Moving Target (Target #3)(33)

That evening, Chloe and I dine in her room. Her cheeks aren’t so pale anymore and her playful nature has returned.

Two things I am very thankful for.

“Do you think I was too hard on him?” she asks over dessert.

“No.”

“Do you think I should get to know him?”

“Only if you want to.”

“If I wanted to know my opinion, I’d just ask myself.” She huffs. “I want to know yours.”

I lean back in my chair. “Death is not an easy thing, you know this. But worse still is suffering, and you’ve experienced this, too. Despite the fact that you think Konstantin killed Leonid in cold blood, he was actually quite merciful.”

“I don’t think he killed him in cold blood. I just wished he would have waited until I left.”

That was not what I was expecting her to say. “Are you asking for my blessing to get to know your father?”

“I don’t know exactly. I don’t even know how it would work. Would my government watch me?”

“They already do.”

“More than usual,” she says.

“If you want to get to know him, I think you should stay.”

“We should stay.”

I take a drink of vodka. “He might not allow me to stay here. Despite the killer instinct, he’s rather old-fashioned. We would not be allowed to share a room.”

“Really?” Her nose scrunches. “That’s really dad-like.”

Her chair scrapes back.

“Where are you going?”

“To forgive Konstantin and to tell him I want to get to know him, but we have to have boundaries established. And who knows what else.” She smiles at me. “Will you take me to him?”

“Absolutely.” Standing, I take her arm in mine and lead her down the hall to Konstantin’s sitting room. He always takes his after-dinner drinks by the fireplace in it. “If you’ll allow me to talk to him first?”

“You know him better than I do.”

“I came to live with him when I was old enough to drive. He raised me like his son. That’s how he became my mentor.”

“I guess you’re really loyal to him.”

“Of course, but he allowed me to retire. I only took the job as a favor.”

She rises up on her tiptoes. “Get him to promise no more favors. I don’t want my boyfriend in danger anymore.”

“He has no use for boyfriends,’ I warn her.

“You haven’t introduced me as anything else, so I thought I’d stake whatever claim I can.”

“There’s no need. No other woman can claim me.”

Her eyes grow wide. “Are you serious?”

I nod. “We will talk later.” With one last kiss, I head inside and shut the door behind me.

“Konstantin.” I wait for him to acknowledge me.

“Ah, Dima. Come sit down. We need to talk. Perhaps I need to apologize for my treatment of you when you brought my daughter back to me.”

This is a first. Konstantin has never, to my knowledge, apologized for anything. “There’s no need. I’m sure if Chloe were my daughter, I would have reacted the same way.”

Konstantin tilts his head to one side. “You’ve certainly made an impression on her.”

“High-stakes environments tend to do that.”

“But you knew her before this happened. Seven years ago. In New York City,” he says evenly. Naturally, he knows about us.

“You’ve kept tabs on her?”

“I keep an eye on everyone. The Wraith Organization lives so far back into the shadows that even the Bratva is like the summer sun. They are always one move away from being discovered, but not us.”

“Except when Vladimir attempted to publicly resurrect us.”

Konstantin’s mouth flattens. “We have always been here.”

“He is no longer here, but I presume you know that as well.”

“Da.” He exhales. “Was there something on your mind, Dima?”

There are a million things on my mind, but none of them are particular helpful in this moment. “Actually, Chloe would like to speak with you. She’s waiting just outside the door.”

He perks up at the mention of her name. “Has she changed her mind?”

I nod. “I think so. This is all new to her. She’s unsure of your real intentions, which makes her wary.”

“Smart women, just like her mother.” He stares into the fire. “I won’t keep her here for long. Just wanted to see her before it became impossible. The world is changing faster than we are.”

“We can change along with it.”

“You young people can, but those of us still in the darkness… perhaps we don’t want to.”

“Then don’t. In any case, Chloe would like to spend some time with you. She asked me to stay as well. I will respect your wishes and sleep elsewhere.”

“You’re a good man.”

“Thank you.”

He turns to me. “ You will leave tomorrow morning. I will find another way for my daughter to go back to Virginia.”

Reeling with shock, I say, “I don’t understand.”

“One day you will. And, one day you will thank me. I had to leave her mother and it nearly broke the woman. She waited for years to date again. I don’t want that for Chloe.”