“Alex,” she says again, leaving the mug on a hallway table to run after me.
I don’t slow my stride. “Katerina, not now, please.”
Tima looks up from the stove, his face serious for once.
Taking Katerina’s arm, I lead her back to the kitchen. “I have things to prepare, and I don’t need you in the middle of it.” Cupping her jaw, I plant a chaste kiss on her lips. “Now be a good girl for me.”
She blinks, watching me with slightly parted lips and a frown as I turn on my heel, but I can’t worry about her now.
Stefanov’s time on Earth has come to an end. He will cry for his mother before I’m done with him.
31
Kate
“Wait,” I call, going after Alex again.
“For crying out loud, Katerina,” he all but growls. “Go to our room and stay there.”
Catching up with him, I grab his arm. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
He spins around and says with narrowed eyes, “Don’t make me tell you twice. If you can’t follow the order, I’ll lock you in there myself.”
He’ll what? This is taking the game to a new low.
I pull my back straight. “Your room, you mean, because it’s never been ours.”
He casts a glance at Leonid, who passes us in the hallway with brisk steps. When Leonid is out of earshot, Alex says in a low voice, “I don’t have time for word games.” Pulling free from my grasp, he continues on his way.
I jog ahead and stop in the doorframe of the kitchen, blocking his way. “If you’re planning on leaving this house, you’ll have to go through me first.”
“Katerina.” He clenches his jaw. “I’m not going to lay a hand on you with force, so please step aside.”
When I don’t move, he reverses direction, heading for the front of the house.
I stand frozen to the spot, gaping. What’s gotten into him? I understand that he’s under enormous stress, but that’s not a reason to behave like a jerk. I want answers, but now is obviously not the time to press him.
Dragging in a few deep breaths, I bite my tongue and march to the stairs as Alex crosses the foyer. Just as I reach the bottom of the staircase, the door flings open and Igor enters. Alex pauses in his stride.
“You have visitors,” Igor says, closing the door behind him. “Mikhail and Dania are at the gate.”
Alex pinches the bridge of his nose and tilts his face to the ceiling. “Fuck. What shitty timing.”
Igor shifts his weight. “Shall I tell them to come back later?”
Alex blows out a sigh before facing Igor again. “No.” His jaw bunches as he looks at the door as if he can see through it. “Mikhail will consider turning them away an insult. Let them in.” Looking at me from over his shoulder, he tells me with a tight expression, “You’d better hang around for a while longer before you go to our room.”
I ball my hands into fists. I’m getting tired of being treated like Alex’s subordinate. He may be one of the most powerful men in the world, a self-made oligarch, but I’m still my own person. I’ve worked hard for my independence and confidence. I won’t let him undermine those qualities just because he has more power than I do.
Before I can open my mouth to argue, Igor opens the door, revealing four cars pulling up in the driveway. Like us, Mikhail and Dania travel with bodyguards. A man exits the first car to open the back door of the second vehicle. A slender, pale leg is exposed as Dania gets out, her skirt riding a little too high. She unfolds her body gracefully and brushes a hand over her hip to straighten her skirt. Dressed in a red figure-hugging two-piece with matching heels and a fur coat draped over her shoulders, she’s the epitome of elegance. Her stance is regal as she waits for her father to come around the car. Surrounded by men in black combat gear with caps depicting a labyrinth logo, which I presume to be Mikhail’s emblem, they make their way to the door.
It’s too late to escape, not that I’d leave her alone with Alex. I trust her as far as I can throw her. Her bathroom speech still rings clear in my mind.
Alex extends a hand when Mikhail reaches him. Except for the stiffness of his shoulders, he doesn’t betray his stress. His face is composed and his manner controlled—a practiced mask. “Mikhail. This is an unexpected surprise.”
Three guards stay outside. Four step inside the house before Igor closes the door. They stand at attention near the entryway, blending in with the furniture.
Mikhail shakes Alex’s hand. “You couldn’t make it to dinner, and we haven’t heard from you since.” His lips tilt as he casts a sideway glance at his daughter. “Dania insisted we check on you. She was worried.” Dipping his chin, he studies Alex. “We both were.”
“We were in the States,” Alex says. “I told you.”
“Yes, yes.” Mikhail pulls off his leather gloves. “However, you didn’t tell me that you’re back.”
Lena appears on cue, rushing across the foyer to take Mikhail’s gloves and coat.
“Dania,” Alex says, acknowledging her with a nod, but he doesn’t kiss her cheek when she tilts up her face.
I don’t miss the minute tightening of her eyes.
“I hope you don’t mind the uninvited visit,” she says, smiling sweetly up at Alex.
“Not at all,” Alex says, returning her smile. It doesn’t reach his eyes. “You remember Katerina.”
Dania and Mikhail turn their attention to me.
Mikhail gives me a critical once-over, taking in my oversized off-the-shoulder sweater and leggings. “Of course. How are you, Kate?”
Lifting my chin, I walk over with a straight back. “I’m good, thank you for asking. How about you?”
Raising his arms, he says with a condescending tilt of his lips, “As you can see.”
“It’s lovely to run into you again,” Dania says to me. “You look…” She trails a gaze over me. “Nice?”
“Thank you,” I say, matching her sugar-sweet tone. “You look… formal? Are you on your way to an event?”
Lena, who’s taking Dania’s coat, smothers a snort. When Alex gives her a hard look, she quickly busies herself with hanging the coat in the closet.
Dania chuckles. “This is my day wear, darling.”
Alex holds out an arm, indicating the formal lounge. “Shall we?”
He leads the way.
Looking around, Dania falls in behind him. “Not much has changed around here. It’s about time a woman redecorated this stuffy old place.”
“Dania,” Mikhail says with reprimand. “Alex will think you’re insulting his taste.”
“I know Alex’s taste,” she says, swaying her hips as she follows him into the lounge. “It’s modern, like his house in New York.”
The jab hits me hard, just as she intended. It’s meant as a reminder that she’s seen the inside of his house, and more specifically, the inside of his bedroom. It was before he knew me, but still. If I could claw her eyes out right now, I would.
“Would you like a drink?” Alex asks, motioning for them to take a seat on the sofa. “Vodka?”