Page 111 of Lethal Alliance

There is a silence I don’t try to interrupt. I think of Roman’s face when he saw Rosa, of the hurt I know he tries hard to conceal.

After a time she speaks again. “The Cardeñas cartel had claimed responsibility, but Sergei was still convinced Fedorov was behind it. He wanted me to stay hidden. We fought about it for years. Bitterly.” She stares at the floor. “I wanted to come back to Miami, to be with Maria, to mourn my family. Sergei said it was too dangerous, that Fedorov would have a target on my back. At first I was too devastated to argue. After a while, when it became clear that Sergei’s war with my family was going to drag on, I didn’t want to endanger Maria or her children. I figured it was better for everyone if I disappeared.

“So I ran again, but this time, I didn’t just run from my family. I disappeared entirely, and I stayed gone.

“It was years before I heard about the coup and tried to contact Sergei again. At first, when I discovered it was the Orlovs who had murdered my family, and by then, Maria too, I was furious.” Her face spasms, a memory of old anger. “There had been no Fedorov, no murderous shadow in the wings. Just greedy men who had seen the name on that damned vault and seized an opportunity. I lost my husband, my son, and my best friend, all because, as I thought, Sergei had trusted Vilnus Orlov.” She shakes her head tiredly. “But angry or not, I couldn’t do nothing when I realized the Orlovs were holding you hostage. I came back to Miami soon afterward. I’m not sure what I planned to do. I was just... angry.

“I knew all the secret tunnels leading into the compound, so I broke in. I couldn’t find Sergei; I wasn’t even sure if he was still alive. Eventually I found Alexei. I told him who I was and tried to convince him to get you and run with me. But he wouldn’t go.”

“What do you mean, he wouldn’t go?” I stare at her in shock. “Papa told us it was you who made Alexei promise he wouldn’t leave.”

“No.” Rosa shakes her head slowly. “That’s just what Alexei told your father. It was the only way he could convince Sergei to leave him behind, although Sergei was still furious. The truth is that Alexei had heard the Orlovs talking about Roman, discussing where he might be. He’d worked out that if the Orlovs were searching for him, then Roman must still be alive.” She half smiles at me. “You can’t imagine what it was like, to have that kind of hope, after so long. It was almost terrifying. But it was also devastating. To think that Roman might have been alive, all that time, alone, without any help...” She rubs a hand over her face. “It still kills me,” she whispers. “If I’d just stayed—if I hadn’t run—”

I cover her hand with my own. “If you’d stayed, then you’d be dead too. And we would still have been held hostage by the Orlovs.”

“Alexei said the same thing.” Rosa’s face is tired and sad. “Just as Sergei once had: that if I got caught, it would all have been for nothing. We agreed that as soon as I was somewhere safe, you and Sergei would join me. Alexei gave me an email address to use as a point of contact. I found out just recently that it belonged to his Swedish friend.”

I feel a faint wash of horror. Lars Andersson couldn’t have been more than fifteen back then.

We were all so young.

“Your brother is a good man,” she says gently. “I wish you would believe that, Darya.”

“I wish Icouldbelieve that.”

I stare at the door, willing it to open, to have some kind of news, but it remains stubbornly closed.

“So you were angry at Papa because you thought it was the Orlovs behind the coup?” I ask it more to change the subject than because I really want to know.

“I am ashamed of that anger now.” Rosa winces. “To discover that Aleksander and Sergei were right all along, that it was Fedorov behind the coup, behind all of it... Suddenly every decision Sergei has made over the years makes sense. To think that now I might never have the chance to tell Sergei that, to thank him for all he has done to keep me safe and to protect Roman... oh.” She puts her hands over her face, and I realize, with a shock, that she’s sobbing.

I stare at her bowed head, her shaking shoulders, and all I feel is sadness. For my parents, and Roman’s, burdened with a legacy I don’t truly understand, that has taken so much of their lives.

All I know is that even as we sit here, that legacy is still threatening the lives of two innocent children. Threatening the life of the father of my child.

No matter what my father or my brother have to say, I’m not sure I will ever be able to forgive that.

36

ROMAN

“Papa!” It takes a moment to realize it’s me Masha is referring to. It’s only when she hurls herself at me, her little arms reaching upward, that I understand it’s me who isPapa.

“Myshka.” My voice sounds like it belongs to someone else. I catch her, and she wraps her arms and legs around me, burying her face in my neck. I can feel the frantic hammering of her heart through the thin cloth covering her back. I’m aware of Dimitry and Orlov behind me. Ofelia has come to her feet, but she still hovers against the back wall. I hear a noise behind me, the low murmur of voices, and Ofelia’s eyes widen as she watches someone over my shoulder.

Petrovsky.

I’m aware of his figure entering the room to my right, but I don’t trust myself to look at him. Not while I still have Masha in my arms.

“It’s okay, Ofelia.” I try with all my self-control to keep my voice even. “You’re going to be safe now. But I need you to stay in here for a few more minutes. Can you do that?”

“No.” It’s Masha who answers, her voice muffled against my neck. “Don’t want to stay.”

“I know, sweetheart.” Although it breaks my heart to do it, I slowly unwrap her arms from around my neck, holding her slightly away from me so I can look her in the eye. “But you know Dimitry.” Her face lifts marginally when she sees Dimitry’s crooked smile. “He’s going to stay with you until I come back, keep you safe. Will you stay here with him?”

“No!” Masha’s face is tearstained, her lower lip already trembling. She peeks through her hair at Dimitry as she clings to me like a limpet.

“Hey, Masha.” Dimitry’s voice is gentle. “I’m going to keep you safe, okay, sweetheart?”

---