Page 214 of Silenced

“Apparently, a man called Anton Kuznetsov died yesterday.”

He tenses. “Really?”

“Yes, really. Who is he?”

“A man whose name we never utter in Russia.”

I snort. “Like Bloody Mary?”

“Only worse.” He presses a kiss to my temple. “Why did she tell you?”

“She didn’t mean to. She got all awkward and quickly changed the subject.” I cuddle into him. “That’s why I thought you’d want to know.”

“Good call,solnyshko,” he praises. “Interesting that his death hasn’t made the news yet.”

“He’s powerful enough to make the news?” I ask, surprised.

“Da,” he rumbles, and his drifting into Russian merely punctuates Kuznetsov’s power.

Not particularly interested, I shrug. “They’re probably keeping a lid on it then. Maybe until his family can make a statement?”

“Perhaps.” He graces me with another kiss on the temple. “Did you see that link I sent you today?”

I grimace. “Yes.” Misha’s girlfriend Aspen had just gone viral thanks to her and her twin swimming with sharks. “I still don’t think it’s fair for you and Maxim to try and break them up. What were you even doing on Instagram anyway?”

He shoots me a dour look. “I wasn’t the one who found it.”

“I quite like the idea of you scrolling through videos for fun…”

His expression grows impossibly dourer. “Maxim sent it to me.”

“You should just let them be. You’re happy. Why isn’t Misha allowed to be happy too?”

“He can be happy. With a woman who isn’t making a name for herself as a celebrity Z-lister. It’s not as if she flies under the radar.”

I huff. “Meanie.”

His lips curve as he nuzzles his nose against mine. “Vasily’s spawn were hatched today.”

My nose crinkles. “Congratulations?”

“Thank you,” he teases, chuckling.

“I still don’t know how you figured out they’re his kids.”

“Breeding program,” he says simply. “Looks like we’ll be going through the joys of early fatherhood together.”

“So long as you don’t eat your hatchling…”

“I won’t,” he drawls.

“Zub’s line continues,” I say softly.

This time, his smile is genuine with his joy.

Having met Vasily, I’m not sure how to be joyful about more alligators being in our backyard, but hey, we all have our quirks, don’t we?

“Grigoriy gave me some good news today, by the way.”

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