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Not quite sure what to make of it, I pluck it from her fingertips with an unsteady hand. The paper itself is not all that fancy, the run-of-the-mill kind you could find at any craft shop. The unsettling thing is what is engraved on one side.
I know your secret.
Be prepared for a list of my demands, or my next letter will be to your father.
“When did you receive this?”
Kat waves a hand frantically. “Early this afternoon. One of the men found it strapped to the side of the gate. Apparently, whoever left it there knew there was a small blind spot in the cameras there because they couldn’t pick up anything on the surveillance. Who could have sent this?” she asks, her voice cracking. “And how did they know where I am and how to get this message here without being seen?”
The scary reality is, I do not know. Given this new information, it might be time to start vetting our recruits a bit more thoroughly. And I will need to look into the men on my personal team. It pains me to say it, but with how this happened, it’s not a stretch to think it might be someone on the inside.
Either that or one of my rivals is getting bolder. One thing I am almost certain of, though, is that I can cross Alexandr off the list of people who could have sent the letter.
Alexandr’s ambitions are not big enough for him to be responsible for it. Besides, he already gave me his demands, and as far as he is aware they are being handled.
The timing also does not add up. If Kat received this letter while I was meeting with Alexandr, that would mean that he sent it before we met. And he does not have the cunning to make that plausible.
No, someone else sent this letter. The problem is that I am not sure who.
That also means I do not know how to fix it. I refuse to sit and wait in fear for someone to advise me on how I can serve them. That is not something a Dubrov would ever allow. Especially not me.
I need to contact my men and have them look into this. Once they find out who it was, that person will be erased from existence. But not before wishing they had never drawn their first breath.
A hand on my arm brings my attention back to the woman in front of me.
“What are we going to do?” Kat asks softly.
I debate not telling her. Or just telling her I will handle it. She does not need the details. But this letter was sent to her. Whether I like it or not, this affects both of us, as well as our child.
“We are not going to do anything,” I say more forcefully than necessary, my growing frustration getting the best of me. “I am going to have the men find out who sent this. And then break all of their fingers as well as cut off their tongue so they are never able to send another letter again.”
Kat seems taken aback by my candor. “And how long will that take?” she asks. “Do you expect me to just sit here and hope that you’re able to find this person before they catch on and decide to share this information with my father?”
“What I expect you to do is trust me.”
“I do—”
“That is not the sense I’m getting.”
Kat pauses, her eyes scanning my face. Her gaze drops to her belly for a moment before it connects with mine again. She steps towards me, placing a palm on my chest, her other hand moving up to cup my cheek. “My love, I do trust you. I just think we need to be smart about this.” Her eyes search mine. “If I may offer my opinion?”
Her hands on me cool me down ever so slightly. I give her a stiff nod.
She smiles softly. “I don’t think it would be wise to wait in the hopes that you find whoever made the threat.” She pauses as if to gauge my reaction. “I think it might be best if we set plans in motion to tell my father. It would be better if he heard it from us.”
Between Alexandr and Kat, my plan of using this marriage to eliminate Igor as my competition is not progressing well.
“No.”
My short answer has Kat's brows pulling together, her mouth dropping open before she presses her lips together firmly.
“Why not?”
I can’t tell her my reasons. I have not fully opened up about how far I was willing to take this farce, and she is not aware that some plans are still in motion. Also, I have never felt the need to explain myself to anyone, and I do not plan on doing it now.
“Because I say so. And what I say is law.”
Does it sound like something my mother used to say to myself and my siblings? Yes. Does that make me sorry for using it? No.
