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“Viktor Sokolov?” Maya squinted, trying to find any signs that Elena was telling the truth. From what little she saw, it didn’t look like a Popov residence, but with so much of the room hidden in darkness, it was hard to tell. “The oldest son?”
“He’s pakhan now after Father poisoned the previous pakhan—their father, Boris.”
Maya stared at her sister, unsure she heard her correctly. “Wait,” she practically shouted, making her sister freeze. “What did you say? Our father killedtheirfather?” No wonder Kostya was so intent on bringing him to justice.
“He did. Poisoned him. Then he told me to infiltrate the mansion and kill Viktor personally.” She sounded oddly proud of that, like it was a badge of honor to be worn. “But I didn’t. Do you know what happened instead?”
Maya wanted to scream at her sister to hurry up with the story, but Elena was nothing if not dramatic, and she knew that interrupting her again would only prolong the conversation. “What?”
“I fell in love.” Elena sighed dreamily—Maya was eighty percent certain that it was for effect. “But more than that, I learned that the man I called ‘Father’ is a brutish, evil, despicable excuse for a human being. Once I got over the fear that he’d kill me once he learned I’d defected, it was a no-brainer. Roman has promised to keep me safe, and Viktor has graciously opened up his home to me. I feel safer here than I ever did in any of the apartments I was given.”
“Then you’ll help me,” Maya said. If it was a member of the Sokolov crime family in bed with her, then Maya knew that Elena was telling the truth. Elena acted like a ditz, but Maya knew it was a calculated act—no one ever felt threatened by an airhead. Behind her act, Elena was intelligent and sharp-tongued. If she’d wanted to, she might have made an excellent lawyer.
“What do you need help with?” Elena asked.
“It’s about Kostya—”
“Kostya?” Elena squeaked. “Like, Mad Dog Kostya? Like, Viktor’s middle brother? What are you doing that you need help with Kostya? Did he hurt you?”
Elena had never shown much compassion or worry for her before, and Maya found herself tongue-tied. She blinked in confusion, then tried to address her sister’s question as best she could. “I…I’m fine. But he may not be. He’s gone after Father, and—”
Maya’s phone rang right beside the tablet, and Elena almost fell off the edge of her bed. Maya snagged her phone from the bedside table and checked on who was calling. There was no name listed, but there was a number. It was one she didn’t recognize. Was it Kostya? If there was any chance it might be him, she had to answer.
“One second, Elena, I’m sorry.” Maya answered the call. “Hello?”
“How sweet it is to hear your voice, Maya.Ya skuchal po tebe. It has been much too long since we’ve seen each other…in person, that is.”
Maya froze. Her heart leaped into her throat. It was her father, Anatoly Popov.
Thinking fast, she took the phone from her ear and set it to speakerphone. If Elena could hear what was happening, then maybe she’d understand the severity of the situation. If it was true that she’d defected, Maya only hoped that Elena could help her find the best way forward.
“Father,” Maya answered. “Why are you calling me? How did you get this number?”
“Why would I be calling my own daughter?” He laughed. “Whywouldn’tI? As my flesh and blood, I have a right to know what’s going on in your life, don’t I?”
“I left you and your world behind me six years ago.” Maya’s voice shook as she continued, “Please, don’t call me again. I thought I made myself clear the last time we spoke.”
“If that’s what you want, I’ll respect your wishes. After all, you’ve given me such a fabulous gift, the least I could do is repay your kindness.”
“A gift?” Maya sat up a little straighter as her mind raced. Was he playing games with her, or had the worst come to pass? “What are you talking about?”
“It was very generous of you to send Konstantin Sokolov right to my front door. I deployed a decoy car, and wouldn’t you know it, he took the bait and strong-armed his way inside. Imagine his surprise when he arrived at the empty lot he’d intended to kill me in, only to find several armed and capable men waiting for him in the back seat.”
Maya covered her mouth with her hand, cutting off a sharp gasp that pierced her heart. “No.”
“You know what’s funnier?” her father added, laughing out loud before he went on. “He thought it would be poetic justice to take the car to the abandoned building you were so intent on building your homeless shelter in. So, I have him there now, and in a few hours, once I’ve tortured him adequately, I will be putting the Mad Dog down for good.”
“You can’t,” Maya pleaded. “Don’t do this. It’s not right!”
“It’s not right to protect my family? To weed out those who would do us harm and inhibit the growth of our fortune and power? What could possibly be more right than that?” Again, her father chuckled. “So I’ll leave you be, Maya, my good girl. You may have failed me your whole life, but this one act of fealty has redeemed you in my eyes.”
“No.” Maya’s eyes widened. Her worst fears had come to pass. Kostya would be killed, and it was all her fault. “Father!”
“Goodbye.”
Tears swelled in Maya’s eyes, and when she went to blink them away, they kept falling down her cheeks in fat droplets. She looked back to the FaceTime conversation with Elena, who had her hand clamped over her mouth in horror.
“Please, Elena,” Maya uttered, her voice raw with pain. “Please, come help me. I don’t know what to do.”
