I arch a brow. “Why would he think Victoria knows this blogger?”
“I don’t think he does. He has intel that suggests she’s studying here.”
“Not a crime, is it?”
“Hardly. But with the number of guards you have stationed here, he knew his presence would come up soon enough.”
“Sounds like she’s running from him.”
Nikolai hitches a shoulder. “Perhaps.Orshe might be running from herself.”
Still, I needle, “So he called you instead of me?”
“He knew I’d smooth over troubled waters.”
“They don’t feel very smooth to me,” I snipe. “All of this could have been solved if you’d just involved me.”
“I’m involving you now. Ilya had to return to Moscow. He only flew back in this morning. I planned to meet him here and we came together to confess our sins.” Amusement gleams in his eyes. “You’re a control freak, Maxim. Some things you won’t always be involved in. It’s time you learned that. I think this is a trait you share with your bride, no?” When I don’t answer, he explains, “I run the country.” The “because of you” might go unspoken, but I hear the words loud and clear. It’s particularly annoying because Nikolai doesn’t want the responsibility, whereIdo. “You run the state. Having a friend in Ilya Levin is a wise move. Look at how he helped Victoria. And in the nick of time, too.”
“After he endangered her in the first place. If she hadn’t had faith in me, she might have believed I betrayed her, dammit.”
“On his end, there was no betrayal. He simply dropped off a dress.”
“And shared its likeness with a bunch of secret society assholes.”
He raises a hand. “She’s dancing with the devil, Maxim. I don’t like it. If I were you, I’d make her pull out of this initiation before they have a chance to burn her for real.”
“I can’t do that.”
“Then I will do whatever I can to ensure she has protections that extend further than you. You are my son, Maxim. I won’t allow your bride to be endangered, even if it pricks your ego.”
My shoulders bunch at what feels like his condemnation, but I release my irritation on an exhale—his protections are an honor, not a disservice, and I want her to have every means of defense possible.
“Any extra protections are a bonus,” I concede gruffly. “What does the blogger have to do with anything? She’s a nuisance as far as I know. I believe the Irish and Sicilians are aware of her true identity if you’re looking for her.”
“Oh, Ilya has known her for years. She was interred in a mental health facility for the bulk of her life. Her father passed away and Ilya’s mother overdosed?—”
“Wait. Why are the two related?”
“I Told You So is Ilya’s stepsister.”
“And her father and stepmother locked her away in an asylum?!”
“Da. After his stepfather died, his mother lost the plot. She ended up in Shady Pines too?—”
“It sounds like somewhere people go to die.”
“You’re not wrong,” he signs with a flourish. “But he was in Moscow. By the time he got back, I Told You So had been freed from the psych hold and she ran not long after.”
“I’m not sure I can blame her,” I say dryly.
“No. Ilya doesn’t either. But he’s still looking for her. Her real name has had no activity associated with it since.”
“Is she scared of him? I’m not sure Victoria?—”
“Are you pussywhipped, Maxim?” he drawls.
I scowl at him. “Like Cassie doesn’t have your dick wrapped around her little finger.”
