Page 26 of Blood Mosaic

She seemed to relax a little bit, but the color that his teasing words had brought to her cheeks had fled again.

Oleg used his most soothing voice. “You’re doing the right thing, Tatyana. The good thing.”

She nodded, but he could see that her previous playfulness had vanished, and he wanted it back. Her hands were twisted in her lap, and she was looking at the other diners on the other side of the restaurant again. Glancing at the door. Then at the floor.

Oleg said, “So the next time we go to dinner, what restaurant do you want to try?”

The corner of her mouth twitched up. “I’m not going to dinner with you again. It’s not appropriate.”

“Neither is a twenty-seven-year-old pursuing an eleven-hundred-and thirty-seven-year-old, but you don’t see me running from the room. I can’t help it. You’re an intriguing woman.”

She shook her head, and her lips curved into a full smile. “Sorry, Mr. Sokolov. I need a job more than I need a man.”

I’m not a man.

“Call me Oleg. Mr. Sokolov is very impersonal. And what you need is food.” He could smell the perfectly grilled steaks in the kitchen. “Which they will be serving shortly.”

“I don’t eat red meat much, but thank you.”

He lifted his glass. “Welcome to the company.”

“What doyou do for fun in Sevastopol?” He was keeping his distance, but after a hearty Western-style steak with roasted potatoes, braised carrots, and other side dishes that had Tatyana’s eyes going wide, he told her he’d walk her back to the hotel.

Tatyana kept glancing over her shoulder as his driver followed them at a distance. “This is ridiculous. You don’t have to walk me back to the hotel. We’re in a safe part of the city, aren’t we?”

“Yes, but I enjoy a good walk when the air is fresh.” The night air was cool, and he could smell the sea. “What do you do for fun?”

“I…” She seemed to be at a loss. “I work.”

“That is not an answer. You can’t work all the time.”

“I take care of my mother. She has a cat. And she keeps pigeons on the roof. It annoys our neighbors, but I think they remind her of the country.”

“She grew up in the country?”

“Yes. She moved to the city to work. Like me. I grew up in Sevastopol.”

“But you went to university in Kyiv.”

A smile touched her lips. “I liked Kyiv.”

“Then why move back?”

“My mother can’t be alone for long.” Her eyes took on a distant, internal look. “I don’t really do much for fun. I’m quite boring.”

“I doubt that.” He remembered that she had been a dancer when she was a child. “There are clubs in Sevastopol. Dance clubs. Discos?”

She smiled and crossed her arms over her chest. “Uh, yes. Discos.” She smirked. “Yes, there are clubs, but mostly they’re for tourists. I met Zara in a club.”

“Was she dancing?” He hadn’t known his daughter enjoyed dancing unless it was over the graves of her enemies.

“No, it was a karaoke club.”

He stopped in his tracks. “No.”

Tatyana laughed. “Yes. A karaoke club. She was there with a number of employees from ZOL, but I didn’t know it at the time. She was just friendly, and I was alone.”

“Why were you alone?”

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