Page 44 of Crimson Oath
Mika looked up from his book. “Yes, Knyaz?”
So someone was feeling a little irritated. That was fine.
“Set up a conference call with Polina when we arrive in Odesa,” Oleg said. “I want to fill her in on what Radu and I spoke about.”
“Of course.” He reached for the small notebook he kept in his jacket pocket and made a note. “Did you have notes for me about your meeting with Alina?”
“It was mostly a catching-up meeting. I wanted to reassure her that Lazlo would remain in charge of our neighboring territory.”
“And ask about Tatyana.”
Oleg looked up, stared into Mika’s eyes, and the vampire lost his snappish tone.
“She gave you the video footage of Tatyana,” Mika said. “That footage that led us to a minor international incident in Gori. Alina won’t be pleased if she thinks Arosh will point the finger at her.”
“Didshegive us the footage?” He paged through Polina’s report. “Or did someone else? We have so many sources, it’s impossible to say. It might have been anonymous.”
“Very well.” Mika nodded slowly. “Arosh’s people will want to know why we were tracking his son.”
“If they ask, tell them I had an important computer security question for Tatyana and I know she’s an expert.”
Mika frowned. “That might work as long as Tatyana doesn’t say why you actually wanted to meet with her.”
Tatyana admit that she took Zara’s gold, Oleg’s jewelry, and was running from her own feelings for him?
“She won’t say anything.” Oleg glanced at Mika. “Trust me.”
“And I’m assuming you want me to continue keeping tabs on her and Arosh’s son?”
“No.”
Mika put his notebook down. “No?”
“No.” Oleg glanced up. “I slipped a phone into her pocket. We’ll be able to find her anywhere now.”
“When she finds it, she’ll destroy it.”
Oleg shrugged. “Check the signal when we get back to Odesa. She’ll keep the phone.”
His daughter’sface filled the screen that hung over his mantel in his personal office in Odesa. She was holding one of the twins, the ornery little mite named Natalya who loved to stay up at all hours with her mama.
It was convenient for Polina, but it annoyed her partner Alexi and the nanny.
“Look at her.” Oleg’s heart warmed when he saw the little one sitting in Polina’s lap. “She’s growing very fast.”
“Yes, she’s trying to climb up and down the stairs by herself now.” Polina smiled. “She drives Alexi mad.”
“He loves it.” Oleg had been suspicious of the man, but ten years into his relationship with Polina, the pair seemed settled despite Polina’s unwillingness to marry.
“He does.” Polina tapped Natalya’s cheek. “Tati, don’t you want to say hello to dedushka?”
“Absolutely not.” His children having children was not a common occurrence, so though Oleg was overjoyed by the delightful little humans in his clan, he was nobody’s grandfather. “Tati, can you wave at Papa Oleg?”
The little girl lifted her hand and curled her fingers in a wave.
“See? She’ll call me Oleg. That is enough.”
Natalya’s blinks were getting longer and longer, and she was starting to curl into Polina’s chest, so his daughter picked up a manila folder on her desk as she rocked the baby to sleep. “So after Radu told you the vampire’s name was Sami, my people were able to dig a little more.”
