“How is Tatiana doing?” Lev sounds exhausted.
“She’s good. She regained consciousness today. We talked for a couple of minutes and then that asshole Aleks came bursting in with his father, who is a fucking pervert. He talked to Tatiana’s tits the entire time.” Just thinking about it is pissing me off again.
“He’s a powerfulPakhan,”Lev sighs, “and yes, he is a lecherous bastard with a fondness for young girls. But our Pakhan must have weighed the risks and benefits and found this to be a sound plan.” I hear the light clink of a bottle cap.
“Are you back at the inn, having a cold one?” I ask.
“Don’t give me shit, boy. This is the first drink I’ve had in a week,” he said, belching for my benefit.
“No judgment here,” I shrug. “Iamjudging the Aslanov brothers for not coming to see their sister when she was in critical condition.”
“This war-”
“I understand what’s going on. My family’s been under fire before,” I said, trying to hold onto my temper. “But this is bullshit. If I found out my sister Francesa was deathly ill, nothing would keep me from getting back to her.”
If fucking Giovanni would allow me - the invisible brother - to see her,I thought bitterly.
“Never mind,” I said, “tell me what happened. I want details. Bloody details.” Every time I think of what that twisted fuck did to my girl, I’m furious thatIdidn’t go track him down. It would have been worth getting expelled from the Academy to end that piece of shit.
Lev made a good point, though. If I’m thrown out of college, who’s here to protect Tatiana? Aleks sure as fuck isn’t going to do it. So that’s why he went to Florida instead of me.
“He’s a former Navy SEAL,” Lev said, voice thick with derision. “He looked good on paper, I guess. The school outsources the torture-interrogation testing because several of the professors refuse to do it, and the others-”
“Would enjoy it far too much,” I interrupt.
“The interrogator was sloppy,” Lev hissed. “Poor oversight. Hates women, especially those who defy him. The fact that Tatiana refused to speak after something as brutal as ripping out her toenail made him spiteful. He was out to teach her a lesson.” He chuckles, it sounds low, ugly. “She head-butted him during the capture phase and flattened his nose. He intended to make her break right away.”
“I’m sure you got this out of him in the slowest, most painful way?” I grin, bloodlust surging through me. The memory of Tatiana slumped in that chair, with her bloody foot and bruised cheeks will haunt me forever.
“Oh, yes.”
There was a world of satisfaction in those two words.
“He waszhalkiy,pathetic,” Lev sneers, “I only cut off two fingers before he was begging me to stop. Offering me money.”
“Tell me you took your time,” I said.
“Hours.”
“Thank you,” I said. I meant it from the bottom of my heart.
Tatiana…
After another twenty-four hours in the clinic, I was scratching at the walls like a demented cat, ready to get out. Mariya came to visit and helped me shower and wash my hair. Lucca has to help me to the bathroom, and that is mortifying enough.
“I heard your fiancé and his dad showed up,” she said, brushing my hair carefully. It’s thick and gleefully rats up with the slightest provocation, and we’re working with a week’s worth of bedhead.
“He’s horrible,” I shudder.
“Aleksandr?”
“No! Of course not. His father. The two times I’ve met him, I don’t think his eyes ever left my chest.”
“So disrespectful,” she agreed. “I know Maksim has been forced to work with him a couple of times and hates his guts. He’s a nightmare.”
“Thanks, you’re making me feel so much better about my future,” I said. I buried my face in my hands, which yanks the brush out of her hand.
“No sudden movements! God, I’ve trimmed hedges more manageable than your hair.”
