Page 68 of Thorns of Desire

Maybe he hated me, too. Could he be behind what just happened with the masked men? Anger burned in my chest at the suggestion of such a betrayal.

Don’t jump to conclusions.

“What do you mean?” I breathed, something familiar about his words. My skin prickled as silence stretched. Danil gave his head a subtle shake, then returned his eyes to Manuel, but I wasn’t having it. Taking a step forward, refusing to shy away from his towering frame, I repeated, “I asked you a question.”

Danil moved, stepping closer, but Manuel was quicker. He had his gun pointed at my half brother.

To my surprise, Danil seemed amused rather than angry. “You’re brave, Athena. That’s good. You’ll need it.”

My brow furrowed at the odd comment. “Why?”

Again, he ignored me and flicked a cold glance at Manuel. “Unless you’re prepared to shoot me, I suggest you put that gun away.”

Manuel stiffened, fury and power emanating off him, and suddenly the mood turned arctic. I feared there’d be a full-blown shootout right here and now if we didn’t leave.

“Excuse us, gentlemen.” I flashed them a polite smile, squeezing Manuel’s hand. It gave me the courage I needed. I wasn’t a fool to think they weren’t capable of raining terror down on us—siblings or not. The hard, dangerous gleam in their eyes set me on edge.

“I do love it when I’m proven right, Manuel,” Danil drawled, his tone cold. “I thought you didn’t know Athena Kosta.”

Wait, what? Danil Popov was asking Manuel about me. What was that about?

“Danil. Soren.” He dipped his chin at both men. “As nice as it is to see you, it’s time we left.” It was clear by Manuel’s tone that it wasn’t a pleasant run-in at all.

“We’re not done here. I want to know why you weren’t honest with me earlier,” Danil said, running his tongue across his teeth as though agitated.

But before Manuel could respond, I chimed in. “Manuel and I matched on Tinder. We were about to grab a late dinner until you two rudely interrupted us.”

It was so random and far-fetched that I almost expected everyone to start laughing. They didn’t, but their expressions clearly indicated they thought I was full of shit.

“What a remarkable coincidence,” Danil deadpanned. “The same night I inquired about you, a Tinder match was made. Maybe I should give Tinder a try.” His voice was dark and mocking. “What do you think, Soren?”

The man snickered. “Probably won’t help you.”

Okay, maybe he wasn’t his bodyguard because I don’t think he’d talk to him that way. Not that I knew how guards usually behaved, but the men Manuel assigned to me acted as silent shadows.

I smiled sweetly. “I’m afraid your friend’s right. Don’t bother, something tells me you’d be unmatchable.” Soren rubbed a hand across his mouth, fighting off a grin. “Now, if you’ll excuse us.”

Danil’s eyes flashed, letting out an amused breath. “I’m not done.”

I didn’t want to spend another minute around this man or wait for the Triads to catch up to us.

“But we are. Now move out of the way.”

Manuel turned to Danil. “You heard my woman. Now get out of our way before I shoot you.”

My woman.

I chanced a smile. This man was giving me so much book material.

We sidestepped him and I waved. “Ciao.”

I pushed my shoulders back and walked next to Manuel as we made our way to his car, all while my mind ran through a dozen different thoughts. What was Danil doing here, and was it a coincidence an attempt was just made on my life?

Once we were in the car, he gave me his full attention. “Tinder, huh?”

I shrugged. “It’s original if nothing else.” I turned my face to look at his profile. “By the way, where are those bodyguards you assigned?”

He ignored my question and instead focused on the topic of Danil. “You know Danil is your half brother.”