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It obviously wasn’t the first time he’d killed someone. And given the blood I saw wash down the shower drain two nights ago, it probably wasn’t his last.
Anya jumps up and backs towards the door. “Well, I better go. I have some things to get in order before our cake tasting tonight. Come hungry, okay?”
I nod and wave, a plan of my own taking form.
If no one is going to tell me what is really going on here, I’ll just have to figure it out for myself. And tonight, at a secure location away from the WiFi I’m sure Ivan is having monitored, I’ll be able to do just that.
Answers are long overdue.
49
IVAN
“Well?” Otets barks. He slaps a hand on the desk that was once his. He likes to reclaim his throne whenever he visits my home office. A reminder of who he thinks is really in charge. “Tell me what you know.”
I sprawl in the armchair across from him. “Two Sokolov guards were at the restaurant when Cora and I had dinner the other night.”
“What did you find out before you killed them?”
I glance at Yasha where he’s standing in the corner. He ducks his head.
I look back to my father. “We didn’t kill them.”
“You let them go?” A vein in his neck throbs.
“The Sokolovs are an ally. I didn’t want to make trouble.”
He snorts. “Too fucking late for that, isn’t it? You and Katerina caused enough trouble for a lifetime.”
“And killing two guards who were guilty of nothing beyond gossip in the men’s room could start an all-out war. Is that what you want me to do?”
“Don’t be smart, son.” He wags a finger at me in warning. “You say the Sokolovs might be involved in going after our family. I assume that is a crime worthy of death. How important is the family to you?”
I grit my teeth. “Important enough that I’m not going to run headfirst into a war if I can avoid it.”
Yasha steps forward. “We questioned the two men, sir. We bloodied them up. They didn’t have anything to say.”
“Because they knew you were weak.” Otets ignores Yasha entirely, his disdain focused on me. “They knew they were going to walk away with their lives. If anything, getting a beatdown from the futurepakhanof the Pushkin Bratva is a badge of honor they will wear with pride. You probably earned them a promotion.”
“I made it clear that I am onto them. Now, Konstantin knows that. He might slip up and—”
“He won’t be able to attack your supposed bride even if he wants to. I happen to know she hasn’t left the house in days.” He scoffs. “You know how you catch a predator?With bait.This girl is a worm on a hook. You don’t catch anything by yanking her away any time someone gets close. You have to let them get a taste or this is all for fucking nothing.”
I take a deep breath, biting back a thousand cutting words I’d rather say. “It’s not for nothing, Otets. We have a lead.”
“If you’d had the guts to take a risk, you could have the person who is targeting us.”
“Or,” I counter, “I could have lost Cora and the person responsible still would have gotten away. Then I’d be left with fucking nothing.”
I meant it in terms of the plan, but the words ring true somewhere in my hollow chest.
When this is over and Cora leaves, what will all of this be for? So I can safely marry some stand-in wife I don't give a shit about?
Otets narrows his eyes. “Have you fucked her?”
I tense, fighting the urge to strangle him for even asking. “That doesn’t matter.”
“It matters to me,” he spits. “It matters to the Bratva. If you’re wasting time, money, and resources so you can shack up with this fucking waitress, that matters a whole hell of a lot to all of us.”
