Page 69 of Savage Beauty

“Josie.”

I know her voice. She was screeching at me every other time I heard it, but now, there’s no mistaking it. I turn to face her.

Claudia Tosca is uncharacteristically modest in a maxi dress with a high neckline. Her eyes are ringed with red, accentuated by her lipstick, and her hair looks like greasy straw. For the first time, I notice her freckles, which seem darker due to her pallor, and I see how young she truly is. Crazy and unstable, yes, but in her vulnerability, she reminds me of Lilyana; how the two girls have turned out so differently is strange.

“If you’re here for a fight, I’m not interested,” I say. “I’m sick, I’m tired, and everything is fucked up. You can’t do anything that would make it worse.”

Claudia clutches my wrist. “I know I shouldn’t come to you. I don’t deserve your help after everything I’ve done.” Her eyes spill over. “But I’m so scared. My father is dead, and Igor is well into the process of taking official guardianship of me. He will be controlling all the Toscafamiglia’sassets from now on, me included.” She sniffs, trying to calm down. “My aunt and uncle have been compensated, but they’re leaving the city. They are afraid they might be accused of my father’s murder if they try to keep control.”

I don’t know what to say, so I keep quiet. Claudia’s hand shakes, and I extract myself from her grip but don’t back away.

“What do you think will happen to you?” I ask.

“Igor already informed me.” Her broken expression twists into a sneer of disgust. “He said he would keep me as his ward for a while. Maybe have some fun with me. Then he’ll marry me off when he gets bored.”

“Jesus,” I say. “That’s disgusting.”

A woman bustles into the restroom, and Claudia and I dart past her and out before she notices something’s amiss. Sasha sees us go, and he catches my eye, anxious questions written on his face. I shake my head as Claudia and I leave the ballroom, looking for a quiet place to talk.

We find a small lounge and go inside. I close the door and turn to Claudia.

“What did Igor tell you about your father’s death?” I ask.

Claudia’s haunted eyes meet mine. “He said he suspects Vlad Kislev.”

“Who doyoususpect?”

Her voice drops to a quivering whisper. “I don’t suspect,” she says. “Iknow. I saw it all.”

46

Sasha

It’s eleven forty-five p.m., and the guests are gone. Only the bratva and the mafia remain, ready to engage in the time-honored rituals of our world.

I am to be sworn in as my family’s new pakhan, thereby ushering in a new era of drugs, prostitution, and people trafficking. A business built on pain and suffering, ostensibly with me at the helm, but in reality, it will be Igor pulling every filthy string behind the scenes.

I don’t know what Josie and Claudia talked about. Igor came to me, apoplectic that I let my wife go off on her own, and when she reappeared, the evil old fuck was by our sides all damn night. We never had a chance to speak alone, and whenever anyone came up to us, all Igor wanted to discuss was Vlad’s deeply suspect decision to run away from his responsibilities.

I’ve always had Vlad at my back, ready to fight. To face this without him is a nightmare come to life, but I’m ready. I have Josie beside me, and for her, there’s nothing I won’t do.

I had to do it this way, at this time, because everyone who matters is here tonight. Confronted with the evidence of his treachery, Igor won’t be able to wriggle off the hook, not with the rest of thekomissiyaand every underworld boss present to witness.

As long as Freddy comes through.

So much could go wrong. He might chicken out, try to run, destroy the evidence, lie, hide, kill himself—the possibilities are endless. But he’s my one shot.

I squeeze Josie’s hand once more and take my place at the center of the room beside Igor. I glance at her and see the fear in her eyes. A few minutes between us and a future worse than death. She cradles her stomach absently with her hand, her lip quivering as she battles to keep her composure.

Thekomissiyamen arrange chairs beside us, getting settled down, and everyone else gathers around. My cell vibrates in my pocket, and I take it out. A message from Freddie.

Sorry, Sasha. I’m out.

Those four words dash my last hope. It’s all fucked. There’s nothing I can do now.

I scan the crowd, desperately seeking a reassuring face, but there’s no one I can call a friend. Even Arman never showed. I guess he decided to bail on this train wreck before getting caught up in it. I feel Josie’s eyes on me, but I can’t look at her now.

I failed her. I failedeveryone.

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