Page 62 of Call Sign: King
“You’ve always known the score. You kept our most important family secret, giving Vlad the time he needed to heal, but the time has now come for him to take his rightful place as the head of this family.”
Pieces of the complicated puzzle were falling into place. The woman’s third son had been injured, but not killed.
Did Ryder know he had survived? She tried to refocus on the argument happening a few feet away.
The man’s handsome face turned ugly as he sneered. “Vlad is not ready to lead our businesses. Like you, he is consumed with seeking revenge. You are both making foolish decisions that put our entire operation at risk.”
“Careful, my nephew. You are crossing a line I would not cross.”
“Nephew? For four years, you have called me your son. You asked me to change my last name — to fill the shoes left by not only Viktor, but by my cousins as well. And now that Vlad is finished with his rehabilitation, I am to be thrown away like garbage? I will not accept this. I’ve been nothing but loyal. I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me and more,” he shouted.
“Oh? Did I ask you to fuck Vladimir’s wife?”
The man flinched as if he’d been slapped.
As if she were watching a well-timed scene in a tragic stage play, the door unlocked and two of the armed guards that had met their plane at the airport came in, dragging a woman between them.
She was shouting at them in Russian until she saw who was in the room. She then started shouting at the two closest to Khloe instead.
For a moment, it looked as if the newcomer might break free and charge at the old woman. Instead of cowering, the old woman stepped forward, raising her hand as if to slap the new woman as she had Khloe minutes before. That was when the man called Alexi physically stopped her, stepping between them.
“Choose your sides wisely, Alexi. You may have Volkov blood in your veins, but that will not save you if you cross Vladimir and me.”
The shouting abruptly stopped at those words. Khloe watched the range of emotions flitting across the restrained woman’s face. Her shock quickly turned to fear.
“Vlad is alive?” she muttered in English, her voice quavering in disbelief.
The handsome man closed his eyes and for the briefest of moments, Khloe thought he might start crying. She then watched him steel himself, removing all trace of emotion before he spun to answer her hanging question.
“Yes. Vlad is alive.”
“How? When?” she stuttered, before asking a more specific question. “How long have you known?”
The old woman stepped up next to the man, a gloating grin on her face. “Alexi was the first and only person I confided in as soon as the doctors were able to stabilize him four years ago.”
“Four years?” she said, her eyes glazing over with pain. “Four fucking years?”
“Irena… I can explain.”
“There is nothing to explain,” the old woman answered.
“Nothing to explain? He was my husband! Don’t you think that gave me the right to know he wasn’t actually dead?”
“If you’d been a proper widow, mourning his loss, perhaps I would have told you the truth. As it was, I had to watch you sneaking men into my home over the years, taking them to the very bed you shared with my son, all while he was fighting for his life. Suffering the pain of deep burns and cuts — skin grafts and surgeries. Fighting to learn to walk again. So, no. Your betrayal made it easy. I did not feel obligated to tell you the truth.”
“I was a widow! How could I possibly betray him?”
Stepping closer, the old woman shouted into Irena’s face. “I am a widow. I have not desecrated the memory of my Viktor by taking another to our marital bed.”
The man named Alexi stepped beside the women, trying to physically separate them.
“You’re rightfully upset,” he said, trying to get the guards holding her to release Irena while adding. “I’ll take you up to your suite and you can get some rest.”
When the guards failed to release her, he gave them an order. “Irena is a Volkov. Release her this instant.”
Instead of complying, they looked at the old woman for guidance.
“These men do not report to you any longer. They answer to the head of the family and as of this day, that is Vladimir. I do not know exactly what he has planned for his reunion with his wife, but it is his decision alone on how he handles her indiscretions. Be grateful that my reports to him have minimized the role you’ve played in caring for his wife while he was convalescing. It is my belief you interjected yourself into the situation in a misguided attempt to get her to stop sleeping around in hopes Vlad would forgive her, but you went too far when you invited her into your bed. Only time will tell if Vlad will forgive you for your betrayal as well. Be glad he has not ordered you chained alongside her.”
