Page 83 of Her Silver Fox Mountain Men

“It’s why we’re here, trying to go through the legal channels,” Andrei admits, a defeated look on his face. “Kara came here first. She knew something was up with Igor, but he’d never tell us anything, so she hacked his phone, his emails, until she got a line on Elise in Rustic.”

“What did Igor tell you?” I ask.

Lev runs a hand through his silver hair, closing his eyes for a moment. “He’s been looking for Elise since she left. I kept telling him to leave her alone. If she wanted to leave our family, then so be it. Far be it from me to keep her against her will. I do love her as much as I love any of my children. I only wanted what was best for her.”

“Is that why you pushed her into a marriage with Igor?”

“I thought that’s what she wanted.”

I can’t help but scoff. “A young girl, suddenly finding herself orphaned and being raised by a man whom she worships. Terrified she’ll be tossed out into the street along with her brother if she doesn’t meet the old man’s wishes. Elise couldn’t bring herself to say no because, let’s face it, Mr. Konstantinov, you’re the head of the fucking Russian mob. What did you think she’d say?”

“He’s got a point,” Andrei says and chuckles dryly.

Lev gives him a hard look. “Et tu, Brute?”

“Come on, Papa. Even you have to admit that Igor and Elise never really clicked. You weren’t in that room with them the day of the wedding. The way Elise was crying, those weren’t tears of joy.”

“But Elise was a good girl, through and through,” I tell them. “She stayed put. Made sure Michael got into a premium school. She fulfilled her duties as a wife, as a Konstantinov daughter. But then she learned the truth about Igor—”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Lev cuts in. “It never made sense.”

“She tried to tell you, didn’t she?”

“In so many words, yes. But I rejected the premise outright,” Lev says and lowers his gaze.

Andrei, however, does not seem as shocked nor as distraught as his father. “Kara had suspicions of her own,” he tells me. “Elise was terrified, and she didn’t know who to trust anymore. I mean, we’re family, right? Surely, we all knew what Igor had done.”

“But you didn’t,” Michael says, tears pricking his eyes. “Please, tell me you didn’t.”

“No, we did not,” Lev replies. “Had we known, I would’ve—”

“You would’ve what? Handed your own son over to the authorities?” I scoff, crossing my arms. “You would’ve protected him; that’s what you would’ve done. Blood is always thicker than water, especially where you people are concerned.”

“You people?” Lev raises an eyebrow.

The sheriff shakes his head slowly. “What a fucking clusterfuck. I think it’s time to bring the feds into this.”

But as soon as he picks up the phone on his desk, I put my hand over his to stop him. He gives me an understandably confused look.

“I’ve got a better idea,” I tell him. “But first, I need to know where these three gentlemen stand.”

I don’t know how Oliver and James will react when they hear about my plan, but if I have a shot at ending this whole thing without unnecessary bloodshed and chaos, I might as well give it a try. The Bratva may be ruthless, but they’re not stupid.

They can’t deny Igor has gone off the rails. They’d much rather work on damage control before making things worse.

“I never thought this day would come,” Lev mutters after we trade information about his family, Elise, and Igor’s movements over the years. “Today I found out that I was blindsided by my own son.”

“He shot up the restaurant where Kara was at. He must’ve known she was in there,” Andrei says, seething.

“They were gunning for us,” I remind him.

“It doesn’t fucking matter,” he snaps. “Igor crossed a line, one hell of a line.”

Michael, seated in the other guest chair, is pale as a sheet of paper. Beads of sweat trickle down his face as he looks up at me. “Where is Elise now?”

“On her way to a safe house along with the twins and their nanny,” I reply. “We’ve got our best security detail watchingthem. What do you know about Kara’s whereabouts? We still can’t find her after the shootout. She ditched our guys.”

“She’s still in Rustic,” Andrei sighs. “I tried to get her to talk to me, but she said she doesn’t want to spook Elise any more than she already has.”

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