“Nothing, baby. We’re just going to play a quiet game in Mama’s room for a little while.”
“I don’t want to play a quiet game. I want breakfast.”
“Soon.” I lock the bedroom door and set her on the bed. “Stay here, okay? Don’t make any noise.”
“But—”
“Kira.” I kneel in front of her and take her small hands in mine. “This is very important. I need you to be brave and quiet like the bunny in your storybook. Can you do that for Mama?”
Her lower lip trembles, but she nods.
I pull her into my arms and hold her close, straining to hear what’s happening in the other room. The front door opens, and then there are footsteps and voices.
One of them is Pyotr’s.
The other makes my blood run cold.
Alexei Kozlov.
I’ve only met my cousin Alexei a handful of times, but his voice is unmistakable. It has a certain edge to it. He’s the enforcer of the family. The one they send when diplomacy fails.
We knew he was coming. Dmitri warned us days ago that Alexei was pushing to make the trip. But knowing it was coming and hearing his voice in my living room are two very different things.
Today is day twenty-one. The deadline. And Alexei has arrived to collect.
“—appreciate you making the trip,” Pyotr says. His voice is calm, but I can hear the strain underneath.
“Save the pleasantries,” Alexei snaps. “You’ve had three weeks. Where’s my evidence?”
“We’re close. Another forty-eight hours, and we’ll have everything we need to?—”
“Close isn’t what Dmitri sent you here for.” Footsteps move deeper into the apartment. “Where is she?”
“Safe.”
“That wasn’t the question.”
“Alexei, I need you to hear me out.”
A pause. When Alexei speaks again, his voice is steely. “I’m here because Dmitri sent an operative to investigate a suspected traitor three weeks ago, and the deadline has arrived with nothing to show for it. Dmitri has always been too soft when it comes to family, and someone needs to make the hard calls he won’t.”
“Daria isn’t a traitor.”
“Then why hasn’t she been cleared? Why hasn’t the evidence been compiled? Why are you asking for more time instead of handing me a completed file?”
“Because the situation is more complicated than a simple verdict.”
Alexei barks out a laugh. “That’s one word for it. Here’s another: compromised. You’ve been in this apartment for three weeks with a beautiful woman, and suddenly, the investigation is ‘complicated.’ Do you think I’m an idiot?”
“Of course not, but you’re making assumptions without all the facts.”
“Then give me the facts. Right now. Explain to me why Dmitri’s best operative has spent three weeks protecting a suspected traitor instead of eliminating her, family or not.”
I press my hand over my mouth to keep from making a sound. He’s talking about killing me like it’s a routine business decision. His own cousin. I knew the Kozlovs were ruthless, but I had no idea they werethiscold.
Kira tugs on my sleeve. “Mama, why are they yelling?”
“They’re not yelling, baby. They’re just having a grownup conversation.”
