I fold my arms over my chest, schooling my features into careful neutrality. “And what do you think the truth is, Miss Bennett?”
For a long moment, silence stretches between us. When she finally speaks, she does so with a firm head shake. “I want to go back to Sergei’s.”
I nod once, curt. “I will be making a call to him soon to come get you. For now, sit tight. I will make arrangements for someone to come around and get you both something to eat.”
Ivy lets out a small, surprised noise when I turn from her and head for the door, shutting them both inside once again. Thesecond it clicks shut, I exhale through my nose, the weight of the situation growing heavier by the second.
Lev is waiting for me in my office.
He stands by the window, his back ramrod straight, phone pressed to his ear so tightly it looks like he’s trying to grind the call into silence by sheer force. His profile is stone-carved, unmoving, only his eyes flicking with restrained irritation.
I hear the faint, muffled crack of Sergei’s voice through the receiver before Lev even acknowledges me. It’s a stream of curses, sharp and rapid, enough to sour the air of the room. Lev doesn’t respond with much—just small grunts of acknowledgment and the occasional clipped“da”in response.
When he sees me enter, he doesn’t say a word. He just holds the phone out like it’s a live grenade.
I take it.
Lev is gone the next moment, the quiet click of the door behind him leaving me alone with the storm on the other end of the line..
“—bullshit to be doing deals out in the middle of the fucking day like that!” Sergei’s voice booms down the line.
“Sergei,” I say into the receiver, mostly to get him to stop for a moment.
But, of course, he doesn’t.
“You'd better tell me what the fuck happened, Antonov,” he snarls. “Why was my daughter involved in one of your deals?”
I settle down onto one of the couches near the unlit fireplace, preparing myself to settle in for a very long discussion. “Shewasn’t. She and the tutor were, unfortunately, at the wrong place at the wrong time. A coincidence. If I had known Yulia would be there, I never would’ve allowed the meeting to proceed.”
“Why the fuck didn’t youcheck?” he snaps.
My jaw tightens. “Because I didn’t expect my men to stumble across your child in a random cafe in the middle of Moscow. I assumed she’d be where she belonged, inside your home, surrounded by your people.”
“Youassumed. Do you know what it was like, getting that call? Hearing that gunfire broke out and my child was there? Hiding under a fucking table while your Bratva played out in the open?” Sergei spits the words like poison.
“I didn’t know they would be interrupted,” I explain, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Myvory v zakonewas in the middle of a private discussion with the cafe owner. To my understanding, they were in the back of the shop. The first shots were fired at the front. One of the employees went down instantly. The sound of gunfire pulled myvory v zakoneand the owner out. That’s when the owner was hit. The shooters took off immediately afterward.”
There’s silence on the other end of the line.
“You should’ve had eyes on the place. You should’ve swept the street,” Sergei says finally, quieter now but just as venomous.
“And what? Interrogate every patron walking in? I already had soldiers nearby. But you know as well as I do that when someone wants to send a message, they don’t wait for permission to do so. Whoever did this knew exactly when to strike.”
“You’ve just proven to me that you can’t keep the streets clean anymore.”
My grip on the phone tightens. The anger is there, simmering low beneath my ribs, but I keep it caged. He doesn’t get to see me lose control. No one does.
“I’ve got her here,” I say. “She’s safe. So is your tutor. Neither was harmed. I’ve given them food, shelter, and security for the time being. I’ll have them brought back to you once I confirm the area’s clear and secure.”
Sergei growls. “She’s a little girl, Antonov. Not a pawn in your pissing matches with whoever the hell you’ve been stepping on lately. You promised me… You promised me my daughter would never be involved when we signed our deal.”
“And I intend to keep that promise.”
“You want to keep my support? Then you fix this. Without drawing more attention to the mess that’s already been made.”
“Everything will be handled.”
“It had better. Because if something else happens, I don’t care how much you’ve built with my funds. I will take every clean deal I’ve ever given you and rip it away and watch you and your Bratva burn to the ground.”
