“No,” I broke in, moving in on him, jabbing a finger into the air between us. “She died because you handed her over tothem. And now they’re discussing me. Like I’m next. Like it’s my turn to marry into that—”
“Enough,” my father interrupted, his voice low and menacing. “You have no idea how far our pact with the Yezhovs goes. You do not say another word about this.”
Lillian’s voice was softer, but not more pleasant. “We’re just trying to keep you safe, dear. You have to trust us.”
Trust?
They hadn’t kept her safe. They’d wrapped her up in finery, presented her to her killers, and left her to rot behind silk and gold.
I didn’t utter another word. I simply turned and walked away, climbed up into the automobile, and slammed the door so forcefully that it rattled the windows.
When I got home, I went directly to my room and locked the door. Then I pulled the curtains shut.
I dropped to the floor with shaky hands and Yulia’s ghost beside me.
I should have seen it coming. She was my sister. I should have been capable of preventing it and keeping her safe. I failed to protect my only sister from those monsters.
Papa and Lilian were fiercely loyal to the Yezhovs. Maybe things would have been different if Mama were alive. Now, there was no one to tell Papa right from wrong; he’d just trade me off as long as it benefited him, even when he knew this could be the last time he saw me alive.
Even when he knew how dangerous the Yezhovs were.
Yulia had told me all about them, how they bathed in blood and crime, how scary and infamous they were for their brutality.
Now that Yulia was dead, I wondered what would happen to the alliance between my family and the Yezhovs. Would theygo on to find a better ally who would be willing to pawn off his daughter the same way Papa did Yulia?
If they did, Papa sacrificing his only daughter for the sake of business would be a waste, and I wouldn’t have any reason to be in the same space with my sister’s murders.
With all of my heart, I hoped the alliance fell through.
Chapter 2 - Matvey
The room smelled like old wood, cigar smoke, and anxiety.
We gathered in the smaller study hidden behind the panel walls of the Yezhov estate. It was large enough to contain only the male members of the Yezhov family, and every decision was made in this room, no matter how good or bad.
Rurik was already present when I got there, slouching in a leather chair like he hadn’t slept for days. He hadn’t shaved. His shirt was rumpled, and he looked a hot fucking mess.
The glass on the coffee table next to him was empty, but he still reeked of whiskey and cigar.
Damien leaned against the windowsill, arms crossed, with his face as expressionless as ever.
Eduard sat at the bar, opening and closing a silver lighter over and over, flame flickering but never steady.
Isaak was on the phone, half-listening, as always.
“Is this the look of grief?” I asked as I entered the room.
Rurik didn’t look up. “You can keep your judgment for later, Matvey. You don’t know what it is to lose a wife.”
I closed the door behind me with a sharp snap. “No. But I do know what it’s like to watch someone slowly kill the woman they were supposed to protect.”
His head jerked up at that. Bloodshot eyes, clenched jaw. “Don’t you dare.”
“Then don’t pretend,” I replied bluntly, moving around him to the head of the table. I took a seat and gazed down the length of it, eyes fastened on the others as they trickled in and the muted murmurs started.
Business as usual.
Yulia was hardly in the ground, and already, everyone had moved on to what they considered more important, as if she weren’t a member of this family.
