loyalty.”

“Because of The Accident,” he infers.

“Yes, because of The fucking Accident!’” I scream, already wanting to tear my hair out at the root. “Was I supposed to just take that in stride? ‘Oh, yeah, that whole silly thing? Why, as a matter of fact, I, Kolya Uvarov, was indeed there on the worst night of your life. And not only was I there, but I was responsible for the death of your unborn child and the destruction of your dance career, the only thing you ever truly had for yourself!’I’m just supposed to take that one on the chest, is that what you’re saying?”

If my fury is getting to him, he shows no sign of it. “There were two vehicles on the road that night. Adrian was the one being reckless.”

I sag, exhausted by this conversation that’s barely even begun. “Because you were chasing us, Kolya. Why were you chasing us?”

“It was never meant to go that far. We needed to hash things out, the two of us. It had gone on long enough.”

“That’s not what Adrian told me.”

Kolya snorts. “Let me guess: Adrian told you that he wasn’t interested in Bratva life, that I was the one trying to reel him back in?”

I hesitate.

“I thought so.” His blue eyes splinter so harshly that I have to look away. “Unfortunately, my brother is a liar and a con artist.”

“He says the same thing about you.”

“I’ve never had to be a con artist,” he tells me, pride sliding through his words. “Because I’ve worked for everything I have. A con artist lies to procure things he doesn’t deserve. You should know that better than anyone. It’s how Adrian got you.”

There’s a compliment—or something like it, at least—buried in there, but I’m no longer naive and hopeful enough to take the bait. I cross my arms over my chest. “What are you going to do now?”

“I’m going to take you home.”

“I meant with Adrian.”

He doesn’t say anything at first. Instead, he walks to the shower curtain and holds it open for me. “He’ll find a hole to crawl into and he’ll stay there for a while, until he feels safe again. That’ll buy us some time. For now—we have to go.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.”

“June—”

I shake my head. “No. I’m not putting my life and my future in your hands. I did that once and it turned out to be the biggest mistake I could’ve made.”

He lets the curtain fall again, raking a hand through his hair and exhaling hard through pursed lips. “I should never have let them get so close to you,” he says suddenly. “Ravil, his men, Adrian—all of them. They got too close. That’s on me. But I’m not going to let anyone hurt you again.”

“Youhurt me,” I say forcefully, trying to get a grip even as my voice wobbles over the words.

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