AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Will you help me carry in the plates?” Mom asks as soon as I appear in the doorway. “I can manage three, but four is one too many.”
“Of course,” I agree, striding forward to grab the two she indicates with her chin.
But as I cross the room, she stops me, grabbing my shoulders so she can give me a once over.
“What are you doing?” I ask as she combs her fingers through my hair and straightens my flannel button-down.
“Nothing. Nothing. Just making you presentable since we have company,” she says casually, but a glint in her eye raises my suspicion.
“I’m fine, Mom,” I insist, pulling away to collect the plates she asked me to help with. The less appealing I am to that perv, Mikhail, the better.
Mom tsks, then tucks a bottle of wine into the crook of her elbow and takes a plate of spinach casserole in either hand. I follow her from the kitchen into the dining room, and my dad helps Mom as soon as he sees her load.
Taking the wine, he removes the cork as we set the plates on the table. Mikhail holds a chair out for me, like a perfect gentleman, and it makes my skin crawl to be so close to him again. Of course, he takes the opportunity to occupy the chair next to mine as soon as I sit down.
“So tell me, Dani, how’s school?” Mikhail asks as he accepts a glass of wine from my dad. He sips, then looks expectantly at me. “You’re studying art with an emphasis on photography, if I remember correctly.”
“What a good memory you have, Mikhail,” Mom says, her tone impressed.
“It’s fine,” I state and take a large bite of food to avoid having to embellish my answer.
Amusement tugs at the corners of the asshole’s lips, and he turns his attention back to my dad. “I saw your numbers are looking good today.”
A world-weary sadness settles over my father at the benign comment. “They started climbing as soon as the news came out about Ben,” he says, his tone achingly hollow.
“Ah.” Mikhail seems genuinely aggrieved by the information. “The inherent nature of humans—to offer sympathy by showing acceptance and approval when they don’t know how else to address grief.”
It’s an oddly philosophical observation that makes me pause.
I’m never going to like Mikhail, but if that’s the kind of conversation he could offer Ben, maybe it’s not outside my stretch of the imagination to see why my brother was drawn to him.
16
EFREM
As I walk the perimeter of the Veles house, checking to ensure everything is still secure, my thoughts are consumed by Dani. They have been since I saw her outside the hospital, her eyes red, her cheeks splotchy from crying. My heart aches as I recall the devastation written across her face.
Dani’s brother, one of the people she cares most about in the world, is dead. Though she was there—she witnessed it—she didn’t seem to be injured herself, which brings me immense relief. But her emotional pain consumes me. It’s agony. Pure agony. Not being able to comfort her.
The pain has only escalated in the days since. Dani’s things were gone from my apartment by the time I got home. And she’s ghosted me for days—not answering my calls or texts. She certainly hasn’t come to visit the Veles family or tried to see me again. I don’t know how to approach her or how to tell her the truth.
Making my way around the corner of the building, I can’t help but wish I might see her standing on the front porch steps of the Veles brownstone home. Though I know better than to get my hopes up, my heart still plummets when she’s not there. Not waiting inside the house either. I doubt she ever will again.
I’m stunned by her accusation against Pyotr. He wouldn’t send someone to kill Ben. Would he? If he did, he knew better than to tell me about it because, of course, I wouldn’t let any harm come to Dani’s brother. I might not trust Ben—definitely not when it comes to Dani’s safety, but I would never knowingly allow Dani to suffer the loss she’s enduring now.
But I don’t know what to say to make things right. She doesn’t believe me. She’s so sure I knew that she’s unwilling to listen to anything but an admission of guilt. So I’m damned either way. She would never forgive me if I actually did have something to do with Ben. And she won’t forgive me if I tell her otherwise.
I suppose it’s not out of the range of possibilities that Pyotr might have decided Ben’s death was necessary. Dani’s brother did open fire on Pyotr’s wife and child. But could Pyotr possibly have been willing to kill Ben?
For once, I can’t be sure of my pakhan’s mind. This war has escalated to something far more ruthless than what I’ve known before.
I can’t take it anymore. The constant doubts, the questioning. I’ve tried to think of some way I might mend my relationship with Dani on my own. Now, I have to know the truth. It’s the only way I might have a chance of getting through to her.
Though I know we’re not supposed to disturb Pyotr—particularly when he and Silvia are alone in his office—I can’t hold back any longer. Ignoring Val’s warning that Pyotr does not want to be disturbed, I knock. It’s excruciating to wait until Pyotr calls for me to enter, his tone gruff. But I know Val won’t just let me barge in. Not without delaying me further.
I open the door, stepping inside to find him and Silvia standing close, their posture intimate but not like I’m interrupting something I shouldn’t see.
“Sorry to interrupt,” I say, clearing my throat as I drop my eyes to show my subservience.
