“No, it’s not.”
“Good, good.” Kostya’s heartbeat picked up, and Tatyana could smell his stress. “During that time, I noticed a call to what appeared to be an unlisted number. A burner phone.”
“Yes.” Again, this was not surprising.
“So to be thorough, I did some digging and I traced the serial number back to a store in Budapest, which was where the big vampire summit was, correct?”
Tatyana wished that Kostya would get to the point, but he was young and she could tell he was showing off a little. “Yes, it was.”
“Yes.” He smiled. “It’s a burner phone, so a human must have bought it because vampires fry burner phones like that.” He snapped his fingers with a smile. “And I was right, because it was purchased from an electronics store during the day.”
She nodded, hoping he would just continue.
“So I obtained the security footage from the store.” He pulled out his phone. “And I saw someone who looked vaguely familiar, but I wasn’t sure. When I showed the picture to Mika, he identified her immediately, so I wanted to show you as well.”
He held up his phone, and Tatyana kept her distance as she peered at the small screen.
It was black and white, but the woman who walked in and walked to the counter wearing sunglasses and obviously trying to hide her face was instantly recognizable, if not by her features by the distinct Hermès bag she wore on her elbow.
“I just thought you should know,” Kostya said quietly. “Is there a reason your stylist might be taking calls from Ivan Sokholov?”
Hours later,when Tatyana was mentally exhausted and felt the creep of dawn in her blood, she sat in her office, staring at the computer screen and the spreadsheet she’d been trying to check over.
The problem was, she could not stop thinking about that image of Diana in the shop.
And she was missing her husband.
She’d been angry about his outburst the night before, but honestly more concerned. There were things he wasn’t telling her, and his uncharacteristic bravado in his day chamber following the scene at Pavel’s house was itching in her mind.
He usually didn’t conceal his thoughts from her, at least not strategically, but she knew in her blood that there was more to his outburst than purely creating uncertainty for those who might have become complacent.
Oleg’s amnis had been carefully controlled the night before, from the moment he woke—which she felt every night—to the moment she fell into day rest. It was a constant awareness whenthey were in the same vicinity, like a familiar voice in a distant room.
And now, with him so far away, that voice was gone and she felt nothing.
Was this how it would be? Is this what she wanted? To be so closely linked with another that his absence felt like a missing piece of her mind?
What were his plans for Ivan, and why wouldn’t he share them with her?
I could ask you the same thing.
She closed her eyes, imagining his voice. He would be angry if he knew that she and Kezia were plotting to kill his brother, but it needed to happen.
Perhaps not as soon as they had planned—she didn’t want Ivan’s men to blame Oleg—but Ivan needed to go.
Just the other day, Radu had reported that two Poshani vampires visiting friends in Moscow had been held up and shaken down for cash by immortal thugs who claimed to be working for “the boss of Moscow.”
Were they Ivan’s men? Possibly. But even if they were not, it was clear to Tatyana that the immortal governance of Moscow was not sufficient. There was no reason a couple visiting friends in an allied state should have their money stolen and their lives threatened.
Ivan needed to go.
And she needed to find out why he was calling Diana.
She heard a knock at her study door. “Yes?”
Sándor poked his head in. “You wanted to see me?”
“Please.” She pointed to the door and put her finger to her lips.
