When Katarina smiles softly, it’s completely and utterly disarming.
My pulse shows no sign of slowing. Is she asking me to be her friend? “And how exactly would that work?”
“Answer me truthfully,” she says. “Are you fucking my fiancé?” Thankfully, she doesn’t wait for an answer, but carries on talking while I try to dislodge my heart from my throat. “Let’s not pretend you two don’t have a history. Was Duke the reason you came to Chicago? I know he recommended you to Noah. Your new boss is a lovely man, by the way. Very chatty.” Her brow furrows. “Or is Duke your boss now? My beloved does seem to be taking a very hands-on approach with you. Which brings me back to my original question.”
Shit. I look longingly at my glass of water, but I know I’d spill it before I had a chance to quench my thirst. I slide my hands beneath my thighs. “No, I’m not fucking Duke,” I say. “And I don’t know what threat you think I pose, but I can assure you our relationship will be strictly professional.”
“Will be?” Katarina asks, leaping immediately on my slip up. “So it wasn’t at some point?”
Her face shimmers in my vision. I won’t cry. And I won’t answer.
“Grace, my interest in Duke’s sex life isn’t personal,” Katarina says as she reaches into her purse and takes out a small silver flask. Without asking, she pours clear liquidinto my coffee then adds some to her own. “It’s vodka. You look like you need it.”
I’ve seen enough spy thrillers to know not to fall for that trap. I nod to her cup. “You first.”
Katarina tips her head back and laughs. It’s both beautiful and chilling. She pats away the tears in the corners of her eyes then slurps her coffee noisily. “If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it already,” she says, still smiling. “Please, you’re not making it easy to be nice to you.”
As I reach for my coffee, I lean forward to meet the cup so my shaking hands are faced with less of a challenge. It tastes like vodka. Strong vodka. I down half the drink. “For future reference, if you want to be nice to someone, maybe don’t suggest how easy it would be to kill them in the same breath.”
“Noted. Now, where were we?” she says, tapping a talon on the table. “Ah, yes. You and Duke. Duke and me. I think what I was trying to say is that he and I are not a couple. He might look like a god, but kissing him is like taking a dip in an ice bath. We have no obligations to be faithful to each other, and neither of us would consider it cheating if we did have sex with other people. Unfortunately, it’s optics that count.”
“As I’m beginning to appreciate,” I say as a knot loosens at the back of my neck. Thank you, vodka. “I know your engagement was to placate your uncle, and I also know that the Griffins plan to help you disappear before you can exchange vows. Or should I say, I know that’s what Duke expects to happen.”
“You think I’m going to make him go through with it?”
“Will you?”
Katarina thinks on it for a moment. “I can’t lie, I wouldlike to stay here, but it’s not because I have any designs on Duke.”
I eye her over my almost drained coffee cup. “Katarina, from what I know about you, you could very easily lie.”
“True,” she says, reaching across with her flask to refill my cup. There’s no coffee left to mix it with, but that works for me. “Some people are raised to be honest and honorable. Barkovs are reared to be devious and deadly. But we’re not blind to love. And Duke loves you. He told me.”
I almost choke on my vodka. “When?”
“Yesterday lunchtime. He showed up at my apartment, beat up one of my bodyguards, grabbed me by the throat and held me at gun point.”
I check the vodka in my cup. How fucking strong is this stuff? “He did what?” From her expression alone, I known I didn’t mishear. “But why?”
Katarina examines her nails. “He was a little upset that I’d threatened another of his brothers. You’ve heard about Rory’s little bump?”
“Noah mentioned it earlier. The accident was deliberate?”
Her eyes narrow. “You haven’t spoken to Duke?”
The alcohol in my blood stream means my blush is almost instantaneous. “Not really.”
Katarina sighs in exasperation. “Fine, don’t tell me. But be warned, you’re only allowed your secrets if I can keep mine.”
She waggles her eyebrows as if she’s dying for me to ask what secrets she’s keeping, but I’m still processing the fact that someone crashed into Rory on purpose. Then my brain snags on what else she’d said. “Why did you say threateninganotherbrother? Who else has been threatened?”
Katarina look of shock isn’t feigned. “He didn’t tell you about Fitz?”
My stomach churns and I put down my coffee cup. Duke had offered to tell me everything last night, but I’d left without giving him the chance. I’m a horrible, horrible person. His family was getting attacked and I was having a hissy fit about a kiss. “What happened to Fitz?”
“My uncle has taken him hostage,” she says simply. “He’s promised Duke he’ll return his brother on the day of our wedding. He’s calling it his wedding gift. I have asked Uncle Vasili to deliver Fitz a day early so he can attend my birthday party and he’s said he’ll consider it. If I behave.” She tips her head. “If weallbehave.”
My mind spins too fast to register the warning. “Fitz is the reason why Duke’s refused to break your engagement.”
