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Semyon leaned his chair back, the leather creaking in the silence of the room.
“Now, the trials involving children are new, but they’ve rendered some wild results. I don’t think they will ever succeed, but you know how humans are. Once they’ve gotten something in their head, they can’t rest until they achieve it. Or die trying. Or murder a whole lot of people to get there.”
“Why do they need shifter children if the trials are done on humans?”
“They need young shifter DNA. Before the first turning young.”
Anna’s heart had slowed to become something painful in the middle of her chest. Most shifter children didn’t go through their first turning before the age of six. Some it took even longer, but the norm was for a child to shift into whatever shape their DNA had assigned them before the age of eight. To be on the safe side, she supposed they’d not send children older than five.
“Monsters,” she got out, holding back her tears with an effort.
Semyon nodded slowly.
“We’re going to drive them out of this city,” Pietr stated, Anna realizing that while she’d focused on the humans conducting these trials, her father and Semyon were pointing their rage at the Kuznetsovs.
“They deserve worse than exile,” Zeke said, voice deeper with his fury.
“Murder begets murder in our industry,” Semyon said. “We’ve decided it’s better to weed them out of our garden. Pouring poison over them may end up killing us all.”
“But if they know about the Incendiary?” Zeke asked. “If they get their hands on it?”
“They won’t,” Pietr said.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because you’re going to lie,” Pietr said, eyes on Anna’s. “And we’re going to set a trap.”
Even Semyon hadn’t arrived at that conclusion just yet, turning his head to look at his partner with an appreciative glint in his green eyes.
Anna, however, felt her blood run cold, her grip on Zeke’s hand tightening.
“I don’t know—” Zeke began, but she interrupted him.
“I’ll do it,” she said, gaze resting on her father’s. She knew it was the only way, but she wasn’t sure she’d be able to sell the lie to Nikolai. He had always been too good at seeing right through her. “I’ll do my best,” she added, insecurity creeping in.
“You’ll succeed,” Pietr said, a soft reprimand already at the back of his throat. “Or we’ll all be dead.”
She swallowed, intuitively leaning into Zeke, borrowing from his strength as she nodded her understanding and acquiescence at her father.
“What’s the plan?” Zeke asked, feeling like he was ready to step between her and whatever words were about to come out of Pietr’s mouth.
“Black tie,” Pietr said before launching into an explanation of what exactly that meant. Anna listened attentively, slightly distracted by the movement of Zeke’s thumb along hers, stroking his support across her skin.
Chapter 9 - Zeke
The first part of the plan was simple.
They were going to go as honored guests to the Kuznetsovs annual ball, which happened to be taking place that same night. They would both have to lie through their teeth. They didn’t mind. Once inside the sprawling mansion of the rival family, they would find a way to get into the private rooms and offices. There was a ledger, Semyon knew, that had the names of the pharmaceutical companies buying the shifter offspring. It would be the foundation they needed to crack down on the Kuznetsovs. Apparently, blackmail was the most effective way in most situations, and if the Kumarins and Aslanovs had evidence against them, the Kuznetsovs would have no choice but to pack up and leave.
Zeke still felt like blowing their wealth to kingdom come, still, if he was honest with himself, felt like the slime that had generated so much pain should suffer that pain ten thousand-fold. They should all burn in dragon fire.
But he supposed he was going to have to let his father take the lead in the decision-making. Zeke knew some of the ins and outs of the family business, but not all of it by far. Making rash decisions, however, never benefitted anyone.
He longed to be back behind the wheel of his ambulance, longed for the simple thrill of being good at something, and taking pride in it. But he let the longing go with a soft sigh, securing his tie around his neck, beginning to make the knot.
The shower was running. He could hear it even through the closed door. He forced the thought of Anna naked under steaming water out of his mind, stubbornly focusing on the task at hand. But the silk began to feel like smooth, inviting skin, and her hand in his throughout their meeting with their fathers came back to him. She’d held on so tight that he hadn’t felt he could’ve let go, even if he’d wanted to.
Not that he’d wanted to.
