asks sarcastically, her tone rife with disdain.
“Correct.” I gesture to the table in the center of the room. “Please, have a seat.”
Daniel collapses into one of the chairs, but Victoria stands still. “I’d rather stand, thanks,” she snaps.
“Victoria,” Daniel hisses. “Sit.”
“Let her stand,” I say, waving my hand. It doesn’t matter, really. I know almost immediately that I’ll have to keep my eyes on this one. She’s strong-willed, something her sniveling, pathetic father can’t claim for himself. It’s almost humiliating, the fact that he’s involved his daughter in the business between us. Only a coward would throw his own family between him and danger.
One thing my father taught Dmitry and me was that when problems arose, we were meant to be the ones to solve them. We didn’t involve our women. We didn’t make them suffer for our actions. We were providers, and if we couldn’t solve our own problems, we weren’t fit to call ourselves men.
It seems as though Nikolas isn’t the only little boy in the room.
I glance over to him on the couch. He hasn’t stirred. His chest rises and falls slowly.
“What do you want from us?” Victoria asks, cutting right to the chase.
“At the moment, I want for you to be quiet,” I snarl, giving her a warning look
I approach the table, eyes locked on to the cowering man beside Victoria. “I hope your visitor tonight made it clear that I’m not just suggesting I want my money back,” I reply, noting how nervously Daniel swallows past the lump in his throat. “I’m fucking ordering it.”
“I got the message, sir,” he says, eyes downcast. I can see his hands trembling.
“Sir?” I crack a smile. He’s never called me that before. I guess doing this whole song-and-dance with his daughter present is reminding him to keep up his good manners. “Well, nevertheless, I’m tempted to make you pay more.”
Daniel’s eyes go wide. “For what?”
“For Faddei,” I say, growing more irritated with his sudden rise in volume. “He showed up to collect from you, and now he’s dead.”
“I didn’t kill him!” Daniel protests. “I don’t know who did, but it wasn’t either of us. He was going to hurt my daughter. Did you tell him to do that? Threaten her like that?”
“I deal in facts, not threats, Mr. Elwood. But facts don’t seem to be very convincing for you, do they?” I reach into my jacket and remove my pistol, placing it on the table. Next to that, I set down my engraved switchblade knife. Elwood’s eyes are fixed on both.
“Sir, I promise, I’m working on getting your money—”
“I don’t care about that right now,” I cut him off. I look again over my shoulder at Nikolas, who seems to stir in his sleep. Victoria’s gaze follows mine, and when she sees Nikolas, her eyes bulge.
Before I can tell her to stop, she approaches the boy.
She takes a seat beside him and pulls her jacket off, draping it over him and tucking him in. I don’t know why, but I keep my lips pressed in a tight line. She’s surrounded by men threatening her father’s life and yet Victoria is instead leaning over a little boy she’s never met, making sure he’s taken care of.
The wheels in my mind start turning, and I look to Miron.
“Take the boy to his room,” I tell him. “Get him situated in bed. Then come back.” Miron jumps into action, scooping Nikolas delicately from the couch.
Victoria steps back, lips parted as if she wants to argue, but thankfully, she says nothing. She turns to me, eyes narrowed.
When Miron is gone, I lean forward on the table. “I’m going to need you to tell me everything about the man that broke in and killed Faddei. I don’t have much patience for lies, so I would recommend that you be honest with me. Someone could get hurt otherwise.”
I reach for the switchblade knife and flip it open, staring down at the inscription on the handle. My name in silvery letters. My father gave me this knife when he decided I was old enough to begin working in the family business.
I’ve used it only twice. Once, when I first got it. I foolishly believed it was just another knife. When Father found out about it, he tore into me, telling me that it was a symbol of the family and not something to cut apples with. I took that lesson to heart.
The second was when I needed information from the man that betrayed my father