Where the Snow Falls (Seasons of Betrayal #2)(54)

Kaz was rarely struck quiet, but his mother very rarely, if ever, raised her voice to anyone—and whether she realized it or not, she was yelling loud enough for the entire house to hear.

But he didn’t quiet her.

And he didn’t know why.

“Whether you want to believe it or not, we both know the truth.”

Not able to help himself, though he knew he wouldn’t like the answer, Kaz asked, “And what’s that?”

Irina shook her head, disappointment clear. “You are your father’s son.”





“Oh, no,” Kaz said, his gaze moving back and forth between the object on the edge of the counter and Violet’s confused expression. “This can’t be had, krasivaya.”

“I can’t help—”

“I do not give you a weapon for you to put it down and say you can’t use it. That’s not how that works, Violet.”

“Well, I don’t know how!”

Kaz just looked exasperated. “How … how on earth can you possibly not know how to work a gun?”

“I just … don’t,” she finished lamely.

“This can’t be had,” Kaz repeated, although it was more to himself that time.

Violet, still confused as f*ck, watched as he pushed away from the counter and snatched his cell phone he’d discarded while he was pouring coffee. Still muttering, albeit in Russian, he typed in a number, turned his back to her, and put the phone to his ear.

She barely heard the faint murmur of someone answering before Kaz said, “What are you doing today, brat?”

Violet hesitated, almost positive she knew that word meant “brother.”

“Well, un-plan. I need something,” Kaz said. “Be here in twenty.”

Kaz hung up the call and spun around to face Violet. For a long moment, he just stared at her.

“What?” she finally asked, unnerved by his watching.

“I have to do something today. Rus will teach you.”

“Teach me—what?”

“Guns,” Kaz explained. “He’s a good teacher. He has patience when others don’t.”

That was that.

Not even an hour and a half later, Violet followed behind Ruslan Markovic as he opened the rusted, dented metal door of what appeared to be a shoddy, run-down warehouse.

Something dripped down from the hallway ceiling, and she squeaked when the water—Jesus, she hoped it was water—hit her shoulder.

Ruslan only laughed. “What, does this place offend your sensibilities, princess?”

Violet tried not to glare … and failed. “I feel like just looking at the door earned me the need for a tetanus shot.”

“Cute. Let’s go. Watch your step.”

Violet did as she was told, noticing how every few feet down the hallway, the floor dropped off a few inches. Like very large steps.

And then they weren’t in a hallway at all, but standing at the mouth of a large warehouse with a dirt floor, weapons of all kind lining the walls, and lights high above.

The strange security panel Violet had watched Ruslan punch numbers into on the outside of the building finally made sense. She had thought it odd a place that seemed so old and unused would need any kind of security.

What could possibly be hidden inside to keep safe?

Guns, apparently.

Many guns.

“Pretty, isn't it?” Ruslan asked, noting the look of wonder on Violet’s face.

“I don’t know if that’s the word I would use.”

“You’ve seen guns before, yes?”

“Not this many.”

“But you have,” he pressed.

Violet stared him straight on. “You might be surprised to learn this, but before I met Kaz, I had never even heard a gunshot before.”

“Huh.”

That was all he said.

Huh.

“Is that surprising?” she asked.

Ruslan shrugged. “No, more interesting than anything. Didn’t your father have guns in his house?”

“One—I saw it in his office. I don’t know about others. I never noticed.”

“You never noticed because he didn’t have them,” Ruslan replied just as fast. “Believe me, they’re hard to miss when you're the kind of man who needs one close by.”

He waved at one of the many walls lined with all sorts of weaponry. “Pick a handgun. Might as well choose one you like because you’ll be taking it with you. The semantics of guns are essentially the same—load the clip, take the safety off, cock the hammer, and then the trigger. Simple.”

Violet still didn’t understand why she needed to know this at all. “What if I said I didn’t like guns?”

“Then this will be a lot harder on you than it needs to be. It’s non-negotiable. Pick a gun.”

Ruslan was not like Kaz, Violet was learning.

Kaz said he had more patience, but she didn't think that was true at all. Or maybe it was the fact Violet had an entirely different relationship with Kaz than she did with Ruslan. She didn't know the oldest Markovic brother all that well to begin with.

Clearly, Ruslan was not going to handle this situation with kid gloves.

Or Violet, for that matter.

Still hesitant, Violet moved toward the rows of guns when Ruslan waved at her as if he was shooing a frightened little dog away from his massive form. She looked over the wall that seemed to house the majority of the handguns, and she didn’t have a f*cking clue what she was looking at.