Chapter 10
Ash
There’s a crash of silverware and broken plates from the other side of the restaurant.
It’s followed by a string of expletives from the middle-aged guy who just walked straight into a young server.
The guy’s increasingly loud cursing carries above the hushed silence that’s fallen over the rest of the diners.
“You stupid fucking bitch! These shoes cost more than you earn in a fucking year. Look at them! They’re ruined! How are you going to pay for them, huh?”
“I’m so… I’m sorry, Sir.”
A new voice enters the fray. “Do not apologize to this imbecile!” From the imperious tone alone, I know it’s Katarina before she comes into view.
And once she is in view, it’s impossible not to miss her. Tall and elegant, her long black dress reveals as much as it hides, with splits up the sides that reach her hip and a neckline that stops just above her navel. Her raven hair shimmers and her body sways as she approaches the troublemaker.
A long and sharply pointed fingernail prods the said imbecile in the chest.
“If you hadn’t been staring at me like a pervert, you would have looked where you were going. Now, apologize to this young woman.”
“Are you crazy?” he demands, his face turning as scarlet as her nail polish. “She–”
His eyes dart to movement behind Katarina. Her men lurk in the shadows, but he’s finally clocked them.
“I’m s– I’m sorry.”
“Apologize to her, you durak!” she says switching her insult to Russian before dismissing him with a waft of her hand.
As she casts her gaze across the room, diners quickly bow their heads and make a pretense at continuing with their meals. I stand to greet her.
She plants three kisses on alternate cheeks before scowling at me. “Do I amuse you?”
I gesture for her to take the seat opposite in our booth. I’d chosen to meet Katarina at the Excelsis, which has an exclusive restaurant that I had hoped would be discrete. “You certainly know how to make an entrance.”
“I was supposed to make my entrance on your arm,” she scolds. “When I said pick me up, I didn’t mean send a car. Hardly romantic.”
“Katarina, this is not a date,” I say, using my napkin to wipe her lipstick from my cheeks.
“I don’t care what star sign you are, or what your favorite movie is.
I’m here to get information from you, and you want information from me.
If we can enjoy a pleasant meal while we make the exchange, all the better. ”
I take the bottle of red that’s been left to breathe and pour two glasses.
“And I thought Barrett was boring,” she mutters, taking her wine.
Another man might argue his case, but the last thing I need right now is for Katarina Barkov to find me interesting. “Tell me about the marriage your uncle was arranging.”
Katarina takes a sip of her drink. For a twenty-year-old, she has a lot of self-confidence. No one would ever call her boring. “My star sign is Virgo, and my favorite movie is 27 Dresses.”
“Is that how you see yourself?” I ask. “Always the bridesmaid, never the bride?”
She looks impressed. “You’ve seen 27 Dresses?”
“My home has been invaded by three women in the last year, and I’ve been known to join them when they have their movie nights.”
“I think you’re a secret romantic at heart, Ash. You just haven’t found the right woman.”
I don’t trust myself to answer that one. “How’s your uncle?”
“Intrigued that you’d agree to go on a date with me.”
“It’s not a date,” I repeat through gritted teeth.
She makes a face. “You’re no fun, Ash. Marrying you is becoming less appealing by the second.”
“Glad to hear it.”
She gives me a stiff smile, and I respond in kind.
Her gaze hardens without warning. “Tell me. Did you see my brother die?”
My only reaction is to settle back in my seat. I swirl the wine in my glass. “Do you really want me to answer that?”
Katarina shrugs. “In truth, I don’t care.
Between you and I, my uncle doesn’t care either.
Oh, he’s furious about losing so much territory to the McConkeys, but he knew Ilya wasn’t working that hard just to expand the Barkov empire.
He was building his own. Dispatching my brother helped Vasili neutralize a problem he would have had to deal with eventually.
” She taps a fingernail against the stem of her wine glass.
“I hope that puts your mind at ease, because if you were worried about being accepted into our family, you shouldn’t be.
Our alliance could bring untold benefits to all of us. ”
“Katarina, I’m not looking for a wife, and certainly not one thirteen years my junior. I don’t want to marry you, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to marry me.”
“Do you honestly think it matters what I want?” she asks bitterly. “You’re making the mistake of thinking we both have control over our destiny.” For a fraction of a second, Katarina’s mask slips. “Well, you might, but I don’t.”
There are women I know who are stronger than they think, but Vasili’s niece is the polar opposite. Katarina isn’t as strong as she pretends to be. Her bravado is the only weapon she has.
“I meant what I said about having an affinity to the women my brother trafficked,” she continues. “I might be privileged in comparison to what his victims endured, but I’m being whored out nonetheless. And now that Barrett has taken himself off the market, I’m left with two choices.”
“And they are?”
“I can find an alternative husband, or I can make it so Barrett becomes available again.”
And just when I was starting to feel sympathy for Katarina, she goes and throws a grenade into the conversation.
I fight to control my facial expression, and it takes even more effort to stop the blood surging up through my body.
I’d been so worried that Vasili might use Piper in retaliation for Ilya’s death that I hadn’t considered that Belle might be the one with a target on her head.
The Bratva operate under a different code to other crime families, and for them, the most efficient way of getting Barrett back on the market would be to make him a widower.
Before I can trust myself to respond, the waiter arrives to take our order.
“Which of your options for marriage does Vasili prefer?” I ask when we’re alone again.
“He doesn’t care, just as long as my husband comes with the resources worthy of a princess.” She eyes me carefully, her gaze focusing on the flush in my cheeks. “And I’m more interested in what you think I should do. Clearly, you have an opinion.”
“You’re quite the adversary,” I say, reluctantly impressed. “But if you’ve done your research properly, you’ll know I don’t make hasty decisions. Not without all the information.”
She huffs. “Fine. Ask away.”
“What do you know about Barrett and his new wife?” I ask. I can’t utter Belle’s name without betraying my emotions further.
“On the face of it, it’s a classic story of a servant falling for her high lord,” she says.
“It’s certainly the tale Barrett has spun to explain why he married his housekeeper so quickly.
” She reaches for the wine bottle and refills our glasses.
“But there’s more to Clarabelle Simmons than meets the eye, as I’m sure you know. ”
I take my glass and lift it in cheers before I take a drink, my hand steady. I make no comment, concentrating instead on controlling every muscle, and disguising every thought.
“Your half-brother has had his eye on Belle since they met in college. They didn’t move in the same social circles, but there was enough of an overlap for the daughter of a distillery owner to make an impression on sweet, little Barrett.
So much so that he approached her father and offered to invest in his distillery to keep it afloat. ”
It’s another grenade I wasn’t expecting. My eye tics.
“You didn’t know?” Katarina asks, pleased to catch my tell. “I must admit, with your keen interest in whiskey-making, I’m surprised you didn’t attempt a takeover yourself.” She shrugs. “Or were you too busy kicking up a storm with the McConkeys at the time?”
I can’t tell if Katarina is playing with me. It’s possible she knows exactly what I was doing and who I was doing it for, but my eye tic might have worked in my favor. She’s assuming I know nothing about Belle, and she doesn’t probe further.
“Sadly, it didn’t work out with Belle, and she vanished out of Barrett’s life.” She makes a sad face. “What luck it was for their paths to cross again, and just when she needed a job and Barrett needed a housekeeper,” she says. “Such a coincidence!”
“And do you believe in coincidences?” I ask.
Because I don’t. Even less so than I did two minutes ago.
Barrett’s fingerprints are all over the key moments in Belle’s life, but I don’t fully understand his motives.
If Barrett had been trying to make friends with Belle’s dad before I’d even met her, it destroys my theory that he’s been targeting Belle simply to get at me.
“Barrett’s been playing a very long game,” Katarina tells me. “And well done him.”
She smiles sweetly at the server who delivers our starters. A green salad for Katarina, and scallops for me. Neither of us show any interest in our food.
“I would hate to break up the happy couple now they have their fairytale ending,” she says. “But something tells me you don’t share that sentiment.”
“And what gives you that impression?”
Katarina spears a crisp green leaf with her fork. “Call it female intuition.”
“Bullshit,” I reply. “If you have a question, ask.”
“Oh, I have plenty of questions, but I doubt you’ll answer them. For example, why did you have a team guarding Barrett’s suite yesterday when you’ve never shown any concern for Barrett’s safety before? And why did your head of security trail the Emersons back to Poulton Springs today?”
“What’s your theory?”
“It seems to me that the Griffins have a penchant for stealing women away from Barrett. Wouldn’t it be something if we both had the same goal in mind?”