Page 83 of Arranged Control

Maybe this crisis is making me a little existential.

“Would you please refrain from scaring Katya?” Dad appears in the doorway, scratching at his belly. “She loves you dearly, but the woman is like a skittish baby deer sometimes.”

“I think you underestimate her. She has to be pretty strong to stomach you all day long.”

He grunts, smiling slightly, and comes to sit on the couch across from mine. “To what do I owe the pleasure of my baby girl’s visit?”

Papa’s unshaken, his eyes slightly red, probably from not sleeping very well. He’s in slacks and a polo shirt, but he looks slightly unkempt and rumpled. It’s not like him at all.

Ruslan Morozov is normally a powerful man. He knows how appearances can be important. The way he looks reflects on the way people treat him. And right now, he looks like shit.

“I need to ask you some questions, Papa, and I need you to be honest with me.”

“When am I ever dishonest with you, Alina?”

“Always. Every second of every day.”

He waves dismissively. “You are being dramatic.”

That pisses me off. He always calls me dramatic when he wants to pretend I’m not worth listening to. I decide to dive straight into the reason I’m here, hoping I can catch him off guard.

“Who is Molchanie? Who is she,really?”

Papa’s mouth twitches. He stares at me, not moving, and that simple reaction tells me everything.

He knows something more than he admitted before.

“Nobody can answer that,” he finally says. “Why are you asking me?”

“She’s from Moscow. You have a lot of contacts back in Russia.”

“Molchanie isn’t like that.”

“What do you know about her?”

“Nothing. Nothing important. She’s a hired killer, that is all.” His expression darkens the more he talks. “Why are you asking me this?”

“Because I want to know the truth.”

“There. You have the truth. Molchanie is an assassin. An expensive one too.” He stands slowly with a grunt. “You have wasted both our time.”

“You know more than you’re saying. What connection do I have with her?”

He flinches back, staring at me. “Why would you think you have a connection to Molchanie?”

“She keeps mentioning me to Seamus.”

“I don’t know anything about that.”

“You’re lying. Ask some of your Moscow contacts. This is important, Papa. Lives are at stake.”

“I told you already, I know nothing and I cannot help.” He walks away, angrily shaking his head. “This is typical of you, Alina. Your silly mind plays tricks on you.”

“I’m not being silly.”

“Aren’t you? Accusing your father of knowing something about a woman like Molchanie? She is dangerous. That’s all you need to know.”

“Papa—”