Page 58 of Silenced

“Check his death out. And while you’re at it, make sure her mother isn’t approached by Rundel.”

“Why?”

I scowl at him. “Because I asked you to.”

“Who is this chick to you?” he grumbles. “Why do you even care? Did you know she was Peshnya’s daughter or something?”

“I told you—she’s mine. That’s what matters.”

“She’s not a watch, Niko. Or a Porsche.”

“I’m aware of that.”

He nudges me slightly. “Nikita says you haven’t let her out of your bedroom.”

“She’s been asleep since she arrived,” I counter, even though I wouldn’t have let her out if shehadbeen awake.

Dmitri grunts like he already knows what I didn’t speak out loud. “What are you going to do with her?”

“Keep her.”

“Against her will,” he says flatly, his disapproval apparent.

I blink at him. “It won’t be against her will forever.”

“I’m not sure I want to know.”

“Then don’t ask.”

He returns his attention to the computer screen, muttering, “She’s family, Nikolai. Don’t hurt her.”

Damn Turgenevs—you can take the man out of Moskva, but you can’t take the Turgenev out of the man. “I have no intention of hurting her. She is safe with me.”

He sniffs but, instead of commenting, mumbles, “They say Peshnya inspired Ilya Levin.”

“‘Inspired?’ More like he stole Turgenev’s MO. Either that or his ice pick.”

“Is it true what they say about—”

I arch a brow. “Him being a virgin?”

Dmitri shoots me a sharp grin. “Impossible, right?”

My shoulder hitches. “You’ve never met him in person, have you?”

“No.”

“He’s…odd.”

“Odd.”

I nod. “Odd. He’s a watcher.”

“Like, a voyeur?”

“Worse.”

“Worse?”

---