He rolls his eyes. “If you knew me, you’d know that I’m not serious about anything.”
But I can tell immediately that he’s lying. He’s trying to salvage his reputation and erase the last minute from my memory.
“No?”
“No,” he reiterates. “Being serious isn’t my inheritance.”
“Because you’re the second son?”
He shrugs. “Something like that.”
“A little archaic, don’t you think?”
He shakes his head. “People like to think of themselves as superior. We’re so modern these days, so progressive, so open-minded… it’s all bullshit. We’re primitive fucking animals. Always have been, always will be.”
“Agree to disagree,” I mumble. His anger is a little off-putting. There are reservoirs of rage in this seemingly nonchalant, happy-go-lucky guy that are much, much deeper than I realized at first.
“No, I’m right. Care for an example? Take you and my brother,” he starts. I tense immediately. “He’s the big bad wolf, and you’re the little lamb who got caught in his crosshairs. And even though you’re supposed to be running in the other direction, you’re not. Why? Because at the end of the day, women crave a strong man. A powerful one. They can talk all they want about evolution and growth and intelligence and choice and respect and feminism and on and on and on. But at the end of the day, power is what attracts you the most.”
I straighten up haughtily. “That’s not true.”
“Oh, it’s true alright. If you disagree, then you’re just in denial.”
“I would love nothing more than to run in the opposite direction from your prick of a brother, Yulian,” I snap. “Except I have a feeling the son of a bitch will chase me wherever I go. That’s why I kept the phone. It’s my last line of defense.”
He rubs the bridge of his nose as if he’s tired of lecturing to me. “Let me be straight with you,” Yulian sighs. “I know you think the phone gives you security, but it’s a false sense of security. My brother will get what he wants in the end. He always does.”
“Is that right?”
“It’s the one thing I know to be absolutely true.”
“Then tell me something else that’s true,” I say. “Did he kill his wife?”
Yulian goes still. Deadly still. His eyes traverse my face, searching for a way to answer this that’ll appease me and shield his brother at the same time.
The hesitation itself feels like an answer, though. I feel cold despite the warm evening. Bone-deep cold. Soul-deep cold.
“He… wouldn’t have killed her,” he says at last.
“That’s not very clear. Nor is it very comforting.”
“Are you really trying to be comforted?” he asks. When I don’t answer, he leans closer. “My brother has gone easy on you, Jessa. And I’m not gonna lie, it’s because you’ve got a pretty face and a prettier smile. But he’ll get bored at some point, and then the protection you think you have will disappear.”
I stand my ground, even though I’m shaking in my clogs. “Sounds like you’re telling me he killed his wife, Yulian.”
He cocks his head to the side. “I’m telling you to be smart and give my brother his phone back.”
“Did you like his wife?” I ask.
He stops short, looking amused by the question. “Curious about her, are you?”
“I’m just asking.”
He nods, his smile getting wider. “Funnily enough, she looked a lot like you. Beautiful, blonde… a little skinnier, maybe. A little more cunning. But definitely similar.”
I swallow past a suddenly bitter knot in my throat. “But what was she like?”
“Strong. Feisty. Determined,” he says. “She was a wildfire. He couldn’t control her.”