Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“Happy Birthday, Anastasiya.” I nod in her direction.
A blush steals over her cheeks, and she bows her head submissively. Ana has been raised to be respectful of male authority. It’s a trait that Vory men covet in a woman, and one I thought I admired too. But that was before I met the little dancer who challenged my every word.
“I thought that Ana might accompany me to dinner at your house this week,” Viktor says.
I force a smile, but meanwhile, I’m dissecting the meaning behind this. “Of course. Name the day, and I will have Nonna prepare a feast fit for a queen.”
Viktor nods and looks at his daughter. “Run along to your sisters, Ana. I have some business to discuss.”
Ana hesitates for a moment too long, her eyes moving over my face in what can only be admiration. I bring my glass to my lips, but it’s still empty. Viktor clears his throat in warning, and she totters away as she’s been instructed.
The pakhan directs the bartender’s attention to us, and this time, he doesn’t delay our drink preparations. “My Ana is a beautiful girl, is she not?”
“Very beautiful,” I acknowledge. To say anything else would be a death wish. “She will make one lucky Vor a very happy man someday.”
“He will be a lucky man,” Viktor agrees, “to have a wife like Ana.”
The bartender delivers my whiskey, and I swipe it from the bar, downing it in two long swallows. Viktor is watching me too closely, and I don’t have to guess where this conversation’s heading. It’s far past time to marry off his eligible daughters. Already, an arranged marriage with one of the Irish has fallen through. If Viktor waits too long, he risks rumors of the girls being impure.
“Sergei suggested that perhaps you would be a good match for her.”
Of course, he did. It should come as no surprise, given our last encounter. He wanted to make Nakya his plaything, and this is his way of proving he’s still in control, regardless of rank.
I clear my throat and bite down too hard on a piece of ice. “And what do you make of his suggestion?”
“I tend to agree that you would be a good match,” Viktor muses. “And Ana seems to like you well enough.”
“She is still very young,” I observe carefully. “Are you certain she’s ready for marriage?”
“She’s a year older than my own wife was when I married her.”
Unsettling silence falls between us while I contemplate my next move. To refuse Viktor’s suggestion would be considered nothing less than the ultimate insult. I’d be lucky to walk away with my life after such a remark. It’s not uncommon to marry for the sake of duty. That Viktor would even deem me worthy of his daughter is an honor I don’t deserve. I should be proud, and I should be grateful. But instead, I can only think of my captive back at home.
Viktor seems to read my thoughts, and he responds in kind. “It’s time for you to stop playing with the Valentini girl. With your promotion comes responsibilities. You need to set an example for your brothers. Settle down and start a family. Show them the way that a Vor conducts himself in matters of the home.”
Every word feels like another nail in my coffin, but there is little I can do but nod.
“I understand that Manuel has been causing trouble, and for that, I apologize. I was unaware he would be so foolish.”
Viktor shrugs. “He is merely a fly. A nuisance. One that I assume you will be handling soon?”
“It will be done,” I assure him. “But I must ask for one favor.”
Viktor adjusts his tie and takes a sip of his drink. “What is it?”
“You were right to assume I had other motives for taking the girl,” I confess. “But I have yet to discover the truth about my mother. I’m asking that you grant me more time so that when the answers are revealed, I will have vengeance for the crimes committed against her.”
Viktor’s brows knit together, betraying his doubt. “You are so certain that such crimes were committed, but how can I be certain that you aren’t falling for the girl?”
“My word is all I have,” I answer. “And my assurances that when the truth is revealed, justice will be served.”
Perhaps it is a lie, but I’m too deep in to see my way out. I am a Vor, and as such, I should have it within me to do what’s necessary. To admit otherwise would earn a dishonorable trip to my own grave.
“It’s far past time to start taking flesh,” Viktor says. “Had it been anyone else, she would have been delivered to her father in pieces already.”
His words reek of truth, but it doesn’t quell the urge inside me to slit his throat for speaking of Nakya that way. I have the highest respect for my pakhan. He has always given me a fair deal, and he has always done right by me. To feel such hostility toward him is troubling, and it proves that he is right. Nakya has made me weak, and if I don’t get my affairs in order, the life lost will be my own.