Page 86 of Phantom Flower

Ilya let out a delighted laugh, clapping his hands once. “YAY! Honestly, I was getting bored with all the clean kills lately. This one deserves something special. Maybe I can help design it? I have ideas. Lots of ideas. We could start with the fingers, since they seem to like sending those—”

“Ilya,” I warned.

He grinned wider. “Too much? Fine. But I do need a little more time. Whoever’s behind this is smart. They’re using layers upon layers of proxies, ghost accounts, and burner networks. It’s actually impressive. Annoying… but impressive. Give me three or four more days and I should be able to crack the final wall.”

I leaned back in the chair. “You have two.”

Ilya pouted dramatically.

Chapter 24

Rei Kurosaki

I was starting to feel a little hungry, so I quietly slipped out of Dimitri’s bedroom and headed downstairs. But on my way there, I saw Alexei. He looked up when he heard me.

“Hi,” I said awkwardly, offering a small nod. I knew they were coming that day, but it had kind of slipped from my mind.

Alexei gave me a slight tilt of his head. “Dimitri just stepped out for a moment. He’s handling something with Ilya.”

I nodded slowly. “I see…”

I tried to walk past him toward the kitchen, but his voice stopped me.

“Have you… spoken to Marco lately?”

I paused mid-step and turned back to face him, arching an eyebrow. The question caught me off guard. We had talked on the phone a few times. I had opened up to him more than I expected. I even told him about Dimitri, about how he was taking care of me, about how I was staying here for now. Marco had not judged me. Even though I knew he did not like Dimitri and was scared of him and his friends, he did not make me feel bad for getting closer to Dimitri. He just said he was happy I had someone looking out for me, even if that someone terrified him.

Still, I did not understand why Alexei of all people would care.

“Why is that your business?” I asked. My tone was a bit rough. I felt suddenly protective over Marco. He was my only real friend here, and I did not want anything hurting him.

Alexei stared at me with that flat expression he always wore. It was impossible to read him.

“You can use your words and answer the question,” he said coolly.

I crossed my arms, feeling defensive. “Yes. I have spoken to him. We’ve been texting and calling. Now you tell me — why do you want to know?”

Alexei did not answer. He just stared at me, and that only made me more irritated.

Before I could push him further, the front door opened and Dimitri rushed in, his eyes immediately scanning for me. “Baby,” he said, walking straight to me and pulling me into his arms. “Are you okay? I was only gone for twenty minutes.”

I leaned into his chest, nodding. “I’m fine. I just came down to get something to eat.”

Dimitri’s hand stroked down my back, but his gaze shifted to Alexei with clear suspicion. “Did you do something to him?”

Alexei shrugged, completely uninterested. “I have to go now.”

From the other side, Ilya started complaining. “Awww! But I want to stay!” he whined dramatically. “I haven’t properly met Raaai yet!!”

Alexei rolled his eyes and grabbed Ilya by the back of his collar, dragging him toward the door like an unruly puppy.

“We are going,” Alexei said flatly.

“Hey! Raaiii!!” Ilya called out cheerfully while being hauled away, waving wildly. “We should hang out sometime! I can show you my knife collection! I promise I won’t stab you!”

I blinked, staring after him. This idiot did not even say my name correctly.

“My name is Rei—”