“I’m sorry.” She glances between Alexei and me. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was looking for coffee.”
“Kitchen’s that way,” Alexei reminds her, jerking his thumb toward the back of the penthouse.
But she doesn’t move. Instead, she studies my brother with the same focused attention she gives everything else these days.
“Alexei,” she assumes. “Dmitri’s told me about you.”
“Has he now?” Alexei straightens, and I can see him evaluating her just as thoroughly as she’s evaluating him. “And you’re the wife with the convenient memory loss.”
“Alexei…” I warn.
“What? Just stating facts.”
Katya’s posture doesn’t change, but something in her eyes goes cold. “Yes, I’m the wife with the convenient memory loss. Lucky me.”
The way she says it makes both Alexei and me go still. There’s an edge to her voice I haven’t heard. It’s harder and more direct.
“I’ll leave you to your meeting,” she continues, but doesn’t move. “Though you might want to speak quieter when you’re discussing sensitive information.”
Fuck. How much did she hear?
“We were discussing a movie,” I say quickly.
“Were you?” She tilts her head, and the gesture reminds me of a predator sizing up prey. “Must be quite a thriller.”
“Action film. Nothing that would interest you.”
“You’d be surprised what interests me these days.”
She looks at Alexei again, and I watch my brother’s face change as he takes in whatever he sees there. When she finally heads toward the kitchen, he waits until she’s out of earshot before turning to me.
“I’ve seen plenty of people with head injuries, Dmitri, and so have you. It’s a hazard of the trade. And none of them move like that.”
I sputter my lips and ask, “Like what?”
“Like they’re mapping the room for threats. Like they know how many steps it would take to reach either of us, and what our weak points are.”
He’s right, but I won’t admit it. “You’re reading too much into?—”
“The way she looked at me wasn’t confusion, Dmitri. It was assessment. Professional assessment.”
My phone rings, and Sasha’s name flashes on the screen, making me smile despite everything else going wrong.
“I have to take this.”
“Dmitri!” My sister’s voice fills the office, bright and cheerful in a way that reminds me of why Alexei and I work so hard to keep her away from this life. “How’s your patient doing?”
“Better every day. How are your studies?”
“Boring as usual. But I called because I had the strangest dream about you last night. You were dancing at a wedding, and you looked so happy. It made me think maybe you’ve finally found someone worth keeping around.”
Alexei rolls his eyes, but I catch him smiling, too. Sasha has that effect on people.
“You’re being absurd, little sister.”
“You’ve been alone too long. Alexei, too, for that matter.”
“I’m right here,” Alexei calls out.
