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“You don’t believe me?”
“I believe that you’re a desperate fucking coward who’s trying to sow discord in my ranks. That’s what I believe.”
Adrik smiles and something about that smile leaves me feeling uneasy. Before I can let the feeling take over, I turn my back on him and start to walk away.
“How can you expect yourvorsto be loyal,” he hisses, “when your ownuncleis trying to dethrone you?”
I freeze.
I turn slowly on the spot.
One look at his face and I know…
He’s not bluffing.
45
RUSLAN
Vadim Oryolov.
The traitor. The spy. The rat is… Vadim?
It doesn’t make any fucking sense. Family is everything to my uncle. It’s the reason he endured being passed over aspahkan. It’s the reason he played the dutiful brother, the supportive uncle. It’s the reason he showed up every day even after Fyodor had checked out.
Family is everything.
Those are his words, not mine.
Of course, Adrik could be lying. But I know that’s my denial talking. My instincts are screaming a whole different story. They have been since the moment Adrik blurted out the person who’s been scheming with him to bring me down.
I had him confined to the smallest room in the cellar. It’s cold down here, but if he is looking to me for a blanket or a sweater or a fire, he can keep fucking looking. I’ve offered him none. Let the bastard freeze his balls off for all I care.
I drag a chair into the cellar room and twist it around to straddle it. Adrik looks up at me from the corner of his thin mattress. He’s got his arms wrapped around his legs in an upright fetal position. The moment he stops baring his teeth at me, they start chattering.
He growls furiously and sinks deeper into his corner. “What do you want to know?”
“I want to knowwhy.”
“You’ll have to ask him.”
“I’m askingyou.”
Adrik looks away from me.Is thisloyaltyI’m seeing? I didn’t think Adrik knew the meaning of the word.“Maybe he thought I deserve what you have.”
“What claim do you have?”
“You’d be surprised.”
I roll my eyes. “I never pegged you for one of those annoying cryptic types, Adrik. It doesn’t suit you.”
“Fuck off, Ruslan.”
I inch the chair closer. “Did you approach him or was it the other way around?”
Adrik laughs bitterly. “The betrayal’s really stinging, huh, brother?”
It takes some effort to keep my hands from closing into fists. But I don’t want this piece of shit thinking he’s getting to me. “Betrayal is an inevitable part of this life.”
