Page 20 of Cruel Juliet

Then a movement out the corner of my eye freezes me in place.

A figure stands in the doorway. Broad shoulders, tall frame. For a second, it almost looks like Petyr.

But it’s not.

It’s Luka.

“Sima.” He blocks the path, arms crossed.

Of course.My one chance, and Mr. Antacid just so happens to be standing right there.

Luka steps into the light. His face is tight, colder than I’ve ever seen it. It takes me aback how disappointed he looks right now.

Because that’s not normal, is it?

Angry would make sense. Sad, even. Butdisappointed?

He closes the space between us in two strides and snatches the keys out of my hand. “I’ll take these.”

I don’t fight him. My throat works around a swallow. We used to be friendly when he was assigned to watch me, but nothing about him is friendly now.

“Please follow me upstairs.” His tone is formal but final.

I hesitate. “Luka, wait. You don’t have to do this.” My voice cracks, more desperate than I want it to sound. “Just turn around. Pretend you didn’t see me. No one has to know.”

I realize I’m begging, but right now, I’m not so sure I care.

He shakes his head once. “I can’t do that. You know I can’t.”

Suddenly, guilt floods me. “I’m sorry,” I whisper. “For before. When I ran and locked you in that closet. I shouldn’t have done that. It was an emergency. I needed to go then, and I need to go now. Please can you just forgive me and?—?”

He cuts me off with a harsh shake of his head. “Don’t. You don’t get to apologize to me.” His fists ball tight at his sides. “Petyr could have killed me because of what you did. You ran while you were under my protection. Do you understand that?”

Shame twists inside me. He’s right, and we both know it.

“Luka,” I whisper, “I’m so sorry. I really?—”

“I said don’t apologize,” Luka cuts me off. “Now that I know who you are, it makes sense.” His growl turns low, bitter. “You’re a Danilo. Not to be trusted. Must run in the family.”

“You can’t say that,” I object. “You don’t know that?—”

“Yes, I can.” His eyes meet mine, hard. “The Danilos killed my whole family. So don’t tell me what I can or can’t say. I do know. I won’t make the mistake of trusting you again.”

I thought I was feeling guilty before, but hearing that makes it a thousand times worse. It makes me feel like a criminal. Like I pulled the trigger with my own two hands.

My family killed his.It sounds so wrong.The Danilos. My blood.

Suddenly, I see Luka pull out his phone. His thumbs move quickly over the screen.

“Who are you texting?” I ask, terrified.

“Petyr, of course.”

“No,” I blurt. “Please. You don’t have to?—”

“I do.” Luka doesn’t look at me. His jaw is set, his eyes fixed on the screen.

Moments later, footsteps sound heavy down the hall.