Page 55 of My Trojan Horse Majesty

I hope he’s kidding, but I’m pretty sure he’s not.

He leans across the table and drops his voice. “Isabel Brooks, I swear that you won’t be harmed by your association with me. I’d never allow it.”

“Do you know why we’re linked?”

He shakes his head.

“Do you know anything about what our connection means?”

Again, he shakes his head.

“It’s as big a surprise to you as it was to me?”

“It is.”

In that moment, I have a choice to make, just as we all make choices all day every day of our lives. I decide to believe him, but it makes me nervous. The last man I chose to believe was lying to me, and now I’m worried he was lying to many others as well.

“Let’s go.” He stands.

“We can’t.” I look around for our waiter.

“My people will pay.” He waves for me to stand.

“Are you serious? You just wander around, and yourpeopleeliminate non-approved paparazzi photos and pay your bills?”

“It’s the single best thing about being czar,” he says. “That, and they clean up all your unpaid parking tickets.” It takes me a second, but I realize he’s kidding. Leonid’s making a joke.

“You’resonot who I thought you were.”

His head bobs back and forth. “I mean, I could neigh loudly in here if it would make you feel better, but I think a lot of people would be confused.”

“You’re a very strange man.” I stand up and follow him out.

On the way out of the restaurant, Mikhail falls into step beside me, and Boris falls in alongside the other side of Leonid.

“Are they, like, your personal guard?” I whisper.

“He doesn’t need a guard,” Mikhail says. “We’re his first and second lieutenants.”

“I like them because like me, they don’t need guards,” Leonid says. “And I trust them.”

“You’ve known them for so long that you trust they’ll always support you?”

Leonid snorts. “Not exactly. I can take their power away at any moment, so they never want to make me unhappy.”

“That’s. . .” Again, it’s not what I expected. I want to ask him more about his story, but I don’t really have a chance. He wasn’t kidding about his people being around—there are at least twenty people in all black gathered in the parking lot, and they surround us like super-fans mobbing a celebrity, only they’re all speaking in scattershot Russian I can’t make out, and most of them are frowning.

“I’m going to head back to my apartment.” I stop walking with them and fish the keys out of my pocket. “I’ll give you my cell phone number, though. You can call me tomorrow.”

“Wait.” Leonid’s head snaps backward in my direction. “You have to stay with me.”

Or he’ll black out. I forgot for a moment. “Right. Well, I guess a few of them can come with sleeping bags or an air mattress or something?—”

He shakes his head. “It would be far easier if you would come with us. Is that alright?”

“Where are you going?” I glance at my watch. It’s nearly ten o’clock. “I need to sleep soon. I have to work tomorrow.”

Leonid’s brow furrows. “Work?”

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