Page 14 of The Russian Retribution

I contemplate his promise as I slowly get ready for bed and toss a few painkillers in my mouth, chasing them with some ice-cold water.

One thing Erik said sticks with me.

He suspects the assassination attempt last week is linked to whoever killed my father. I know for a fact that can’t be true, but maybe there’s another connection I’m not seeing, someone else who wants me dead.

There are very few people I’ve harmed directly in my time as Godmother. Very few.

Eight, to be precise.

I drag a brush through my hair, then ease myself slowly into bed as one chilling thought worms its way into my mind.

Did someone survive the dinner party?

5

ERIK

“Iwant people on the roof. Every roof, you hear me, Ryan?”

“I love it when you get all assertive, Erik,” Ryan replies, wiggling his shoulders at me on the screen. “Gets me all tingly.”

“Fuck off. This is serious.”

“I get that. Changing your whole security plan for the gala? Care to share why?”

“Not right now.” I drag another spreadsheet into our shared folder and watch the upload circle spin. “I’ve listed all the high rises along the route and I want men on each one. I don’t care how much it will cost, understand?”

“On it, Boss.” Ryan looks like he has more to say but as his mouth opens, the door to my makeshift office swings open and in strides Viktor.

I should request my own office in the manor, but it’s just easier for me to work out of the lounge. I end the call with Ryan in one click and straighten up from the table.

“Viktor.”

“Gala plans?” Viktor asks when he approaches my table. “You’re taking this seriously.”

“It’s my job,” I reply, adjusting some of the blueprints near me. “Do you want me to run through it with you?”

“I don’t care. The gala is three months away. I want Anastasia dealt with by then, so who knows if we'll make it that far?” Viktor fixes me with a piercing stare. “Tell me, how are things going with her? Do you have what I need?”

My heart skips a beat.

Anastasia.

She might be my boss, but Viktor has been a father figure in my life for as long as I can remember and that’s where my loyalty lies. He was there for me when my parents died and when my sister was taken from me. He paid for my schooling and even supported my brief stint in the military despite his preference for me to work for the Bratva. He’s my only family in the world, not that anyone knows. Viktor’s worked hard to be where he is, and he keeps his private life exactly that.

Private.

But the death of ourPakhan, Sergey, hit him like a ton of steel bricks. So when he asked for my help, I was more than happy to oblige. The only problem was that his request for me to get close to Anastasia was hindered by the woman herself.

Until now.

“She’s warming to me,” I say, picking a pen from the table and weaving it around my fingers. “Ever since the explosion a coupleof weeks ago, I’ve barely left her side, and she’s starting to talk to me. Which, by the way…” I squint at Viktor as he paces away from me toward the bar at the far end of the room. “Was that you?”

“Was what me?”

“You know what.” Abandoning the pen, I hurry to where he’s pouring himself a drink so I don’t have to raise my voice. The last thing we need is someone overhearing. “The car explosion. Was that you?”

“What do you take me for?” Viktor gathers a handful of ice and crushes it into his glass. “I told you. I have no plans to kill Anastasia unless your investigation reveals that my suspicions are correct and that she did indeed kill her father. It doesn’t benefit me to kill her before then.” His face tightens, and his lips press so firmly together that his mouth all but vanishes from his face.

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