I gaze at the old man, realizing suddenly that he reminds me of Marina. Not in the obvious ways, of course. Marina was loudly opinionated, prone to drama and hysterical outbursts. Rodion is the polar opposite in that regard.
But there is something in his eyes that reminds me of his daughter. A shifting darkness. I realize suddenly that I despise him for it.
“Me?” Rodion asks. “No, I don’t think so. This is all about you, Anton.”
“Rodion.” Yulian jumps in despite my annoyed glance. “What are we doing here? We’re all family—”
“Family?” Rodion asks, cutting him off. “Is that what we are?”
“Like it or not, Anton is your son-in-law.”
“Is that true if my daughter is dead?” he asks, his voice going flat and dark. “Is it still true if my son-in-law has been accused of murdering her?”
“Accused by whom?” I demand. “Do you have a name to give me?”
“Of course not. No one would dare make such an accusation publicly.”
“Then maybe they shouldn’t be making it at all,” Lev growls, speaking for the first time since I walked into the room. He’s usually the silent observer. Which means he only speaks up when he feels like he has no choice but to.
“Lev has a point,” I say, turning back to Rodion. “You’re really going to take the word of some faceless rat who’s too afraid to come to you directly?”
“He might be scared for his life.”
“That fear might be legitimate where I’m concerned,” I say. “But you? He could approach you directly. You would surely protect the man. Unless of course he isn’t confident in your abilities…?”
The old man rises to the bait. “I am the fucking don of the Ivanov Bratva. We have survived generations and we will survive generations more, only ever growing in power.”
Not exactly the most historically accurate story I’ve heard about the Ivanovs, but I’ll throw the man a bone.
And they say I’m not charitable.
“You are powerful, Rodion. I don’t dispute that. But you are not the most powerful Bratva in this country. In fact you’re not even the most powerful Bratva in this city.”
His eyes go wide. “Is that a challenge?”
“It needn’t be,” I say. “Should I remind you of the plan that was put in place the day I married Marina?”
“Fuck that plan!” Rodion says, losing control for a moment. “The plan was that you would keep my daughter alive. The plan was that she would be happy!”
I have to admit that I feel a grudging sense of respect for the old man. He loved his daughter. He wanted her to be safe and happy.
Except that he didn’t raise her to be the kind of woman who was easily satisfied. She wanted things that no one could give her.
And yet, if I had a daughter, wouldn’t I want to give her exactly the kind of life that Rodion had given Marina?
I think about the baby… the child I lost. The child Marina lost.
On the rare moments when I allow myself to go to that dark place inside me, I feel the loss so deeply that it fuels the regret I feel about Marina.
“Rodion,” I say in a measured tone, “you need to put this rumor to rest once and for all. If you give it attention, it’ll only get stronger.”
“Convince me then,” Rodion says harshly. “Convince me that you had nothing to do with her death.”
“We’ve been through this before.”
“Isn’t our alliance worth anything to you?” Rodion demands.
Lev and Yulian are standing on either side, flanking me. I step forward. “You want the absolute, no-holds-barred, pure fucking truth, Rodion?”