But the real question was, did I want to spare him?
After a heartbeat of silence, I snatched the gun before I could change my mind.
Now, Eduard, Damien, Rurik, and even Isaak had their eyes on me. They didn’t speak a word, but I could hear their thoughts.
None of them thought I could go through with it.
Shit.Neither did I.
But then I remembered why we were here in the first place. I might have survived my attacker, but my sister did not. I would no longer hear her voice, talk to her…absolutely nothing. Her memory lived on in my heart, but that was going to be all I had left of her.
How could I allow her killer to walk away?
I eliminated the distance between Isaak and me, and while I mentally prepared to pull the trigger, I tugged on the sleeve of his shirt.
The gun almost fell from my grip.
My heartbeat started an erratic rhythm, and blood roared in my ears.
“Zoella?” Matvey called behind me, but I didn’t answer.
More roughly, I tugged higher on Isaak’s sleeve, desperately and frantically searching his smooth, unmarked arm for the only solid proof of the crime he committed.
“Zoella?”
I took a step back, my ears ringing like fire alarms at a station. Except for the rugged lines of his biceps and muscles, there was a surprising emptiness.
There was nothing there.
I couldn’t take it; I spun around and threw myself into Matvey’s arms. It didn’t matter that they stayed stiff at his sides; all I needed was his warmth to thaw the ice that quickly twisted my insides.
This time, Isaak’s lips and nostrils weren’t the only things bleeding. My heart bled and squeezed, until I found it too hard to breathe.
“It’s not him.” I looked up at my frowning husband. “Matvey, it’s not him.”
His eyes were as hard as granite.
“But the watch—”
“I saw it.” I trembled. “When he grabbed me…his shirt rode up. There was a tattoo. Small flames, curling up his left arm.”
I didn’t even have to turn around to feel their eyes shift in the room, including Matvey’s. His frown deepened when they all looked at the one man by the window.
Isaak started screaming and groaning louder, like a wounded animal in agony. “I’m to kill you, you fucking bastard! I’m going to fucking kill you!”
At this point, although my heart refused to believe it, I had to turn. I had to look.
Rurik’s face betrayed no emotion, but he stood too still, with one hand clenched on his left arm. He didn’t speak, and the moment stretched too long.
Then, his jaw flexed, and a soft curse slipped from his lips.
My stomach dropped.
He met my eyes for a second, and that was all that was shared before he bolted.
“Rurik!” Eduard barked, almost lunging at him.
But Rurik was already gone, pushing past Eduard and Damien, like a shadow released from hell.
