Page 49 of Wicked Vows (Suvorov Bratva 2)

It’s a ghost town.

I pull off my tie and ask, “Where’s Liya?”

“Resting. She had a long day.”

“With her interview?”

She nods. “She’s starting to come into her skin.”

She deposits the blazer in the closet and then wanders toward the kitchen. I glide toward the couch and sit quietly, turning what she said over in my head.

She’s starting to come into her skin.

Teacups clink in their saucers as Viktoria carries a tray into the living room. She sets the tray in front of me, pours me a cup, and waits patiently nearby.

I point to the seat across from me. “Join me, Vikusha.”

“Thank you, Pasha.”

“Tell me how Liya is coming into her skin.”

Viktoria calmly reaches for the spare teacup and pours tea into it. Steam billows from the cup as she raises it to her lips. She drinks quietly and then says, “She’s quick to learn.”

“About?”

“Anything,” she remarks with a shrug. “Everything.”

I sip my tea before asking, “Why?”

“Liya is now a permanent part of your world. She craves to know what you know.”

“What did you tell her, Vikusha?”

She sets her cup in the saucer gently. She scratches the back of her hand. I can see the way she watches me without looking at me, gauging my mood. She’s searching for the right words.

Finally, she answers. “I taught her what it means to have honor.”

Something stings my frontal lobe and warps my vision briefly. It trickles into my chest and settles rather unpleasantly in my gut. For a moment, I can’t tell what I’m feeling. It’s an odd combination of cloudy sensations that I can’t seem to tell apart.

But when my view of Viktoria clears and I see the age lines around her mouth, it hits me.

It feels like I’ve been threatened.

Leaving Liya in the dark about Bratva affairs is less threatening than her learning about how tohandlethose affairs. Her ignorance keeps her protected. But knowledge? Knowledge is a dangerous thing. With knowledge, she’s now at the mercy of the Bratva in a different way, one I might not be able to control.

The feeling elbows my gut, reminding me it’s there as I place my teacup on the tray. I’m as calm on the outside as always.

But deep down, I might as well be screaming. “Why?”

Her gaze hardens slightly. “She wants to be closer to you.”

I shake my head.

“She wants to know how your world works,” Viktoria continues. “She’s not a porcelain doll you put on a mantle. She can make her own moves. Shewillmake her own moves. Whether you allow her to or not.”

“That’s not the point.”

She raises her eyebrows. “It’s not?”

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