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“And I think you might be going to war with the wrong people.”
“Excuse me?”
“My father is aliar,” she spits, her eyes darting from me, to Ares, to Kratos, to Castle, to Callie.
Ares frowns. “Kindly elaborate?”
“With pleasure,” she hisses venomously. “My father decided to spend the last three months telling me he was dying of fucking cancer. Thatthatis why he wanted to make this deal happen, so that my brother and I would have more money than we’d ever know what to do with once he was gone.”
My jaw grinds. “What do you mean, he’s beentelling youhe has cancer?”
“Oh, should I be clearer?” she snaps, shaking with anger. “I mean he’s beenlying to me. I just found out that he’s not sick at all. The bastard’s completelyfine. He’s just been using me as a fucking pawn to push that message.”
My brow furrows. “Jesus. I’m sorry, Vanya.”
“Yeah, well, I’m done. I’m done playing the ditzy mob princess daughter for him. I’m also done being his chess piece. And I’mreallydone pretending that all I want in the world is for some big macho he-man to come marry me and put me in a goddamn ivory tower somewhere. Because all of that is fuckingfurthestthing from what I actually want!”
She looks away, raking her fingers through her long hair. “I have an undergraduate degree and a master’s degrees in business from goddamnHarvard, for fuck’s sake!”
I glance at Ares and then turn back to her.
“What can we do for you, Vanya.”
She smiles bitterly and shakes her head, looking away like she hasn’t heard me.
“My father thinks I went to Harvard to have something pretty to put on my socialite resume, and to maybe meet a husband.” She grimaces, rolling her eyes. “You know what I did instead?”
She glances back at me, smiling triumphantly.
“I minored in linguistics. He doesn’t even know that I speak four languages.”
I clear my throat. “Vanya, I hate to rush this, but—”
“Including….” Her smile widens, darkening. “Russian. Now, Hades, do you know when it’s nice to be able to speak and understand Russian when no one around you realizes that you can?”
“No,” Ares growls. “But I think I’d very much like to.”
Her eyes narrow to murderous slits. “It comes in handy when your lyingassholeof a father has been having regular meetings, both in person and over the phone, with Leo Stavrin.In. Fucking. Russian.”
I stiffen. Ares swears under his breath.
“I wasn’t happy about it. But I was willing to keep his secrets and let him play his little games, because I was focused on my own exit. But that was before he lied to me aboutdying, and before people started to get hurt. Before…”
She shakes her head, brushing a tear away from her eyes. Callie moves towards Vanya as if to comfort her. But the Albanian woman shakes her head, holding a hand up.
“No, let me finish. Please.” She swallows, sniffing back the tears. “I don’t know what they’re planning. I honestlydon’t. But Leo and my father are working together.NotGavan as well,” she quickly adds. “I mean just Leo, with just my father.”
Her lips twist.
“Oh, and I’d bail on this deal you’re so hellbent on working out with my dad.”
Ares frowns. “Why would we do that?”
Vanya’s lips twist. “There’s a sub-basement under the main office of that parking garage you’ve got your eye on.” She smiles wryly. “The one you think is going to get rezoned.”
My brothers and I glance warily at each other.
“Or, should I say,isgoing to get rezoned,” Vanya continues. “Believe me, he knows all about that.”
