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“Katarina,” he said, his voice hard.
I stiffened even further. “Papa.”
“Would you like to explain to me what the hell you did to your guards?” His voice was so loud that I jumped slightly. I was not expecting him to know anything about the guards.
I tried to pretend that I really did not know what he was talking about. “Not certain what you are talking about.”
I refused to look at Leo, who I could feel shifting next to me. Instead, I continued to train my eyes on my father, whose face was as red as a tomato. He was breathing heavily, and I knew that he was pissed. Seemed like a regular occurrence these days.
“You know exactly what I am talking about,” he snapped. “And the worst part is that you got your cousin involved.”
I shrugged, which seemed to make my father even angrier. He muttered something under his breath, and before I knew what was happening, I felt myself being dragged to my feet.
“Ouch!” I cried out as he shook me slightly.
“If you were anyone else, I would have dealt with you long ago.” He shook me slightly as he spoke, and I felt myself teetering on my high heels. He’d grabbed me so quickly that I had not had time to brace myself. “Perhaps, you need to remember that you are not just my daughter, and I am not just your father.” He was shouting at this point, and I could feel his sweat slicked fingers digging into my skin.
My heart was hammering in my throat, and for a moment, I worried that he really was going to do something to me. I flinched slightly at the thought, but I did not have to wait too long to see what would happen next.
My father was wrenched away from me so quickly that I slipped off my heels and plopped down on the couch unceremoniously.
“Enough!” Leo howled.
I shook as I watched Leo place himself between myself and my father. My mouth was dry in fear, and as I looked at Leo and my father, I wondered who was more likely to kill the other.
“How dare you.” Spittle was flying from my father’s mouth. “I am Pakhan, and you are here because of me. No one has made you heir yet, so I would suggest that you allow me to deal with this.”
Leo didn’t back down. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, and I worried for a moment that he would smash one of them into my father’s face. I worried if he did that he would kill my father, and while I was not happy with my father, I didn’t want him dead.
Not just because he was my father, but because that would thrust the Bratva into a civil war, and though I wanted to be Pakhan, I did not want Russian blood coating the streets for my cause.
“I am not going to allow you to speak to Katarina that way,” Leo said. His voice was even as he spoke. If you did not know him, one might not be able to tell the way that he was trying to keep a lid on his anger.
And maybe that was not good for my father, as he stepped forward getting further into Leo’s face. “Katarina is my daughter, and you will not tell me how to treat her. You should be thanking me.”
“For what?” Leo’s voice was low and dangerous, and I knew that his control was going to snap if my father pressed too much harder.
“For getting her under control.” My father looked at me with disgust in his eyes. “After all, you do not want your wife leaving you with an unruly child the way hers left me.”
The gasp escaped from between my lips before I could stop it. My father never spoke about my mother, and I could not believe that he had the audacity to compare me to that woman.
“Watch it,” Leo snapped. “I do not care who you think you are. You are not going to talk to Katarina that way.”
My grandmother, old as she was, was spry enough to get to her feet quickly. She must have realized that my father was in danger, so she inserted herself between the two as much as she could. It was a smart move. Something told me that Leo would not hit a little old woman, even if she did deserve it.
“You must understand,” my grandmother said. “Katarina has been a problem her entire life.” She glared at me, and I gave it right back. Even when I was a small child, I never desired her love. It was like I knew that she was not going to love me no matter what I did.
Leo shook his head. “Katarina and I are done here,” he said. He reached his hand out to me, and though I loathed that he was the one to stand up for me, I took it. “We won’t be returning, and if we are at an event together, I expect the two of you to think about the way you treat my future wife. After all, she’s going to be leading the Bratva.”
I did not know who was more shocked as Leo practically dragged me out of the house. My grandmother. My father. Or me.
