Page 11 of Dirty Quinn
“I saw you.” If he is involved in any sort of trafficking, I may just kill him. “At the auction.”
“Ah.”
“What were you doing there, Father?”
“I think from this point, it is only I who will ask the questions, Daria.”
“Are you buying and selling women?”
He’s silent on the other end of the line.
I sigh heavily.
He waits another beat before talking. “Daria, if you have the energy for a boyfriend and break enough for a vacation, you clearly have prioritized none of your time appropriately. Now sounds like the right opportunity for you to return to Moscow, no?”
His voice is soft as he asks his questions and proves his points. To anyone who didn’t know him, it may appear he is caring and concerned. But really, he is controlling and manipulative. The soft voice is used to lure his prey into complacency before he moves in for the kill.
I love my father because he is my father. But I would not consider our relationship to be close. I think in some ways, he blames me for Katya’s death. As though I could have stopped her from doing anything. I couldn’t. She would not have listened to me. She never listened to anyone.
I think back to the night we went to a party at Andrei Turgenev’s for the first time.
“How can you stay so calm, Dar? There are going to be Hollywood actors at this party,” Katya asked.
“You don’t know that for certain,” I said. “And even if there are, what are you going to do?”
“Walk up to them and tell them how much I love them. Maybe it will be Tom Cruise.”
“Doubtful,” I snickered.
“Or Chris Hemsworth.”
“Even more so.”
“Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus!”
“I thought you said they broke up?”
“They always get back together.” She flicked a hand at me likeI’mthe foolish one in this conversation. “Well, I know for certain there will be a big-time producer there. Nico told me so.”
“Who is this Nico guy, anyway?”
“I told you. He’s a Hollywood talent scout.”
“For who?”
“For Hollywood.”
“It’s not like the city is its own entity and has employees. He can’t work for Hollywood; he has to work for someone in Hollywood. A production studio or a network.”
“You just like to pooh on my fun,” Katya pouted.
“I do not. What I do like is to remain levelheaded and not get too excited. What I also like is to make sure that our stay here is fun for both of us and that one of us doesn’t get carried away.”
“We all know you mean me. I hate that you mean me.” She paused for a moment. “You do mean me, right?”
“Not necessarily. Don’t take it so personally. You and I both know you have a tendency to jump before you look.”
She rolled her eyes at me, dismissively. My father spoiled her to the point of ruin. I don’t know what it is about her that father regarded so much higher than me. My grandmother once said it was because he felt threatened by powerful women, especially any in our family. Which is weird, all things considered.
