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“Kayla,” he drawls slowly, like maybe I forgot my best friend’s name. “She seems okay.”
“That’s a glowing review coming from you. Especially since you weren’t around all day. You barely spent any time with her.”
“Didn’t need to.” He closes his laptop and leans back in his chair. “I wouldn’t have left you alone if I wasn’t sure about her.”
Was it for your sake or for mine? Do you care what happens to me the same way I care about you?
I swallow down the questions. “Well, I’m glad you were able to leave… so you could spend time with Mariya.”
“That was a nice segue,” he snorts. “Very casual.”
“Fine, I’ll be direct.” I plop down in the chair across from his desk. “What in the hell happened with you and Mariya today? She was pissed when she came back.”
“I was pissed,” he says, his jaw clenched. “She was throwing a hissy fit because I won’t let her run around and get herself killed.”
“She tried to run away?”
Mariya running away seemed like an option when she first arrived, but I thought the threat had passed. Partially because Yakov had agreed to let her stay here. But also because she and I were friends. Or I thought we were, anyway.
“That’s what I thought at first when she told me she was going to the bathroom and didn’t come back for fifteen minutes. I went to look for her and the bathroom was empty. She wasn’t anywhere. Neither was our waiter.” Yakov’s lip curls. “Then I overheard two cooks talking about some waiter named Trey and ‘the fine piece of ass’ he was hooking up with in the alley.”
I drop my face into my hands. “She didn’t.”
“She didn’t. But she would have,” he growls. “I found them in time. The skinny fucker had his hand up her shirt when I dragged him off.”
“What did you do to him?”
“He’s still alive, if that’s what you’re asking.” He’s still scowling, but amusement flashes in his eyes. “But his continued ownership of his dick is dependent on it never being within fifty feet of my sister again.”
I chuckle. “Good for you.”
“Mariya didn’t think so.”
“Of course she didn’t. She is probably mad you cramped her style and embarrassed her in front of a boy she liked. One day, she’ll realize that guy was a creep and thank you. Trust me.”
“Maybe, but that day sure as fuck won’t be today. Or any day soon.” He sits forward, his elbows resting on his desk. “Mariya has no fucking idea the danger she’s in.”
I chew on my lower lip. “Have you told her? I mean, it’s hard to be afraid of a threat you don’t understand.”
His eyes snap to mine and I have to force myself to meet his gaze.
“I know you’re trying to look out for me by keeping me in the dark about things,” I continue, “but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to stay in line. Humans are curious. We can’t help it.”
“She can help it. Mariya was born in this world. She knows the risks. When I give her a command, she should follow it. No questions asked.” He drums his fingers on the desk. “I need to be harder on her.”
“Good luck with that,” I mutter. Yakov glares at me and I hold up my hands in surrender. “Look, maybe it wasn’t the same for you since you’re some super special breed of human, but most human teenagers defy authority. Usually in the most annoying way possible. When you tell them to ‘jump,’ they ask, ‘Why?’ and ‘Can I do it later? I’m tired right now.’ Mariya isn’t going to obey you just because she should. If she obeys, it’s going to be because she trusts and loves you.”
“Trust and love. The two easiest things to earn and control.”
I sigh. “It might be hard, but there are things you can do. I know you’re busy with everything going on, but you could try spending more time with her.”
“Because it went so well today?”
“It will take effort,” I tell him. “The two of you have been apart for a long time. It’s going to be weird at first, but Mariya wants to know you. I can tell. She is just afraid of being hurt again. But the only way to get to know people and build trust is to spend time with them… do things together… talk.”
He stares at me long enough that my skin starts to heat. “Funny. That’s what Mariya said about you and me.”
I frown. “What?”
