Chapter 29 #2
“Then I will handle them as if they never existed,” I say, though my mind is already calculating the various ways Konstantin Krestov can bleed. If she wants them erased from her reality, I’ll make sure they vanish without a trace. No funeral. No headstone. Just a void where her past used to be.
The phone on the desk vibrates again. The screen lights up with the same caller ID. I reach out and slide it toward me, my eyes fixed on Varvara. She doesn’t reach for it. She doesn’t even flinch. She just watches me with a cold, hollow expression that tells me she’s already buried him.
“I have work to do,” I murmur, my thumb tracing the edge of the device. “Go upstairs. Get some sleep. I’ll be up soon.”
She stands, her movements stiff. She pauses at the door, her hand on the handle. “Lev?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t get yourself killed.”
A dark chuckle escapes my throat. “I have no intention of leaving you alone, Varvara. We’re just getting started.”
She leaves, and I turn my attention back to the phone and slide my thumb across the screen. “Konstantin, you know who this is?”
“Voronov, I presume. Protecting my daughter as if your life depends on it?”
“You had better fucking believe it.”
“Good, because it does. Next time you fire at a man I’m trying to kill myself, give me a bit of warning.”
“I don’t owe you fuck all, Krestov.”
“Oh, but you do. I’m the only one keeping Marika on a leash right now.”
“Marika… something tells me she is more than just your mid-life crisis fuck up.”
“How much time do you have?” he asks dryly, which catches me only a little bit off-guard.
“All the time. Speak. You called for a reason. You’d have to know Varvara wouldn’t pick up. Say your piece and I’ll decide if your life is worth saving or not.”
“You may have all the time, but I don’t. I’m not here to give you a history lesson on bloodthirsty women from the Karpov line. Just know she is being handled.”
“Handled how?” The name Karpov is familiar. Too familiar. There are rumblings that he is trying to muscle in on Baranov territory.
“That isn’t your concern. All you need to know is that Varvara isn’t in danger. This was a mistake that went grossly wrong because Popov is an idiot, who hired a bigger idiot.”
“Was an idiot. His brains are currently all over my uncle’s club floor.”
“Indeed. You are lucky you escaped with Varvara unharmed, or this would be a very different conversation.”
I ignore that and focus on the name drop. “Karpov. Want to tell me why you gave me that name when you didn’t need to?”
A beat passes on the line.
Then Konstantin says, “Because if you’re half as capable as Baron claims, you’ll understand that I’m not the enemy standing closest to you.”
My grip tightens around the phone. “You’ve got a funny way of proving that, considering your wife tried to put a bullet through the woman I’ve claimed.”
“My wife made a decision without my approval.”
“That sounds like a you problem.”
“It became yours the second you involved yourself.”
A humourless laugh leaves me. “Involved myself? Your people tried to kill a woman who belongs to me. That is more than me being involved.”
Silence. Not shocked silence. Measured silence. He is choosing his next words, and I hate that I can hear the intelligence in it. I hate even more that he isn’t rattled.
“Is Varvara with you now?” he asks.
I look at the office door she just walked through. “You don’t get to ask about her.”
“I’m asking anyway.”
“She’s alive. That’s the only information you’re getting.”
“Good.”
The word lands wrong. Too calm. Too controlled.
I sit down slowly behind my desk. “You expect me to believe you give a fuck?”
“I expect you to stay alive long enough to hear what matters.”
“Then speak.”
“I am in the middle of… shall we say… negotiating a takeover of Karpov’s assets.”
“Fine. Why did you have Popov go after Voronov holdings then?”
“It wasn’t insidious in the way you think. I needed information about a corridor, and I knew Baron wouldn’t hand over the information. Gregor was hired by Nik to skim the information. This is an almighty cock-up and nothing to do with your family, per se.”
“It is when you skim information, nearly get your daughter killed, involve me and want something that belongs to my uncle.”
“Want is a strong word. Borrow is more accurate. I only need it for two nights.”
“To get to Karpov?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you ask Baron? You do know that Karpov is trying to steal his wife’s family’s territory, right? He’d oblige if you asked instead of being a dick about it. Now he just wants you dead, and I’m still not hearing a reason to keep you alive.”
“Marika is a Karpov. I’ve been using her for years to gain intel on her family.”
“Does she know that?”
“What do you think?” he asks, and I can practically see the eye roll from here.
“So you married her at the risk of alienating your daughter? Why?”
“For the greater good. You don’t have children yet, Voronov. It changes everything. You would burn the world down for them. You would die for them. You would alienate them to keep them safe.”
My jaw clenches, making my temple pound. “You deliberately cut Varvara out of your life so that Karpov wouldn’t go after her.”
Silence.
“Varvara told me that both you and Marika keep calling her, though. Why?”
He sighs. “I want to hear my daughter’s voice. Marika wants to continue to rub this in her face.”
“Varvara told me that they were best friends.”
“They were. At least from Var’s perspective. Marika just used her to get to me.”
“What is her end game?”
“To integrate my territory with her family’s.”
“Jesus,” I mutter, rubbing my hand over my face. “Sometimes I wish the Bratva had more communication skills.”
He snorts loudly. “It’s not our way.”
“Our way. Were you always involved, and Var just never knew?”
“Yes. It has always been my life. I wanted her out of it. I wanted her away from Marika.”
“Why not just kill Marika?”
“And risk a war I wasn’t in a position to handle?”
“Is that your way of saying you are now?”
He doesn’t answer.
That tells me everything I need to know.
“What do I do with this? What do I tell Varvara?” I ask.
“You tell her whatever lets her sleep tonight,” he says at last. “The rest can wait until I’ve finished what I started.”
“And how long will that take?”
“As long as it takes.” He hangs up, and I’m left staring at the phone with absolutely no idea what to tell Varvara. The only thing I’m sure about is that Baron needs to know the deal. The rest can wait. For now.