Page 56 of The Wrong Brother

“Buying coffee.” The answer comes out before I can stop it.

His eyes narrow. “You know what I mean.”

I lean back deliberately. “Then ask a better question.”

That was a mistake. Andrei moves faster than I expect, and his hand closes around my wrist.Hard.

Pain shoots up my arm immediately.

“Ow!”

His grip tightens, and my stomach drops, because that wasn’t an accident. There had been “accidents” before; a shoulder bumped roughly, a hand raised but never brought down.

All those moments that never quite made sense finally click. Because Andrei has lost just an ounce of control.

Was I just too stupid to recognize it for what it was?

“You don’t get to play games with me, Emma.” His voice has gone frighteningly quiet. So different from Russ’s. “What. Are. You. Doing. With. Ruslan.”

Pain throbs through my wrist. I force myself to meet his gaze anyway.

Think.Don’t panic. You’ve been in situations far worse than this.

“He found me in California.” Mostly true. “We met.” True. “He saw your engagement announcement.” Definitely true.

“And?”

I swallow. “He wanted to come.”

Andrei studies me for several long seconds, a sneer stretching his upper lip in an ugly way. He’s looking for lies, for weakness. But I took Ruslan’s words to heart the other night…I’mnota good liar. So I’ll tell the truth. Or some of it.

“You expect me to believe that’s all this is?”

No, honestly, I don’t. And judging from his expression, neither does he.

His grip finally loosens, but the damage is already done. A bruise will absolutely form later.

“You tell my brother something for me. If the two of you are planning anything, anything at all, I will destroy you. And he’ll watch.”

I stare at him, confusion swirling somewhere deep. What a strange threat; I’m pretty sure Ruslan would’ve thrown me out of the jet if it meant he could get back at Andrei for whatever happened between them.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

His eyes harden.

“I’ll take you both out before I let him interfere with my future.”

Something inside me snaps. Not fear, but something older and stronger. It’s a part of myself I thought disappeared when everything fell apart.

The woman who wore a badge stared down dangerous men and refused to back down.

I sit up straighter. Andrei notices immediately.

“You know what?” I say quietly.

His brow furrows.

I smile. Not nicely.