Elena’s legs did when she stood up after I fucked her on this desk, though.
“I’m as fine as I can be, given the circumstances,” I said dryly.
Alexei had never wanted to lead. We’d all known for our whole lives that I was next in the dynastic succession. Yet, Alexei had always given me shit more than the others—about anything—just because he was slightly older than me.
“The circumstances?” Lev asked, facing me now. “What circumstances?”
The circumstances of fucking the one woman I shouldn’t have.
“The circumstances of the one and only Dmitri Volkov dying,” Viktor stated bluntly, as though it should’ve been obvious.
“Not only that.” I cleared my throat, feeling like I was about to walk off the edge of a cliff with what I’d say next. I banished Elena from my mind and knew that the words that would follow would be the beginning of investigating where internal loyalties would lie.
We were a team. A family. A cohesive, strong, and united front of brothers and cousins.
But this?
What Elena had discovered could very well stir up and trigger conflict among us.
“Elena has investigated unclaimed and unknown shell companies that seemed to be connected to the mistakes that had been happening with our accounts through her father’s firm.”
They all paid me full attention.
“They lead to a single entity. A network. And the name of the individual behind it is Gregori Fyodorov V.”
Silence met me.
They all stared at me.
I’d shocked them with that line.
Maksim, ever the problem solver, was the first to react. He scoffed and shook his head. “You can’t be suggesting what I think you are. Gregori? As in…”
“Gregori Fyodorov,” Viktor said, usually quick to cut through bullshit. “Fyodorov, as in the son of?—”
“Ourgrandfather?” Lev exclaimed, horrified.
“Hold on. No.” Maksim shook his head again and held up his hand. “That’s not an uncommon name.”
“It could beanyGregori,” Nikolai said, furrowing his brow as if he wasn’t convinced.
“The name listed was Gregori FyodorovV.,” I said, reminding them of the last part. The most damnable clue. ThatVcould very well be an initial forVolkov.”
“She’s making this up.” Lev shot to his feet and paced, physically disturbed, in denial. “She doesn’t know what the fuck she’s talking about.”
“You’re right.”
They all looked at me.
“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about,” I confirmed. “She hasnoclue what that name means. She has no idea that she presented me with a report that would suggest our supposed dead relative is behind a network to attack us.” I set my hands on the desk and leaned over, stern about defending her. “She has no idea what that name means to us.”
“She could still be a trap,” Alexei warned, speaking up for the first time. “She’s had access to our accounts for years. She’s been able to see those company accounts.”
He, too, was skeptical, but that didn’t say much. He didn’t trustanyone.
“She’s never been asked to investigate any connections,” I said.
“What, you’re fucking her now?” Viktor said. “Letting her get into your head and fuck you up? She’s telling you some tall tales and bullshit that Uncle Gregori?—”
