“But you’re willing to force Anya into marrying you if Alexandr selects you to replace Alexi?” Skylar pushes.
Anya flinches at Skylar’s words. Studying her, I see the fear she’s desperately trying to hide.
“You’re assuming that I approve of Alexandr’s decision.” I’m speaking to Skylar, but I’m watching Anya. When Anya lifts hopeful eyes to mine, I’m struck again by her beauty. Anya has delicate features, but she exudes strength. She has perfect posture and holds herself in such a way that I could easily see her ruling a country with dignity and intelligence. I’ve never met someone who naturally emulates royalty to such a degree.
“You don’t approve of what my father is doing?” Anya quietly asks.
“I understand why he wants to find someone to take over for him when he retires. Your father has built an impressive business. What I don’t understand is his decision to include you in the deal.”
“He wants to ensure that the business stays within the family. He expects it to go to my children.”
“Yes, I figured that out. I think he could accomplish this without upending your life,” I say.
Her expression turns quizzical. “You think I don’t want to marry?”
“I think you are someone who has dreams. Someone who wants to decide if and who she’ll marry.”
Anya studies me before responding. “I do have dreams. One day, I would like to marry and have children, but before I do, I want to dance. When I landed the role of the Lilac Fairy, I thought I was one step closer to my dream of traveling the world and performing with a troupe. Now…”
“Now, you think your dream is over instead of beginning?” I acknowledge with a nod. “Have you told your father?”
Anya shares a look with Skylar before shaking her head. “I can’t. This is too important to him. Losing Alexi almost destroyed him. I can’t disappoint him by going against his wishes. I love him.”
“If you told him how you feel…” Skylar starts, but Anya shakes her head.
“I can’t do that. It will crush him. He believes he’s doing the right thing for his business and for me. He counted on Alexi being alive to take care of them both. His dying changed things.”
The hitch in her voice has me wanting to pull her into my arms and soothe her by telling her the truth about Alexi. If I weren’t worried about putting her in danger, I might have relented. However, until we know who tried to kill Alexi, I won’t put Anya in the crossfire.
“So, this party tonight, what do you know about the others who will be attending?” I ask Anya to distract her from thinking about Alexi. “Have you met any of the men your father is considering?”
“I’ve met them all,” Anya admits. “The night I learned about winning my role in The Sleeping Beauty, Skylar and I went to a dance club. All three men were there. They invited us to join them in the VIP section.”
“What are they like?” I ask both Skylar and Anya. Dominic shifts next to me. As my second-in-command, he wants to learn all he can about the men who might be responsible for the attempt on Alexi’s life.
“I don’t know what to say,” Anya hedges. “They’re powerful men.”
“They’re spoiled playboys,” Skylar snaps. “They come from money, and they enjoy the life their fathers’ money can give them. All three of them play at their jobs. They act like every other trust fund baby I’ve ever met.”
“How do you really feel?” I ask Skylar with a grin.
“Yeah, don’t hold back now,” Dominic chuckles.
She rolls her eyes. “I’m serious. I watched them that night, and each one of them only talked about the perks they get for being who they are. Pavel was the worst. He uses his father’snightclubs to pick up women. I talked to a few of the girls who were in the VIP section with us, and they said Pavel and his friends are there every night.”
“The three of them?” I ask.
Skylar nods.
“What about Oleg and Artem? Did they mention anything about their family businesses? Oleg’s family owns a security firm, right?”
“They do. I asked him about what his company does. He gave me the company line, which matches word-for-word what's on their website. I checked. When I tried to push him for more details, he claimed he couldn’t tell me anything more because it would be a breach of security. I hadn’t asked him anything that would be considered confidential. He just didn’t understand enough about the business.”
“What did you ask him?” I prod her.
“I asked what kind of security they provided for their clients. For example, I asked whether they offered bodyguards or extended to computer and network security. I was considering doing an episode on the challenges faced by security firms in Russia versus those in the United States. I explained that while I thought their services would overlap, he might be able to give me some information about where they differ.”
“And he wasn’t interested?”
