Page 108 of Between Us

“Armenians are orthodox,” Roman countered.

“Does it look to you that the guy gripping his arm is his buddy? No man, I’m pretty fucking sure he’s Russian. You can have your guy confirm it—the nephew. He’ll be able to recognize the necklace.”

Noise from the foyer distracted Alessandra fromher eavesdropping. Straightening her back, she rushed away from the door. She saw Tatyana enter the kitchen and followed after her, trying not to look as if she’d been doing something she shouldn't have.

“Hey,” Alessandra said, leaning against the doorframe and crossing her arms over her chest.

Her sister-in-law looked startled by her sudden appearance. “It's late. You shouldn't have let me sleep that long.”

“You looked tired when you arrived.”

At the mention of her tiredness, Tatyana stifled a yawn. “I really was. Barely slept a wink last night. Is Roman home?”

“He’s in the study with Stepan and my brother.”

Tatyana raised a single eyebrow. “Huh. Didn't think they got along that well.”

Alessandra tried to keep her expression neutral. “Me neither.”

The other girl drained the glass of water she had in her hand then checked her watch. “I should get going.”

“Uh, I think you should call Andrei to come pick you up. Roman dismissed him when he got home a couple of hours ago.”

“We came in separate cars. I can drive myself.”

“You know Roman will flip out if you leave alone at this hour.”

An annoyed sigh escaped Tatyana as she set the empty glass in the sink. “And to think he complained about Dad being controlling.”

“It's his job as the head of the family to make sure you're safe.”

“Of course you'd defend him; he's your husband.”

Alessandra gave her a pointed look. “And he's yourbrother.”

Deciding to comply for now, Tatyana took out her phone from the back pocket of her jeans and called Andrei. It went straight to voicemail.

“Great,” she muttered, glaring at the device in her hand. She tried again with the same result.

“I'm going to heat up some tomato soup,” Alessandra said, her hand already on the refrigerator door. Might as well do something while they waited for the men to be done with their meeting. “Want some?”

“Yeah, sure,” Tatyana said moodily, still distracted by her phone.

It was almost an hour later when steps echoed down the hall and Matteo walked past the kitchen, not even looking in their direction. Alessandra shot to her feet, running after him as he reached the foyer and headed for the front door.

“Leaving?” she called, nearly colliding with Roman who had followed behind her brother.

Roman caught her by the waist to steady her. He remained quiet despite the disapproving glint flashing behind blue eyes.

Matteo turned around and gave a small nod. He didn't look upset, but he didn't look too happy either. “Yeah.”

“I called Andrei and he's not answering his phone,” Tatyana announced, making her way into the foyer. She acknowledged Matteo with a brief look before turning to Roman. “I have to go home.”

“He's busy doing something for me,” Roman said. “You're staying here tonight.”

She did a poor job of hiding her irritation. “Do I have a say in this?”

“No.”

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