I was thankful Mamma still had my hands in hers and I wasn’t sipping tea or I would have spat it out.
But right now, I pulled away because I needed to drink something, preferably with alcohol. “What happened?”
“After he lost his older brother…I forget his name…Ivan sent Kirill to Russia. Irina said she’d been angry at Ivan and took a long time to forgive him for sending Kirill away. Aralina’s birth helped them reconcile, and Kirill came back to the US.”
“Wow. No one is sending any child of mine away,” I said, looking at Dad. “That’s covered, right?”
“Joint custody in case of divorce barring any proven abuse from one party,” Dad said. “And no way in hell is the Russian mafia taking control of any grandchildren of mine. Don’t worry, Lucy, I had Luca’s lawyers, who prepared the prenup of his marriage to Natalya, look at it.”
“So there, Luca is an example. Look at how in love he is with Natalya now. He’s so protective of her, he changed the code of made men. Putting the core family first. Sure, he messed up at first, but made it up to Natalya, and Natalya couldn’t have asked for a better husband who would move heaven and earth for her and Elias.”
My uncle was indeed an example of an arranged marriage that went horribly wrong at first, but in the end, his love story with Natalya made me swoon.
Okay, I shouldn’t worry about Kirill not wanting to broadcast our wedding to the public. Mamma was right. This was an arranged marriage with a secretive organization like the bratva. Eventually there might be affection between us, and he seemed to enjoy my company at least.
God, I was talking like a Victorian bride.
But this thing with the Kings bothered me. Maybe Dad knew them and could give me insight since Kirill, once again, was keeping me in the dark about this.
“Dad,” I said tentatively. “Do you know Theodore and Jeremiah King?”
Mamma’s eyes widened, and Dad sat up straight in his chair.
“I guess you both do.”
“What about them?” Dad asked.
“They were there at the funeral, and they seemed to be close to the Davenports. Jeremiah, the younger one, approached me and asked me how I knew Anya. It seemed like a totally innocent question except I’m used to fishing expeditions.”
Dad and Mamma exchanged a strange look.
I sighed. “All right, out with it.”
“The Kings and the Zahkarovs have a murky association. But it was more during the time of Ivan and Duncan King—Theodore and Jeremiah’s father. People weren’t sure whether they were allies or enemies.”
“Is Duncan still involved in King Industries?”
“No. He and his wife, Esther, died in a car accident, and rumor is that it was not an accident, but a hit.”
“Ivan?” I barely had interactions with Kirill’s father.
Dad shrugged. “It was years ago.”
“It was an accident, plain and simple,” Mamma said. “Maybe they were arguing in the car. Wasn’t it a rainy night?” She looked at me. “Esther King had psychological problems.” Of course, Mamma would side with the Zahkarovs. She and Irina were friends and had become closer after organizing the masked ball last year. Which explained why, after being left out of my wedding preparations other than approving the menu and cake, Mamma was hell-bent on my marriage to Kirill.
“Lottie…” Dad warned.
“I would stay far away from the Kings.” Mamma made the sign of the cross. “There are whispers that the eldest one is a sociopath.”
“Really?” My eyes widened. I could believe that. Especially since his razor-sharp glare across the graveyard was unnerving, like he wanted to chop Kirill to pieces. And that was saying a lot given that Kirill was the one in the bratva.
“Theodore’s first wife divorced him and accused him of mental abuse. It was quite a scandal years ago.”
Suddenly, I was looking forward to getting entrenched in Zahkarov history with the Kings. Covertly, of course.
Scandals and murders were like catnip to me. Looked like I was marrying into both.
Chapter
