“Oh.” Alexei smirked and mimicked me, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Then that also means she’s the one who fucked up that account and said that shipment couldn’t process due to insufficient funds.”
This time, I looked at Maksim. He was in the car with us. He’d heard her, too.
“I’m not sure about that,” he said.
It was good to know we still thought the same. “I’m not convinced she’s to blame.”
“You just said she handled the accounts at the firm.” Alexei fell into step with me and Maksim as we headed to the house. Elena was no longer within my line of sight and I wasn’t in the mood to bake under the sun out here.
“She did,” I replied.
“And she was adamant that she hadn’t changed anything,” Maksim added.
“Then why the fuck are you both not acting like she could be a threat, sent here to get insider intel?” he asked, indignant.
“Because I don’t see a single threat from her.”
Maksim nodded. “She’s scared, but I agree.”
Elena had acted as nonthreateningly as anyone could have in her position. Intrigued about her, I thought back to how she’d behaved. The little quirks and tells. The involuntary ways she held her body, how she spoke, and when she couldn’t be quick enough to mask her emotions.
She’d shown several. Fear, of course, like how her lip trembled. Sadness, when she’d realized her father hadn’t bothered to refer to her by her name. Confusion, when she likely wondered when she’d be shot in the head for a colossal financial mistake. And the composure, too. She hadn’t broken down into a hysterical fit of tears. She didn’t wail or cry or beg or argue or cause a tantrum.
Composed, but not calm. Afraid, but not panicking.
“She has been thorough so far,” Maksim said as I gestured for them to join me in the office. Maybe calling ittheoffice insteadofmyoffice orFather’soffice would remove more of that ache of loss.
“Very upfront,” I said, detailing some of what Elena had told us. Alexei listened all the way upstairs and until we were in the office.
“She could be making it all up,” he said, always the slowest one of the six of us to ever trust someone. “She could be telling a tall tale and making up every word.”
“Then we can test her,” I said as I took my seat and leaned back. “Like I said, I’m curious.”
Alexei dropped onto a couch and snorted. “Curious? What the fuck about? She’s obviously telling you what she thinks you want to hear to spare her life.”
I held up a finger. “I’m curious why Morovov was quick to give her away.”
“Easy,” Alexei said. “He knew that you were coming for blood. He didn’t want to lose any of his own and he sacrificed her instead.”
What kind of a fucking person could call themselves a parent and do that to their child?I hadn’t spent much time thinking about starting a family. I would—someday. Too much of my future had always seemed predetermined by the dominant fact that I’d follow in my father’s footsteps as the next Pakhan.
“You won’t have to convince me that John Morovov is a slimy, greedy motherfucker who’s looking out for himself,” Maksim said as I nodded with his assessment.
“But if she’s been running the books for clients like us and she’s been managing the finer details of accounting work, why wouldhe want to give that up?” Maksim asked. He might have meant that as a rhetorical question, but it struck me as odd too.
“Who’s he going to have to replace her?” I wondered aloud.
“By giving her to you, he’s sacrificing not just his daughter but also the only person who managed top-secret accounts,” Alexei said, catching on.
“Fuck him,” I said. “We’re through with doing business with Morovov Financials.”
“Then who will we use instead?” Maksim asked as he shook his head. “I think it might be too soon to sever ties with him. We still need an intermediary to handle the books.”
“Wehavepeople who handle the books.” We had a crew of bookkeepers in the house. We had to. But there was still that extra layer between them and where money ended up. That was how we covered up the money trail. Our accountants gave Morovov what he needed to move the money where it had to be.
“Yeah. But with Elena here…” My brother shrugged. “And if she’s been doing it all this time…”
It was a huge leap of faith to take. A big trust to ask for. She had to earn my trust. While she had been upfront and detailed, I had toknowthat she wasn’t here to thwart us. She hadn’t been faking those tears she’d come close to shedding when she explained how she wouldn’t be using the Morovov surname anymore. Her father had wounded her by sending her as a payment.
