Page 91 of The Beauty Who Loved Him

He didn’t reply.

Vera arched an eyebrow, but Vaslav’s stare dropped from hers. Even the man across from the front of the desk wouldn’t meet her eyes at that moment.

What had she missed?

“What time is it?” she asked.

“A little after three,” Igor replied.

“In the morning?”

“Da.”

The darkness outside the windows of the den proved Igor’s statement to be true, but that didn’t mean Vera was able to process the late time or the reasons for the two men’s current argument, either.

“What’s happening?” Vera asked. “Something happened, right?”

Neither man spoke.

They didn’t even move a muscle.

Their lack of communication didn’t exactly sit right with Vera, considering it left her with a heaviness in her stomach that had little to nothing to do with the throbbing ache she still felt in her backside.

Why else would Igor be at Vaslav’s home at three in the goddamn morning? The man made the trip from the city to Dubna almost daily, usually every morning and evening, but she couldn’t remember a time when he showed up at an ungodly hour like this.

Or hell ...

Maybe he did, but it never woke her up before.

“Could you at least tell me if something is wrong?” she asked.

Vaslav continued staring across his desk at Igor, blankly. “Nothing is wrong. Go to bed, I said.”

“Why don’t you tell her, Vas?”

Igor’s question only served to make Vaslav glower at the man.

“Go on,” Igor urged, almost tauntingly, “tell her what’s happening. What would it hurt?”

“Shut up,” Vaslav deadpanned.

It was strange how he could talk without anger or any other emotional inflection, and yet, still make it sound like a threat. Vera, even standing several feet away, shifted uncomfortably on her feet at the heated staring contest between the two men.

“Why won’t you tell her what you did?” Igor asked, the only man in the room who seemed willing to let his emotions bleed into his words and tone. Even his stance, tense and ready to spring across the desk, if pushed, vibrated with his anger. “It’s not like you’re ashamed of it, it was for her!”

“What was?” Vera asked, looking at Vas.

Behind the desk, Vaslav’s jaw grinded loud enough for her to hear. He didn’t look away from Igor, though.

“You’re pushing your luck, comrade,” Vaslav told the other man. “I indulged your late-night phone call about a problem you know I can’t fix at this point, then I was kind enough to invite you into my house at an unacceptable hour just to appease your guilty conscience, and now you want to make demands?”

Igor laughed bitterly. “He’s just a kid, Vas. Come on.”

“What difference does that make?”

“It makes every difference to me! Kiril is just a fucking kid!”

“I can’t help that you feel responsible for the boy,” Vaslav responded dully. “I didn’t tell you to get him personally involved in your affairs, or mine, for that matter. Those were things you did, and you can’t blame me for putting him to good use while I had the chance.”