“Oleg—”
“Relax, milaya.” He smiled softly. “This will be a friendly game only. No one is going to attack my bride on horseback even if you are a captain.”
“What?”
Her voice was so loud that the Hazar banged on the door.
“Tatyana le Tala!”
“I’m fine!” She got up, shooting Oleg a dirty look. “I’ll need to speak to them or they will not stop.”
She cracked open the door to see four worried faces. “Did you four know that we’re supposed to be participating in this horse game tomorrow?”
All four of them grinned.
“Yes,” one said. “Rudov’s horses are supposed to be among the best chaugan mounts in the world.”
“God save me,” Tatyana muttered. “I’m fine.” She waved at them. “I’m fine.”
She shut the door and walked back to Oleg. “I see I am alone in my dread of this sport.”
He scooted to the side and patted the space next to him on the couch.
She stood over him, snapped twice, and pointed to the fireplace. “Fire.”
He tossed the flamed into the hearth, which jumped into a merry brightness as the logs inside lit.
“Did you enjoy the snapping?” Oleg asked.
“Not as much as you do.” She sat next to him. “Why did you really want to see me tonight?”
“I miss my wife,” Oleg said roughly. “You have been avoiding me.”
Because she knew he would try to get her naked, and she still had a pronounced red mark under her ribs. “Rumi has filled my schedule since I returned from Warsaw.”
“And?”
She looked at him. “And I’m annoyed you didn’t tell me about the priest.” Not that she wasn’t hiding things herself. “Is there any news?”
“Yes. Mika finally found a witness in a village at the base of the mountains. A shepherd who was moving his sheep across the road on Friday afternoon. The driver honked. The shepherd noticed the stranger and didn’t recognize the car that was heading up the mountain.”
“Which would be unusual?”
“In that area? Yes. There are not many strangers. Mika got a description and then followed his little rabbit trails until he tracked down a rental car that had been rented to a private firm in Budapest.”
“Budapest?”
“Yes, and that firm is a front for Poshani operations. A black market art dealership owned by your sister.”
Tatyana’s mouth dropped open. “No, Kezia would not have anything to do with?—”
“You are correct.” Oleg kept his voice low. “Mika knows Kezia’s chief Hazar well. He immediately contacted her to ask about the rental car, and she confirmed that one of their darigan had been mugged in what they thought was a random attack. His wallet was stolen, and that was the name used in the rental.”
“And Mika is confident that she’s not lying?”
Oleg nodded. “He is satisfied that the point of the attack was to steal the man’s bank card. He was mugged, but nothing but his wallet was taken, not even the very nice watch on his wrist.”
“Someone was trying to frame Kezia,” Tatyana said. “They expected you to track down the car and immediately be suspicious of the Poshani.”
