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A blinding pain tore into the right side of my head. My vision blurred, and I had to blink a few times to clear my vision. I saw a man in a suit, not the one cornering me. His cufflinks brushed my cheek as he pushed the hair off my forehead.
I couldn’t see his face, but I heard his voice. He sangBayushki Bayu, a Russian lullaby. I knew all the words and understood every syllable as he spoke to me in his native tongue.
Sleep, my darling, sleep, my baby, close your eyes, and sleep.
“It is time for you to remember, Katarina,” he said in broken English. “Your father has been looking for you for a very long time. He is not a patient man. Come with me before you hurt yourself.”
As I snapped back to reality, I tried to block out his words. He was using the lullaby to fuck with my head.
I needed a weapon.
Something.
Anything.
Panicked, I smashed my fist through a mirror hanging above a table. My blood dripped onto the floor as I swiped the largest chunk from the pile. I’d never killed a man before. But if it came down to him or me, I would always choose me.
He laughed as I held the shard in front of me, using it to create distance between us. “Kisa, you disappoint me. You wouldn’t kill your uncle.”
I extended the sharpest point at him, teeth gritted. “I don’t even know you.”
He clicked his tongue. “I see they brainwashed you. Leave it to the Americans to turn you against us.” He inched toward me, careful to keep his distance. “Give it time. You will remember Uncle Andrey. Viktor has been searching for you for a very long time. The Devil’s Knights have been hiding you from us. They will suffer for stealing our preciouskisa.”
There was something oddly familiar about this man. His scent, maybe? A mixture of pine needles and citrus. It was such an odd combination. I caught a whiff of his natural musk as he moved toward me.
Uncle Andrey.
“Tell me, Uncle Andrey,” I said to gain his attention and make him think I remembered him. “Who is Viktor Romanov?”
“Your father,” he said without hesitation.
“But who is he? Is he a good man? A bad man? Why would The Devil’s Knights hide me from him?”
I knew the truth but wanted to hear it from him.
Andrey took a deep breath, his long fingers gripping the railing as he advanced, forcing me to walk backward with the glass pointed at him. “Viktor is a powerful businessman. In Russia, he is like a tsar. A king among men.”
“Is he dangerous?”
A smirk tipped up the corner of his mouth. “To you? Not at all.”
“Tell me about my biological father. What is he like?”
Deep in thought, Andrey stroked his jaw with his long, tattooed fingers. “He disappointed our father when he went to work for KGB. Our father disowned Viktor. Eventually, my brother got an assignment that brought him to America. He worked in intelligence. It was his job to collect information. When your grandfather exposed Viktor, things got messy.”
I lowered my arm to my side, maintaining my grip on the glass. He hadn’t moved from the same spot since he started telling me stories about the past. I could tell he wouldn’t hurt me unless provoked.
“What happened?”
His gaze dropped to the glass, and his eyes met mine again. “Viktor loved your mother and you. When your grandfather sent men to capture my brother, he tried to protect both of you. But one of the men shot your mother. She died instantly.”
I heard footsteps coming closer, pounding the tile downstairs until Cole, Rhys, and Drake were on the landing behind Andrey. They aimed guns at his head.
Cole stood between Rhys and Drake. "Step away from her, Romanov.”
Andrey angled his body to look at them before turning back to me. "Tell your friends you are not afraid of Uncle Andrey,kisa."
I locked eyes with him, my heart pounding so fast my pulse thumped in my ears. Andrey took another step toward me. Cole and The Knights walked toward us, leveling Andrey with a cold stare.
