Page 87 of Mile High Ruin

Very sensible, Sloane.

I look at him. “What happened to Hale?”

Vadim’s expression changes immediately. The warmth disappears.

“Why?”

“I was just wondering.”

“You don’t need to worry about him.”

“He died.”

“Yes.”

The blunt answer sits between us.

I look down at my hands. “I saw.”

Vadim watches me. “He deserved what he got.”

There’s no sympathy in his voice. I understand why, and part of me agrees. Another part still can’t reconcile the man who cornered me with the body I watched collapse beneath the floodlights.

“I know what he did,” I say. “I’m not defending him.”

“Then don’t give him space in your head.”

“That’s easier said than done.”

His jaw tightens. “He chose what happened to him.”

I don’t answer.

He reaches for my hand, his fingers closing around mine. The gesture is unexpectedly gentle.

I look at him.

He doesn’t say anything else.

For a while, that’s enough.

My phone vibrates inside my bag. I almost ignore it, but then it vibrates again, so I reach down, pull it out, and glance at the screen.

It’s a text from Ethan. A message preview appears beneath my brother’s name.

Call me when you can. Hospital called again.

My stomach knots.

I swipe the notification away too late.

Vadim has already seen it. “Who was that?”

“It’s nothing.”

His gaze settles on me. I immediately resent how easily he makes silence feel like interrogation.

“What?”