Satin Princess(38)

“How did Marina get so close to her?” Yulian asks quietly.

“She posed as a neighbor who lived in the apartment below Jessa’s. She must have introduced herself days after Jessa and I met.”

“Which means she’s been watching you,” Lev points out. “Keeping close tabs on everything you’re doing.”

“I suppose that’s why faking her death appealed to her. She could become a ghost, observing everything without anyone else being any the wiser.”

“She really is a psychopath, isn’t she?” Lev spits with distaste.

Yulian flinches noticeably, looking as if her existence is his personal fault. I’m inclined to agree with that assessment.

“What do we do now?” Lev asks. “Rodion is dead.”

“Rodion is dead,” I repeat, turning my gaze towards Yulian.

Yulian bristles slightly and I can see the defiance return to his eyes. “I didn’t ask you to kill the man. In fact, I always advocated for maintaining that alliance.”

“Since when do I need your permission to do anything?” I demand. “You keep forgetting your place, Yulian. The position of a Vor is to support his don implicitly.”

“That’s what I’ve been doing forever,” he protests. “It’s what I thought I was doing when I burned Marina’s body.”

“Which, as we established, was fucking stupid.”

“Arguing is not going to change anything,” Lev says, stepping in. “What’s done is done.”

“You sound like a fortune cookie,” Yulian snaps.

Lev’s eyes flash, but he doesn’t get pissed like I expect him to. He reins in his anger and turns to me.

“We can spin this,” he says. “This is all completely controllable. Especially if we can get out the word of Marina’s existence.”

I nod. “I was thinking the same thing.”

“She knows you’ll be looking for her, though,” Yulian reminds us reluctantly. I know he can’t stop himself from contributing. It’s in his nature to throw himself into the job. “She’ll just disappear.”

“It’s easy to disappear when no one is expecting it,” I say. “It’s a whole different thing to disappear when everyone’s looking for you. At this point, all she can do is run. But I’m going to make sure there’s no place for her to hide.”

“I’ll make inquiries,” Yulian says. “I’ll start the hunt.”

I raise my eyebrows. “You really think I’m going to put you in charge of the hunt for the woman you let slip through our fingers once?”

He stiffens instantly, face pale. “I am still your Vor, Anton. And your brother. And, more to the point since I know you don’t give a shit about sentimentality, I know I fucked up.” His shoulders slump forward and his voice drops to barely a whisper. “I should have never doubted you. If you said you didn’t kill her, then I should have believed that. I should have let you see the body first. I’m sorry, Anton.”

I nod but refuse to give him any more than that.

“So… where do we stand now?” he asks hopefully. He tries to sound nonchalant about it, but I can see the sweat forming on his brow.

“I’ll let you know when I figure it out,” I say. “You may go.”

The dismissal is abrupt. It’s also never really happened before. Not quite like this. Yulian’s eyes go wide and he stares at me as though he’s waiting for me to take it back.

“We have to think about a game plan,” he says. “We have to know how to proceed.”

“I will discuss that with Lev,” I say. “And I will inform you as needed.”

For a moment, he looks to me like the twelve-year-old boy he once was. A little bit lost, very embarrassed, deeply hurt.

“Very well,” he says, turning for the door and disappearing through it.

I turn to Lev, whose expression is pinched in discomfort. “Was that necessary?” he asks.

“You think I was too hard on him?”

“He’s right—he did fuck up. But I think his intentions were sincere.”

“I know they were. Doesn’t stop me from being pissed off. His mistake nearly cost me my child. And my—”

I stop short when I realize I don’t know how to finish that sentence. What is Jessa to me exactly? My girlfriend? My partner?

“My point is,” I continue, “there are some mistakes you can’t walk back from.”

“No one was hurt,” Lev reminds me.

“I’m surprised you’re speaking up,” I remark. “You’re not one to defend Yulian. Especially when he doesn’t deserve to be defended.”

“He hasn't always made the best decisions. And his childish attitude can be annoying. But sometimes, I think you forget: he worships the ground you walk on.”

I frown. “I think you’re confusing him with yourself.”

Lev snorts with laughter. “I’m serious. He’s always looked up to you.”

“Maybe so. But the only person he put on a pedestal was our father.”

Lev shakes his head. “You really don’t see it, do you?”

“See what?”