Page 113 of Anton

I don’t believe him.

“Fine. May I sit now?”

“Of course.” He drops his hand, but his gaze stays on me. “Although I am curious about something.”

“What?”

He takes a few seconds to answer. “I’m curious why you haven’t taken care of the girl yet.”

Blyat. Think fast.

“I’m enjoying the anticipation.” A half-grin forms. “Toying with her until she trusts me, so I can see the dread in her eyes when I take her life. Is that all right with you?”

“Certainly,” he says, watching me too closely. “But don’t have too much fun.”

My big brother, the destroyer of dreams.

“Ladno.” Okay.

I march off before he can ask anything else and take the empty seat beside Lev, grateful that if I have to sit through this dinner, at least the person next to me won’t ask questions I don’t feel like answering. A plate is set in front of me, but I barely look at it. My appetite is gone, and every conversation around me feels like noise I have to endure while Arkady and Mikhail chuckle with my brothers as if we’re one happy fucking family.

I can’t let anything happen to Thora. If I have to go against my own family to save her, then I will.

At that exact second, Lev looks up at me, almost as if he knows what I’m thinking.

“Eat your broccoli,” I tell him.

He looks away, but from the corner of my eye, I see him reach into his pocket. When he pulls out a chocolate bar and holds it toward me, I shake my head.

“No. That’s your favorite.”

Kirill gets them for him all the time. He loves them.

“Yours,” Lev says, pushing it closer.

“Are you sure?”

He nods, drops it beside my plate, and goes back to his grilled chicken and broccoli like nothing happened. After a second, I take it and slip it into my jacket pocket, knowing I can’t give it back. This means something to him, and I don’t want to be a shittier uncle than I already am.

Sloane leans over, catching what he’s done, a grin spreading across her face. “You’re such a good boy for sharing.”

She kisses the top of his head. Lev doesn’t say anything; he only moves his broccoli a centimeter to the side before putting it in his mouth. Then Sloane’s attention shifts to me.

“So…” she says, low enough that no one else hears. “How did it work out with your lady friend?”

“Fine.”

Her smile widens. “I’m so glad. Maybe you can bring her around one day.”

I almost laugh. “Unlikely.”

“You never know.” She shrugs. “Life can be full of surprises.”

That’s cute. Whatever fairy tale Sloane has made up in her head isn’t mine. Thora sitting at this table, as if she belongs here with me, is never going to happen.

Right now, the only thing that matters is figuring out whether my cousins were brought here to kill her.

And how fast I can get to Texas to stop them.