“I know why Andrei is angry with you,” I say, changing the subject. I don’t know how much time I have before he comes inside.
“Why?”
“Because they think you killed a man named Grigoriy—Andrei’s best friend. You didn’t kill him, did you? There’s been some kind of misunderstanding, right?” I ask, waiting tensely for him to ease my worry with his reply.
“I killed him,” Boris says without hesitation.
“What?” I stammer in disbelief. He answered me as though I’d asked him if he wants sugar in his coffee. Nonchalant, zero emotion.
“Tia, what the fuck is the problem? He’s dead. They need to get over it. It happened so long ago, I don’t even remember why I had to kill him. He was a small fish in a pool of sharks. His life didn’t matter either way.”
“Boris,” I say, fighting tears. I want to argue with him, to tell him that every life matters. But I’m in shock. I’ve never come face-to-face with this side of him before. I’ve never seen this level of cold cruelty. He honestly doesn’t give a shit about taking that man’s life. He doesn’t give a shit about what it did to his family.
“Come home,” he says, his voice softening. “Tell me where you are, and I can come fetch you. We want you back home, Tia.”
But suddenly his gentle words seem fake to me. Were they always fake? Was I just being blind to who he really is?
Nausea knots in my stomach and I take a sharp breath in to try and control it. “I’m not coming home,” I snap, hurt and angry. My entire life seems like a lie. Every interaction with Boris seems fake now. I don’t know what’s real anymore.
“Excuse me?” he snarls, the soothing tone disappearing the moment I refuse his demands.
“I’m not coming home,” I say more sternly.
“If you don’t come home immediately, you’ll regret it. I will find you and I will make your life a living hell, sweetheart. You think you can say no to me? You want to test me? Obey me or you’ll fucking regret it, and I’ll make sure Andrei regrets it too.”
“You know what I realized, right now, this moment?” I say, my heart racing.
“Mm,” he growls into the phone in anger.
“I realized that Andrei is ten times the man you’ll ever be.”
The line is quiet for a moment, and I wonder if he’s hung up.
“You’re going to regret this, Tia,” he whispers darkly.
The line goes dead, and I want to throw up.
Moving slowly, I put the phone down on the kitchen counter. My hands are shaking more now than when I dialed his number.
My half-brother is a monster. How is it that I was so blind before?
The night air outside on the balcony is cool against my skin. I sit there watching Andrei, wondering how to tell him what just happened.
He’s deep in conversation with Nico. I’m not trying to hide anymore; I’m sitting in plain sight.
By the time their conversation ends, I’ve decided that I won’t tell him I spoke to Boris. He doesn’t need to know. That is something I need to deal with for myself.
Andrei looks up at me from the beach below, and immediately a smile spreads over my face.
He really is a good man.
Inside the villa, he sighs loudly and flicks the coffee machine on.
“Is everything ok?” I ask, stepping behind him and wrapping my arms around his front.
“Yes. And no.” He laughs quietly, a nervous tension running through his body.
“Will it be ok?” I ask.
