Where the Sun Hides (Seasons of Betrayal #1)(57)

Kaz cocked a single brow. “And what is that?”

Vasily didn’t answer.

No one else seemed to want to question the Pakhan on his decisions, or what was really going on. Kaz was left to the task.

“What exactly are we waiting for?” Kaz asked.

Picking his phone up again, Vasily turned the screen on and checked it. He then placed it back to the desk before clasping his hands together and looking straight up at his son.

“A message.”





Violet hugged her bomber jacket a little tighter when the wind picked up. She usually enjoyed walking around her parents’ large property because it was so quiet and calm. Over the years, her father had several different landscapers come in and add pathways, small bridges, and seating areas throughout the many acres of wooded property behind the mansion.

It was the peaceful place in her otherwise hectic life. There were no rushing cars, beeping horns, or hordes of people all around when she strolled through the woods.

Just her, the trees, and rustling leaves.

She could remember being maybe seven or eight before her father finally allowed her to walk the pathways by herself without someone supervising her. But even then, Violet knew there had been someone watching. Alberto never let his young children go unattended for very long, not with who he was and his position.

“Come back here, Olly!” Violet shouted as a flash of beige hair disappeared around a turn.

A few seconds later, the dog trotted right back like he had been told. It was one of the only things the Golden Retriever had going for him—he listened. Olly was Carmine’s dog, and while Violet mostly tried to avoid her brother, she did like Olly a lot. He was a good companion to walk with, but today he was restless and kept running ahead of Violet.

That wasn’t like the dog.

Usually, he would stay right at her side, no matter what.

It was one of the many demands Alberto had made when Carmine got the dog just after his twenty-first birthday. Their father made it clear that if the dog was going to come and go from his home when Carmine was busy or out of town, then Olly needed training, and he needed to listen to commands.

Carmine agreed. Alberto allowed Olly to come and go from the Gallucci mansion after one year of constant training with a professional dog trainer.

Violet took a seat on a wicker bench, keeping a hold on Olly’s collar as his head lifted high and he sniffed the air again. She didn’t want him bolting off. God knew if he did and didn’t come back, Carmine would blame her.

It wasn’t even her responsibility to look after his damn dog.

But she hadn’t been given much of a choice.

Ever since her father called Violet to the Gallucci mansion three days prior, he had refused both her and her brother’s requests to leave. It wasn’t often that it happened—a situation where Alberto locked his family in just to be safe, but this was one of those times.

She knew it had to do with the attack, the Russians, and what might come of it.

Alberto had said nothing except, “Just to be careful.”

That was it.

He didn’t offer anything else, and he refused to explain to Violet why she had to miss classes. She couldn’t even have a driver take her off of the Gallucci property.

But if it was a matter of safety, then she chose not to argue.

Almost daily, she did stare at the contact on her phone for Kaz, considering making a call or sending him a message. But given how someone was always around—her father, Carmine, her mother, or even one of Alberto’s men—she didn’t feel safe doing so.

Anyone could pick up her phone and despite it being locked, messages still flashed on the screen. She didn’t want to take the risk.

Standing from the bench, Violet pulled on Olly’s collar to make him turn around and follow her back to the mansion. He refused to budge, still pointed in the other direction.

“Time to go back to the house,” Violet told the dog. “Come on, Olly.”

The dog’s ear flicked.

Carmine had been absent from the mansion for the better part of the morning, and Alberto hadn’t given much of an answer as to why or where her brother was. He’d simply said that Carmine was around, and had business to attend to. Apparently, that business had lasted for most of the day.

Because Violet had been stuck entertaining the *’s dog all damn morning and afternoon.

“Olly,” Violet muttered, tugging lightly on his collar again. “Aren’t you hungry?”

At the mention of food, Olly would usually run straight for his bowls, wherever they may be. Violet didn’t even get an ear flick out of him for that one.

Then, the dog’s head picked up higher, like he had heard something farther beyond in the pathways. She supposed he could have, knowing the dog had far better hearing than she did. But Alberto had been clear when she said she was going for a walk.

Stay on the stone walkways. Not beyond.

After a certain point in the woods, the pathways turned to dirt instead of stone. There were a couple of small cabins toward the back of the property that they sometimes used for parties in the summer and things like that, but it was too cold for anyone to be in them now.

Olly lurched forward with a bark, and Violet went with him, her hand slipping out of his collar just at the last second. It saved her from taking a tumble to the ground, but barely.