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9
NINE
“Viktor is Ten,” Ana told Emmy.“Or was Ten.He might be dead—I have no idea.”
Yet another claim of hers that was difficult to swallow.
“You don’t know whether your own brother is alive?”
“Mywhat?What are you talking about?Vik isn’t my brother.”
“Fine, half-brother.”
Although she did seem genuinely surprised at the news, which was interesting.
“Why the hell would you think Vik is related to me?”
“Because someone told me he was Zacharov’s son.The same someone who told me you were his daughter, and that turned out to be true, so…”
Had Rad been right?He’d had no reason to lie to me, and I’d trusted him more than I trusted this new version of Ana.Fuck, I missed that son of a bitch.
Ana kicked the couch with one booted foot, a stream of curses slipping from her lips.She’d left a dirty smudge on the beige fabric, so I picked up Paulo’s spray bottle of stain remover and a cloth and wiped it clean.Then asked myself what the fuck I was doing because in the grand scheme of things, who cared about a spot on the damn couch?
“Vik?”Ana muttered to herself.“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
Emmy squeezed her hand.“It might not be true.”
That was of course possible, but once you began looking, you could see the similarities between the two of them.Sure, Vik had dirty-blond hair rather than Ana’s near-black, and he hid his true nature behind a perfect smile instead of a dark scowl, but the eyes gave it away.When their masks slipped, they shared the same intense gaze.
Plus there was a discrepancy in Ana’s act.Emmy had given it away.
“If you didn’t know about Vik, then why did that one make the joke about bi-curiosity running in the family?”
Emmy rolled her eyes.“Because ‘that one’ is her half-sister.And for the record, I don’t know what she ever saw in you.”
Emmy and Ana were related?The punches just kept on coming, although it did explain a lot.Mother’s side or father’s side?The eyes.Check the eyes.Emmy was Zacharov’s.And despite all the general’s lectures about birth control, he sure hadn’t been able to keep it in his pants.I started laughing, then quickly stopped because Emmy had bruised one of my ribs.
“What’s so funny?”Ana asked.
“How many more of Zacharov’s spawn are running around in the world?”
“That’s not something I want to consider.”
“Did Zacharov know about her?”I quickly answered my own question.“No, of course not because if he did, she’d have been Eleven of Eleven and you’d still be stuck in Siberia.”
I rolled up the sleeve of my dress and inspected the bandage.Ana had done a reasonable job, but blood was beginning to seep through.Should I try the stick-on stitches?I studied the package.Faster healing, less scarring, take a shower after only one day… If Ana and Emmy were going to harm me, they’d had ample opportunity, so I figured I was safe in the short term at least.
“Something else I don’t want to think about,” Ana said.“Dasha, give me those.Accept help for once in your life.”
“Fine.”I thrust the package at her, although it still felt wrong.For so long, I’d had only myself to rely on, and trust didn’t come easy.“Fine.”
She unwound the bandage, her touch gentle.“You’re sure about Vik?”
“As sure as I can be without a DNA test.”
“Is he still alive?”
“He was when I left.Don’t ask where he is now because I have no idea.”