Page 110 of Lethal Alliance

Anton and Karel, two of Bryce’s men, come in with us. “I’m going back upstairs,” Bryce says. “Is your phone working?”

I nod, holding it up. “I’ve got the charger.”

“Good. I’m leaving you with the code in case of emergencies, but please, don’t open that door unless it’s to me or someone you trust.” He glances at the two guards, who nod. “Understand?”

“Yes.”

He gives me a tight smile. “I don’t know many women who would have handled this situation so well. You’re one cool lady, Darya Petrovsky.”

I try to smile back. “I’ve had a bit of practice.”

He gives a low cough of laughter. “Yes, I guess you have. Okay.” He eyes the two guards with me, both men I know well. “You’re directly responsible for Roman’s woman, his child, and his mother. Don’t fuck it up.”

They both nod.

“I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

The door closes behind him with a solid thud, and we’re alone.

Rosa turns to me, tears threatening to fall from her eyes. “His child?” she whispers. Her eyes drop to my belly. “You’re pregnant?”

I half smile. “Not exactly the way we’d planned to tell you the news. But yes, I am.”

“Oh!” Her hand flutters toward me, the tears spilling down her cheeks. “Oh, Darya.”

She grips my hand, smiling tremulously. Then her eyes fall on the men with guns standing at a discreet distance. “Is it Vilnus? Did he find us?”

I shake my head. “It’s not the Orlovs.” I debate with myself for a minute, but there seems little reason to keep Fedorov’s name out of it now. “It’s a man called Ilyan Fedorov. He’s taken Papa.”

The color leaves Rosa’s face. Her hand tightens convulsively on mine. “Fedorov?”

The amount of fear in her voice tells me everything I need to know.

“Yes. It was him who was behind the Orlov coup in the first place. It seems that he’s been behind... everything.”

“Oh, God.” Rosa collapses onto the couch, biting her lip. “Aleksander and Sergei were right all along. They knew. They were both certain it was Fedorov who’d sold my whereabouts to the Colombians. Maria and I always thought they were just paranoid.” She raises a shaking hand to her face, rubbing her forehead slowly. “Sergei had been hunting him,” she says hoarsely. “For years. Following every lead, leaving no stone unturned. He and Aleksander always said Ilyan Fedorov was still out there. Maria and I both resented their obsession with him. It felt like being held hostage to old ghosts.”

I know how that feels.I feel, increasingly, as if old ghosts are pulling the strings on every part of my life. I hate the power the past has over us all.

Rosa is plucking nervously at the sofa, her brow furrowed. “I’ve been so wrong,” she whispers.

I glance at my phone.Nothing.

“Wrong about what?” I ask, more to distract us both from what might be going on upstairs than because I actually want answers.

“When I found out it was Vilnus Orlov who’d killed Aleksander, I blame Sergei.” Rosa’s accent is more pronounced under pressure. “I think I lose my husbandandmy son, because of afantasma.”Because of a ghost.Her face is white and strained. “I was so angry that I had run from this Fedorov, when the real enemy had been hiding among us all the time.” She shakes her head slowly in disbelief. “Sergei never wanted me to leave Miami at all, but still I blamed him. For trusting Orlov. For the coup. And, when I found out about it, for Maria’s death.Dios mío.” She buries her head in her hands. “I never truly believe this Fedorov could still be alive.”

“Wait.” I lean forward, confused. “Why were you angry at Papa? Why did it make any difference if it was Fedorov or the Orlovs chasing you?”

She pauses, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath. When she faces me again her expression is resigned, the emotion fading or carefully controlled—it’s hard to tell which.

“Because I never would have run if it was just my family or Russian enemies. Fedorov was... different. We knew what he had done, what he was capable of.” She frowns. “But I should not speak of this. It is not my story to tell.”

“I know about Paris,” I say quietly. “I know he killed Papa’s first wife.”

“And his children.” Rosa nods. “Two sons and a young daughter. Aleksander lost his wife and young son. Fedorov tortured them until they told him where every last piece of Sergei and Aleksander’s wealth was hidden, and then he killed them and stole everything.” She shakes her head. “I would never have left Alexander, or my son, if I hadn’t truly believed that doing so would put an end to the history we had all been living in the shadow of. Aleksander and I believed that Fedorov had made a deal with the Cardeñas cartel, my family. We thought my family wanted me, and Fedorov wanted the vault. We thought that by running, I would draw them both out into the open, enabling Sergei to deal with Fedorov, once and for all.

“I was in Costa Rica when Sergei came to tell me Aleksander and Roman were dead. It was...” Her voice trails off, and she shakes her head, her face ravaged with pain. “There are not the words to describe it,” she says softly.

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