Page 103 of Lethal Alliance

Roman warned us that, for security reasons, neither Vera nor Yuri know the children are missing.

He neglected to mention that they don’t know their only remaining son is dead.

Then again, given that it was Roman who killed him, I guess that omission might have been on purpose.

Fuck.

I can’t tell her. Not now, not while Roman is risking his life to get the children back. I remember what Ofelia told me about the way Vera reacted when she received word of Mikhail’s death, locking herself in her room and screaming for hours on end.

Something tells me she’s likely to take the news about Nikolai even more badly.

It’s past midnight, and my morning sickness has returned with a vengeance amid all the stress.

I’m not telling her the truth.It isn’t my call to make, and I won’t endanger Roman, no matter how indirectly.

All of this passes through my mind rapidly. I blink back to the present to find Vera staring at Rosa in open-mouthed astonishment, clearly still astounded that a stranger had the temerity to confront her in her own home.

“Well,” she mouths furiously. “Of all the ungrateful, rude—”

“We’re so sorry, Mrs. Stevanovsky.” I interrupt her, placing a calming hand over Rosa’s and forcing myself to smile. “We have had a very worrying few days. There was a security scare with the children, and Mr. Stevanovsky wanted to make sure they were safe. I know he deeply regrets disturbing your peace, but he told me that you are the only person he trusts to keep us safe in his absence. We’re both so grateful for his care, and for your patience.”

The black eyes drop to me, and Vera’s thin lips curl in contempt. It’s my turn to feel the anger rise. I’m grateful for Rosa’s warning squeeze of my hand.

“Hmph.” Vera’s eyes flash spitefully, and she stalks out of the room, leaving an overwhelming cloud of Lancôme Climat perfume in her wake. The scent of violets almost makes me heave again.

“Dios mio,” Rosa mutters as the door slams closed behind Vera. “Please tell me Roman does not call that woman mother.”

I snort into my hand. She catches my eye and gives a soft chortle of her own. A moment later, we are both doubled over, hands stuffed in our mouths to try to stifle our laughter. Perhaps it’s the tension, or perhaps it’s just the layers of insanity we’ve both been living for so long, but we both laugh until tears run down our cheeks.

When we’re finally done, Rosa takes my hand, and I let her.

Roman will be on the call to Orlov right now.

34

ROMAN

“Roman Borovsky.”

Vilnus Orlov’s bloated face stares out of the screen in front of me.

The years have not been kind to him.

He’s fatter than I remember, his eyes narrow slits, and smoke from a cigarette coils up from a hand that is out of sight of the camera.

“Put the girls on.” I don’t bother acknowledging his greeting. The fucker knows why we’re here.

Orlov’s fat lips curl in an unpleasant smile. “Your daughter is safe, as is mine.”

I ignore that. Masha might be his blood, but she’s my family, now and always.

“That white screen behind you won’t help, you know.” His voice is conversational. “There isn’t an inch of this city where I don’t have eyes.”

“Show me the girls, Orlov, or this call is done.”

He takes a drag of his cigarette, the red sparrow on his hand vivid on-screen, and blows the smoke toward the camera. His smile doesn’t reach his eyes. They’re the same cold blue I remember from the night he murdered my father.

He nods at someone off-screen, and the camera flickers as it changes view.

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