Page 4 of Crimson Oath
“Yes.” He followed Anna’s lead and cut into his cake. Vampires didn’t need human food, but it had been a day or so since he’d eaten anything, and his stomach was empty. If he went too long without consuming human food, it would cause discomfort.
The cake was too sweet, like most modern food, but he could tell it was baked well. “You’re a good baker,” he said. “Did you plant the garden too?”
“What are your intentions toward my daughter, Mr. Vampire?”
Oleg froze. “My… intentions?”
“Yes.” Anna stared at him. “You come to my farm—which she wasn’t happy about, I’ll have you know. When I told her I was moving back, it started a very big fight. And now you’re asking about her when she doesn’t work for you anymore. Are you in love with her?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Your daughter is my responsibility.”
“Are you the one who made her like this?”
Thank God, no.“Of course not.”
Anna shrugged again. “So you are not responsible for her. I am her mother. I am responsible for her. That Zara, the one who hurt my Tatyana, you are responsible forher, yes?”
“Zara is dead now. She won’t be bothering you.”
“Huh.” Anna blinked. “I thought that, but Tatyana wouldn’t tell me.”
Tatyana probably didn’t want to scare her mother, but Oleg thought all the Vorona women could use a little more fear in the back of their mind. They were remarkably fearless, and it could easily get them killed.
“Did you kill her?” Anna asked. “Or did Tatyana?”
So Anna thought her own daughter was capable of killing someone.
An interesting insight.
“She’s dead,” Oleg said. “That’s all you need to know. But someonewashelping her.” He glanced over his shoulder. “So don’t let Dymka get too friendly.” He took the too-sweet cake that Anna had made and tossed a good chunk over toward the dog, who quickly gulped it down. “Except for me. He can be friends with me.”
Anna muttered under her breath. “Maybe you two deserve each other for breaking my brain.”
“Will you give her a message?”
“No.” Anna snorted. “You want me to pass messages for you like you are schoolchildren?”
“What? No.” Oleg blinked. “Not schoolchildren, but there are things?—”
“I am not your messenger girl,” Anna said. “If you want to kill me, you’ll kill me, yes? I don’t get involved in my daughter’s love life. I’m not that kind of mother.”
“It’s not about her love life.” Oleg felt his skin heat.
“Well, it seems to me that you are very interested in Tatyana, andsince she’s not working for you anymore, I don’t know what other reason?—”
“There are people who want to kill her.” Oleg didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t believe in raising his voice. He believed in others quieting down so they would listen.
Anna went quiet.
After a long moment, she asked, “Who? Who wants to kill my daughter?”
“My enemies.” It wasn’t a lie. Necessarily.
If Oleg’s enemies knew that Oleg had fixated on her, they would want to kill her, so the key to her future safety was for him to be as indifferent as possible.
“Why would they want to kill her?”
Because I care about her.
