Now Kira and Ray were sitting in her room. The loss of Tami and Alexandra had hit him hard. He thought that if he had reciprocated the girls' feelings, they would have tried to fight their way out of the encirclement.
In his eyes, the lives of those two were far more valuable than the lives of the police officers. Digging into this, he realized just how rotten the political elites of most countries were. Instead of the interests of the people, the rulers of countries pursued the interests of various oligarch groups.
As if reading his thoughts, Kira covered his hand with hers and said:
"I know what you're thinking, but you're not to blame. It was their decision."
"I know, but I wish it had been different. I could see that those two really loved me. If not for my doubts, I could have given them at least a little happiness. Those little ones deserved it."
"You know, Lily once offered me a threesome. I was really interested in her, but I wasn't ready for that."
"I told her I needed to think about it. Remembering it now, I regret not going through with it."
"You interested me," Ray said, "but I had a simple rule: 'Look, but don't touch.' Once, Lily asked me what I wanted to try in bed, and I answered: 'A threesome.' That's why she was so determined to get you into our bed."
"The truth is, if she'd had a little more time, it might have worked out," Kira said, smiling.
"I'm possessive. If we'd crossed the line, I don't think I could have let you go. That's one of the reasons I don't let any of the 'Devils' get close to me. Their feelings for me border on obsession. I'm sure most of them wouldn't mind sharing. But I don't want to take advantage of them. There are hundreds of them. Each one deserves to be the only one — after everything they've been through."
"When I first saw you, I thought you weren't worthy of Lily. I even thought about stealing her away. But getting to know you both better, I realized you truly love each other, and I had no chance."
"If another girl had stolen my wife away, I'd have no choice but to hang myself."
"I really regret not having the courage to accept her offer."
The two old friends plunged into shared memories.
At some point, alcohol joined their company. Ray thought that in Kira's presence, his "squirrel" — the thing that awakened when he was drunk — would be quiet as a mouse. At some point, they decided to watch the films Lily had worked on.
"You know, initially, the 'Devils' were just a tool for revenge. But digging into this shit, I realized how rotten our society is. Oil and pharmaceutical giants are artificially holding back human progress for their own enrichment."
"We are very strong and have achieved a lot. But as soon as one of the leading countries takes us on, everything we've built could collapse very easily. There's no turning back for me. I know you were against it, but I found out the details about your family. Your father is dead. Your mother is living alone now. If you want, you can leave."
"I love my mother," Kira replied, "but I'm not sure she could accept what we've become."
"Besides, I already left you once. Now, even if this is a one-way road, we'll walk it together."
Having said that, Kira leaned forward and covered Ray's lips with hers. It was unexpected for both of them.
Gently returning the kiss, Ray softly pulled away and, looking into Kira's sky-blue eyes, which held a slight mix of fear and doubt, asked tenderly:
"Are you sure you want this?"