12. Roman
ROMAN
Lev arrives at the penthouse at two o’clock sharp.
I hear him before I see him. He always announces himself with three short raps followed by a pause. It’s the same pattern he’s used since we were teenagers running errands for my father. Some things never change.
“Come in.”
The door opens and Lev steps inside. He’s dressed in his usual dark jeans and a leather jacket that’s seen better days. His hair is longer than I’ve ever seen it, and there’s a scar on his forehead that wasn’t there the last time we met.
“You look like shit,” he says by way of greeting.
“Nice to see you too.”
He drops into the chair across from my desk and props his feet on the edge. I consider telling him to move them, then decide it’s not worth the argument.
“Oksana said you had something important to discuss.” Lev pulls a pack of cigarettes from his jacket pocket, then catches my look and puts them away. “She seemed concerned.”
“Oksana is always concerned.”
“She’s known you since you were in short pants. She’s earned the right.” He leans back and studies me. “What’s going on, Roman? Your message said it was urgent.”
I stand and move to the window. The city sprawls below us, a maze of streets and buildings that stretch to the horizon. Somewhere out there, Anton is planning his next move.
“I proposed to Vera.”
Silence. Then, slowly, “You what?”
“You heard me.”
“I heard you. I’m just trying to figure out if you’ve lost your mind.” Lev’s feet hit the floor and he leans forward, elbows on his knees. “Nowhere in that plan did we discuss marriage.”
“The plan changed.”
“Because of Anton?”
“No.” I turn to face him. “She’s mine, you understand? She always was.”
Lev’s expression darkens. “Is that so. What did she say?”
“She wanted time. I gave her three weeks.”
“Three weeks.” Lev stands and starts pacing, his jaw tight. “Three weeks is far too long. Anton will use every day of it to undermine your position. He’ll be in the elders’ ears, poisoning them against you.”
“I know.”
“That’s not even the worst of it.” He stops pacing and faces me. “Three weeks gives him all the time he needs to make a move on Vera directly. A woman like that, under your protection? He’ll see it as a challenge. A prize to be won.”
“She’s not a prize.”
“No? Then what is she?” Lev’s eyes are sharp. “You’re treating her exactly like a prize. You moved her into your home without asking. You proposed marriage without giving her time to process. Do you think she’ll thank you for that?”
“I’m protecting her.”
“You’re possessing her.” He holds up a hand before I can argue. “I’m not saying it’s wrong. I’m saying you need to be honest about what this is. You’ve been watching her for three years, Roman. She’ll find out eventually.”
I turn back to the window so Lev can’t see my face. Rain slips down the windowpane in a light patter.
“That was intelligence gathering,” I say. “I needed to know everything about Dmitri’s life if I was going to take him down.”
“You needed to know about his business dealings.” Lev’s voice is quiet but relentless. “You didn’t need to know that his wife’s favorite food is Japanese. Yeah, I know about Kuro-Tetsu.”
I don’t respond. There’s nothing to say.
Lev lets the silence stretch for a moment before continuing. “Look, I’m not judging you. The woman got under your skin. It happens, but you need to be careful. If you push too hard, she’s going to run. If she runs, Anton will be waiting.”
I move back to my desk and sit down. Lev resumes his seat across from me, his expression expectant.
“What about Anton’s support base?” he asks. “The elders who are backing him?”
“I’m working on that, too.” I pull a file from my desk drawer and slide it across to him. “Financial records we found in Dmitri’s private study. He was draining accounts for months before I killed him.”
Lev picks up the file and opens it. His eyes move across the pages, scanning the numbers with the practiced efficiency of a man who’s spent years following my orders. I watch his expression shift from curiosity to something harder.
“Months of withdrawals,” he says. “He was getting desperate near the end.”
“He knew I was coming. He just didn’t know when.”
Lev turns another page.
I say, “Vera found the key to the safe where these were hidden. Under a floorboard in the library.”
Lev looks up. “She’s resourceful.”
“She is.”
Something in my tone must give me away because Lev’s mouth curves into a knowing smile. “She’s more than resourceful, isn’t she?”
“I’m not discussing that.”
“You don’t have to. I’ve known you for thirty years, Roman.
I can tell when something’s eating at you.
” He closes the file and sets it on the desk.
“This is good information. If we can prove Dmitri was stealing from the family, it undermines his entire legacy. The elders who supported him will have to reconsider.”
“That’s what I’m hoping.”
“There’s just one issue; it’s not the ledger.”
“No.” I lean back in my chair. The leather creaks beneath me.
“Have you looked everywhere?”
“I’ve looked in every obvious place. The mansion, the office, the safe houses.” I pause, considering whether to share the next piece of information. The safe was supposed to be the answer. When Vera found that key, I thought we’d finally done it. So much for that lead.
Lev is quiet for a moment. I can see him thinking, his brow furrowing as he works through the problem. “I might have something,” he says finally.
I look up. “What?”
He pulls out his phone and scrolls. The screen casts blue light across his face, turning his skin an ashy pale.
Siberia aged him. It aged both of us.
“Dmitri had a secret apartment downtown, near the old meatpacking district.” He holds up the phone so I can see the screen.
An address glows in the dim light of my office.
“I found it in some old correspondence. He used it for meetings he didn’t want anyone to know about.
Meetings with people outside the organization. ”
I take the phone and study the address. It’s in a part of the city that used to be industrial, before the developers moved in and started converting warehouses into luxury condos.
I snap, “Why am I just hearing about this now?”
“Because I just found it.” He takes the phone back and slides it into his pocket.
I’m already reaching for my jacket. The weight of my gun against my ribs is familiar, comforting. “Let’s go.”
Lev holds up a hand. “Not yet. We need to be smart about this. If Anton knows about the apartment, he might have people watching it. We need to scout the location first, make sure it’s safe.”
“Then we’ll scout it tonight.”
“Tonight works.” He pauses. His eyes meet mine and I can see the question forming before he asks it. “What about Vera? Are you bringing her?”
The image of her flashes through my mind. When I left her, she’d been glaring from across the gym.
“No,” I say. “She stays here with Oksana.”
“Wise choice.” Lev stands and stretches. His spine cracks audibly, making me wince. “I’ll make the arrangements. We’ll leave at nine.”
I find Vera exactly where the cameras showed her, curled on the couch with a book, still in workout gear. She looks up when I enter the room, her expression guarded.
“Busy?” I ask.
She closes the book without marking her page. “Just passing the time.”
“I need to go out tonight. Business.”
Her expression flickers. Something that might be disappointment, or maybe relief. It’s hard to tell. “When will you be back?”
“Late. Don’t wait up.”
She nods and reaches for her book again, but I don’t move from the doorway. There’s something I need to do first.
“Come with me,” I say. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”
She hesitates, then sets the book aside and stands. Her socks are silent on the hardwood floor as she follows me down the hallway to the front entrance. Lev is waiting by the door, checking his phone.
He looks up when we approach. His eyes move from me to Vera, assessing her in that quick, efficient way he assesses everything.
“Vera,” I say. “This is Lev, my second.”
Lev holds out his hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
Vera takes his hand briefly. Very briefly, I notice, though nobody comments on it. “I’m sure.”
Vera crosses her arms over her chest. She doesn’t meet his eyes, instead choosing to glare at the floor. Her dark hair spills over one shoulder in soft, silky waves. I’ve seen her look at Konstantin the same way, like she’s trying to figure out where the threat is coming from.
Lev shifts his weight. He’s not used to people being suspicious of him. Usually he’s the one being suspicious.
“Roman trusts you,” Vera says. “That must mean something.”
“It means I haven’t betrayed him yet.” Lev’s voice is dry. “Give it time.”
Her lips quirk. “Funny.”
We stand there for a moment. I can hear the rain pattering against the windows, heavier now. It streaks the window in pale lines, each drop tracing a crooked path down the glass.
“We should go,” I say, breaking the silence.
Lev nods and reaches for the door. But before he opens it, he turns back to Vera.
“For what it’s worth,” he says, “I hope you make the right choice.”
Vera’s chin lifts. “What choice would that be?”
“The one that keeps you alive.” He pulls the door open and steps outside. “Roman’s not perfect, but he’s better than the alternative.”
He doesn’t wait for her response. He just disappears, leaving me alone with Vera.
She’s staring at the closed door, her expression unreadable. “He’s charming,” she says finally.
I reach out and touch her arm. She doesn’t pull away, but she doesn’t lean into the touch either. She looks up at me. Her eyes are searching, trying to find something I’m not sure I can give her.
“Be careful tonight,” she says.
“I will.”
I catch up to Lev outside the penthouse. He’s already at the elevator, his finger hovering over the call button.
“She doesn’t like me,” he says without turning around.
The elevator arrives and we step inside. The doors close and we descend in silence. When we reach the ground floor, Artyom is waiting with the car.
“I’ll ride shotgun,” Lev says. “Give you time to think.”
He doesn’t wait for my response, just slides into the front passenger seat. I climb in the back and pull the door shut behind me.
Artyom pulls away from the curb. Rain streaks the windows, blurring the city lights into smears of gold and red. Lev and I watch the streets slide past, neither of us speaking.
The penthouse feels very far away now. Vera feels very far away.
But she’ll be mine eventually, and that’s all I care about.