Page 152 of The Devil We Crave
“You okay?” I murmur, turning to her.
“She’s great,” Kirill butts in. “So, how straight we talking? Because that boy fuckin' looks like he needs a hard?—”
“Can you give me a second with my friend?” I mutter, turning to him.
Kirill smiles. “Sure can.”
“Great.”
He clears his throat. “Trouble in paradise?”
I frown. “Excuse me?”
“Like, does the gold flake off if you rub it too hard? I’ve always wondered if he was as inky black inside as I imagine. Care to weigh in there?”
My brow furrows. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“Not what,who,” he says. “And I think we both know, don’t we, Mrs. Drakos.” When my face pales, he chuckles. “My apologies, I must be drunk. Obviously, I meant Ms.De Luca.”
Kirill’s venomous eyes glint into mine.
“The question remains, though,” he murmurs. “Trouble in paradise?”
I swallow. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s a common enough phrase, usually referring to there being a problem within the context of a relationship?—”
“What do youwant, Kirill?” I hiss.
“Well, for one,” he growls darkly, “I want to know where your fucking cousin is, because he’s supposed to be here, and he’s not.”
He brings a glass that smells like vodka to his lips and takes a heavy sip.
I don’t have to ask which cousin to know he means Jude.
“I truly have no idea where he is,” I say stiffly. “But whatever issue you have with him?—”
“Like him drugging my fucking party the other night?”
“I really don’t think Jude would?—”
“Then you don't know your cousin as well as I do,” he says flatly. Then he winks. “Actually, I’d bet money on it. If you see him?—”
“Leeeeeenaaaa.” I whirl to see Wren staring at me, swaying on her bar stool.
“I don’t know where the fuck my cousin is,” I snap at Kirill. “But I need to deal with my friend, okay?”
He holds his hands up and stands from where he's been leaning against the bar. He knocks back the rest of his drink, then taps the glass on the counter. “Good luck with Goldie, Yelena.”
After he walks away, I immediately turn back to Wren.
“Hey!” I smile gently at her, taking her hand in one of mine and cupping her drooping head with the other. “You feeling okay?”
She just holds up a thumb.
Shit.
“Okay, hang on, hon.” I glance down the bar to where a sophomore who's name I don’t know is playing bartender. “Hey!” I yell at him. “Do you have any bottled water back there?”
