Page 34 of Lethal Queen

“It’s hard to have family dinner in an exploded house,” Vasilisa pointed out, but the look she gave me—confusion, worry, not a hint of suspicion—kicked me in the fucking gut.

I sucked in a sharp breath and double-checked the door was locked, the alarm armed. We were fine. She was safe. Dull, deadened eyes stared at me from my memory, accusatory, but I wouldn’t let Vasya join them. I’d keep her safe.

“Hard, but not impossible,” Dad replied, perching on the arm of the sofa. “We were waiting for you at the hotel this afternoon.”

Vasilisa’s face fell, her beautiful eyes a mix of confusion and comprehension.

I swallowed, my mouth dry.

“I thought it was cancelled this week…?”

Dad smirked. “It’d take a lot more than a measly bomb to call off a Marshall Family dinner.”

Vasilisa blinked once. Twice. Her head turned, eyes finding mine. “You lied to me,” she said quietly, but her words hit with the force of a punch.

I staggered back a step before I locked my muscles and caught myself. I flexed the very tips of my fingers, refusing to curl them into fists.

“You did what?” Dad asked, any humour in his voice replaced by the fine edge of anger.

“The last time we left this house—” I began.

“Doesn’t excuse lying to your wife,” Dad snapped, rising so swiftly that Vasilisa’s breath caught and she froze. I marked the sighs of her fear, a tight sickness in my stomach.

“I know,” I agreed, meeting his hard eyes with my own scowl. “I need to talk to Vasya.”

“You lie to her again, and I’ll cut you off from your accounts.”

“You don’t have to do that,” Vasilisa said, jumping to her feet when Dad aimed for the door. “It’s—it’s okay, really.”

“He’s not angry at you, Vasya,” I said gently. “He’s pissed off with me. Rightly so.” I blew out a sigh. “You know we protect our own in this family, even if it’s protection from another family member.”

Her brown eyes narrowed with confusion again, but she just stroked Sparrow’s dark head.

“If you’re not at next week’s dinner, both of you, I’ll come and get you myself,” Dad said, giving Vasilisa a reassuring smile and me a heavy frown that made my stomach twist deeper, sudden nausea clawing up my throat.

I wanted to explain, to apologise, but then he pressed the button to unlock the apartment and panic devoured me whole.

I forced myself to move at a measured pace, even though a voice screamed at me torun, run, run!Each breath cut like razors in my throat, deeper when Dad hovered in the open doorway to give me a probing stare.

“Lying isn’t like you, Damien.” He lowered his voice. “Lie to the rest of us but don’t bring that shit into your marriage. Take it from someone with thirty-five years of marriage experience.” A shadow passed through his eyes at the memory of Mum, and I wanted to scream, to throw my fist into the wall, to cry. “Whatever’s going on, tell her the truth.”

I swallowed and forced a nod, wrapping my fingers around the door handle, tempted to close it on his face.

“Keep an eye on him, Eli,” Dad said to our guard and strode for the lift.

I rushed to close the door and engaged the lock, able to breathe again with us safely cloistered inside even if every breath cut deep, sharp and painful.

“I can’t decide if I want to hold you or shoot you,” Vasilisa said behind me, her voice quiet but rough with emotion. Anger?

I turned, unable to mask my panic and not particularly wanting to. I knew I was falling apart, could feel the fracturesspreading; maybe if Vasya saw the mess I was in, she’d hold all the broken pieces together.

“So you settled for pointing your gun at me?” I asked, drinking in the sight of her like I was drowning and she was air.

“What’s going on, Damien?” she asked, nothing but hurt in her eyes, pinching her mouth, lining her face. Her gun was trained steadily on me but the safety was still on.

I swallowed. The fact that I hadn’t just lied buthurther hit me like a kick to the stomach. “Is it so surprising that I don’t want you to get shot at or abducted again?” I asked, opening and closing my hands, unable to keep looking at her, that look on her face eviscerating me.

“You could have just asked me,” she breathed, five feet away from me but so much further, the distance pulling wider with every second. Even the dogs could sense it, their tails still. “You could havesaidyou didn’t want to go, and we wouldn’t have.”

---