“He’s dead now, though,” Doku adds indifferently.
Mother. Fucker. He took the gloves off early.
The fury fades and I can think. Letting him set me off this early by punching into my deepest wound is a rookie mistake. Doku’s older brother went here. But he was an Assassin. My thoughts are speeding, categorizing what I know about him.
“You have a brother and two sisters, right?”
“Yes.” Not a muscle has moved on this asshole’s face. Not a twitch.
“That’s got to be hard, neither you or your brother getting into the Leader’s division,” I muse. “I guess your father has other plans for who will take over for him.”
There’s the slightest narrowing of his eyes. “You know nothing.”
I shrug. “I know that neither of you were considered leadership material here at the Academy, so…”
There’s a movement out of the corner of my eye. Musa Varayev is from the other Chechnyan syndicate. I’ve never liked him, and he seems to rule the rest of his group like he’s a prince, even though he’s in the Spy division, too. He’s leaning forward, tense right down to his clenched fists.
“I mean, I accept that I’ll never run my family,” I say, “the patriarchy rules even in this day and age.” There’s a ripple of bitter laughter from the women in the class. “But the Madomadov syndicate, it’s quite reliant on the bloodline, isn’t it?”
“Not particularly,” he says. He’s lying. The words came out of his throat like they tasted foul. “And you, your father is giving the leadership to your little brother, now that your twin is dead, correct?”
Now that I won’t let them dig into me, his words don’t hurt. I’m still watching Musa out of the corner of my eye. Why is he so upset about this line of questioning?
“Yes, he is,” I agree. The admission doesn’t sting as much as it used to. “But surely there was someone else your father was training as his successor?” A vague memory hits me, something Konstantin mentioned once about a Chechnyan syndicate war, an internal turmoil.
“Our family line is solid,” Doku says.
“But the death of the heir, the internal shakeup… that definitely presents a weakened front, doesn’t it? Maybe you needed some help stabilizing the family again? Outside support?”
The guy on Musa’s left is gripping his arm, fingers white. Musa looks like he’s ready to surge out of his seat and stab me. Michael’s blade burns in my ankle holster.
“Do the Madomadovs owe a favor to another family for removing your oldest brother?”
“You fucking bitch!” Doku spurts, heading toward me.
“Enough!” The professor’s voice is like a whip tearing through skin. “That will be all. Miss Chandler wins this exercise. While there was not a verbal confession from Mr. Madomadov, his visceral response was clear enough. You may both sit down.”
Doku and I don’t move, facing off against each other.
“Do you know what my question was?” he whispers. Musa, still seated, is slowly shaking his head. “Why did you run instead of trying to save your brother?”
Staring at his thin-lipped smile of pleasure, it looks like a snake’s, swallowing a mouse.
“Why were you too cowardly to kill your brother yourself?” I hiss.
I see his fist coming and I want him to try, I do, I want to cut this bastard who knows what happened to Michael, then Professor Fitzgerald is between us, grabbing his fist and twisting his wrist back at an odd angle. His knees buckle, and she steps back before he drops to the floor.
“Both of you,” she snaps. “Back to your seats. You will report to Professor MacTavish this afternoon for five hours of service as a disciplinary action. I will not accept this behavior.” Her cold gaze sweeps over the class. “From any of you.”
The lecture continues, and I sit down, Michael’s blade still burning against my ankle. I want to take it out, I want togut Doku. Maybe Musa, too. Because those bastards knowsomething.
“Take a breath,” Meiying whispers. “Deep breath, let it out. Do it again. Don’t let thatHúndàn,that bastard get to you.”
Obeying her, I can feel the feeling return to my hands and feet again. I didn’t even realize they were numb.
Chapter Nineteen
In which we damn Cormac and his nipple-stiffening gaze!
