“How—”
He gave her another quick kiss. “Trust me.”
She wanted a full explanation on what he planned, but the fact was she didn’t have time. Rose washed off quickly and followed him out of the shower to dry off. They dressed in silence, which was just as well because her mind whirled into dead end after dead end of how she was going to pull this off. Her parents wanted Dante dead. Anya wanted Dante dead, which was even more worrisome. Pitching this to them had to be done carefully, or they’d just override her and rush off to put a bullet between his beautiful eyes.
After braiding her wet hair away from her face, she turned to Dante. “Don’t die, d’yavol. I’m not done with you yet.”
He gave her a wolfish grin. “Not even hell could keep me from you, amata.” Dante kissed her, hard and brief. “Now go. Before I change my mind and drag you into bed.”
As tempting as that was, she needed to go home. They had to play this right if they wanted even the smallest chance of succeeding, and that meant being in her own bed when the rest of the Romanov house woke up. “Be safe.”
“You, too.”
Rose left the hotel room with her heart in her throat. Vasily waited out in the hallway, their hands clasped behind their back. They raised their eyebrows at her. “Getting late.”
“I know. Let’s hurry.”
They made it back home just as dawn had begun to break up the darkness of the sky. Late, but also far too early. She was in for a rough day after not sleeping, but she didn’t care. It was worth it. Now all she needed to do was figure out how to present to her parents that Dante could be an asset. He was on an individual level, of course. No one could argue that. But his connections and family made it complicated and mostly outweighed the good.
They’d find a way through.
What a novel thought. She wasn’t sure exactly when she started thinking of them as a team, and the very idea felt a little strange in her head, but she couldn’t deny how right it felt.
The first indication that something was wrong was the light on in the kitchen. She barely had time to brace herself when her father stepped out from the doorway. Rose glanced at Vasily, and they nodded and headed back into the garage. This was a family affair.
Rose crossed her arms over her chest. “Were you waiting in a dark doorway to step dramatically out into the light, Papa? Such theatrics are beneath you.”
He didn’t smile. “Tell me it isn’t true.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A bluff and not even a good one.
Papa nodded at the kitchen island. “Sit down.”
She didn’t know if it was a good thing that he hadn’t hauled her to his office for a lecture, but this felt worse somehow. She tried to tell herself she was a grown woman who didn’t have to answer to her father about where she’d been, but the defense rang flat and false. This wasn’t a normal situation, and Rose wasn’t a normal woman.
She sat.
He moved to the stove and put the kettle on. Maybe in other families this kind of conversation would call for a drink, but Mama had a history of alcoholism. It didn’t bother her anymore when people drank around her, but Papa still had a rule against having alcohol in the house to save her from having to deal with it. As a result, when things were about to get serious, he made tea.
She sat in silence while he pulled two mugs down and got to work making their tea. Peppermint for her. Ginger-turmeric for him. He took the seat next to her and blew gently on the steam curling up from his mug. “Your entire life, you have always put the family first, Roza. You’ve been a worthy heir.”
She couldn’t help a bitter laugh. “That hasn’t saved me from Jovan putting a target on my forehead.”
“There was always the chance it would come to this.” He didn’t look at her. “It’s going to get ugly. We might lose people. We need every ally in our corner we can manage, and that means bringing the other Romanov branches over to our side.”
She knew he was right, but she couldn’t help arguing. “They’re in Texas, California, and Washington. They might as well be in Russia for all they can help.”
“And yet Russia is where the threat lies.” He picked up his mug. “If they offer Jovan’s people a stateside base of operations, it will make a difference, Roza. It might make the difference. We cannot afford to alienate any of them now.” He finally looked at her. “What you are doing with Dante Verducci will alienate Kirill. It might be enough for him to do more than be a passive spectator in the coming conflict. We cannot afford to have that happen.”
“Papa—”
“I’m not finished.” He didn’t raise his voice, but ice frosted his tone. “In addition to potentially causing problems with our American extended family, there is also your sister and the Capparelli family to consider. If Romeo discovers where you were tonight, who you were with, he may very well go forward with a war declaration. Should that happen, Lorelei will bear the cost.”
The thought made her sick to her stomach. Lorelei was already bearing the cost, but Papa was right; if they went to war, there would be nothing protecting her from her new husband. They’d have no recourse if he harmed her—if he…killed her.
In the face of that, Dante’s reassurances that they would find a way through felt flat. How could they, when so much was stacked against them? She cupped her hands around her mug, letting the heat battle the chill taking root in her chest. “There has to be a way.”
“Roza…” Papa sighed. “I can understand the draw. He’s dangerous and obviously focused intensely on you. There’s a thrill that comes from being on the same level as someone who is your match.”
Like Papa and Mama.
She stared down at her tea, the feeling in her chest getting worse. “It doesn’t really matter if I’m drawn to him or not, does it? Because the circumstances won’t allow for us to be together. You won’t allow us to be together.”
“I’m sorry.” He actually sounded like he meant it. Papa clasped her shoulder. “We talk about the sacrifices one makes for family with a sense of glamor, but it doesn’t mean they’re a pleasant experience.”
She wanted to yell at him, to rail about how unfair this was. Papa had broken all the rules time and time again in his pursuit of Mama when they were younger. He hadn’t given a fuck if he entered into a war with everyone in his path because he wanted her and meant to have her.
Things were different back then, though. There was only one Romanov in New York, so he had little to lose beyond his life. Now, if there were a war, the casualty list could be their entire family. Her parents. Her sisters. Her people.
She closed her eyes. “I understand.”
Rose left her father drinking tea in the kitchen and retreated to her bedroom. There was no solace to be found within those four walls. She paced back and forth, her father’s word warring with her aunt’s.
The smart thing to do was to cut things off with Dante. When she laid the facts down and took emotions out of the picture, the only rational way forward was without him. That was the problem, though. There was nothing rational about her connection with this man. There hadn’t been from the start.