Page 206 of Silenced

I can feel it.

With every beat of his heart and mine, I know ours chime to the same song…

Just like my mom and dad.

Biting my lip as I turn into him, I rasp, “Dad worked for the Kremlin?”

“Before the USSR crumbled, yes. He liked to say that he was smart and got out in ’85 but he was injured in a job. That was when he lost his hearing. We met a year later.” She blinks. “He was a good man, darling. Don’t ever question—”

“I don’t,” I state, cutting her off. “He was my papa. You don’t have to excuse what he did.”

When I tip up my chin, obstinacy rattling through me, she purses her lips at me then studies Nikolai. “I suppose it’s a good thing you’re short-sighted when it comes to those you love.”

The words should hurt because of Harvey, but I know she doesn’t mean it that way.

“Nikolai is a good man.”

“He’s Bratva.”

“Yes,” I agree, “he is. And he’s the first person to love me unconditionally since I lost Papa.”

She tenses, accepting the sting I’d intended to cause her, but bows her head in agreement. “I deserved that.”

“You did, but I won’t make a habit out of it. I didn’t come here to throw insults. I want to be friends, Mom. I want to know you again. I’ve missed you, and when I was on my own, I didn’t dare come to you because I knew Harvey would—” Just the thought of what he could have done has me swallowing.

“I sleep with a shotgun. I’d like to have seen him try to get past me,” she says with a sniff.

“You can put the shotgun away,” Nikolai drawls as he picks up his glass of tea contained within the old-fashionedpodstakannikand takes a sip. “This is good,” he says appreciatively.

Mom’s smile is smug. “It’s how Peshnya liked it best.”

Niko’s brows lower but he drains the cup and silently returns it to Mom for her to refill. “You have guards on you.”

Mom pauses mid-refill. “They’re your men?”

“They are. I’m surprised you noticed them.”

“Peshnya made me paranoid,” she mumbles, but her hand is shaking so she rests it on the table which is where I lace my fingers with hers. “When they didn’t approach me…” She sags. “God, I thought it was the Kremlin. After everything that happened in Moscow recently, I wasn’t sure if they thought…”

“We all know Peshnya’s dead,” Niko assures her.

She grunts then tugs my fingers tighter into her grip. Her smile is brighter, even though I can see how shaken she is with her relief. “Don’t think I don’t know you’ve changed the subject.” Her expression turns expectant. “So, are you going to tell me how that son of a bitch died, or do I have to drag it out of you?”

57

NIKOLAI

Let Me Go - Maverick Sabre

“You killed him,but that doesn’t mean you’re worthy of her.”

It comes as no shock to me that she takes that stance once Cassiopeia heads to the bathroom.

“I agree,” I tell her, not for the first time glancing around the very ordinary, very tired kitchen.

Peshnya had a reputation that is far too large for a house this small.

Everyone wondered where he went before the USSR collapsed. It seems Warren County was his hideaway of choice, in a tiny two-story townhouse with a garden larger than the property itself.

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