I offer a fake smile to my mother and brother, then follow after Karina.
She actually tries to run away, but I catch up to her at the top of the stairs and grab her by the elbow.
“Why did you do that? Now, you’ll make an enemy out of them.”
She swings around and pushes me away. “They already were, and so are you. Everyone in this godforsaken place is my fucking enemy.”
“Kara…”
“Don’t call me that!” Tears rim her eyes. “You lost the right to call me that the day you left me running after your car in the rain.”
I purse my lips. “I couldn’t take you with me. You were too young.”
“Fuck you. I hate you.”
“If you hate me so much, why did you vote for me to stay?”
“Well…I want you to suffer here where I can see you.”
“Did Sasha, by any chance, have something to do with this?”
“That asshole couldn’t affect me in any way. You should kill him, Kirill. He looks useless.”
And yethemanaged to get you out of your room without any form of threat.
“I’ll think about it.”
Her eyes bug out. “Really?”
“Yeah. You might be mad at me, but I will keep my promise to protect you, especially from my own men.”
“He…is notthatbad. I guess we can put him on probation, and if he does anything fishy, we’ll slice his throat.”
I ruffle her hair. “As you wish, my lady.”
She pauses, chin trembling, but then she pushes me away and runs to her room shouting, “I still didn’t forgive you!”
My lips pull up at the corners as I watch her flying back to her room as if her life depends on it. She’ll probably remain there for a week after all the unwanted exposure she’s had to the outside world.
Karina had no reason to come down just now and face the mother she’s intimidated by, but she chose to help me.
I wait for Sasha to show her face, but she flat out ran away.
She can’t run for long, though.
I check my watch as Viktor appears by my side like a ghost. “We’re ready.”
“Go.”
It’s one word, but he knows exactly what to do.
The game is starting.
* * *
Two hours later,I’m sitting in my father’s office, which I took as my own the day he died.
I’ve been going through all of his files, records, and archives. I’m the only one who can, because he left me his passwords and keys. Yes, actual keys—he was old-fashioned like that.