Page 155 of Kings & Queen

Alek was waiting and once more took my hand. “Tell me, is the man in my parents’ drawing room the man who terrorized you?”

“No, Sir, 100 percent no. I would know his voice from any other. Why do you think he is the Mask?” I shifted and looked into his eyes.

“There’s something you need to know about your grandfather and uncle.” His words only increased my nervousness. “Your grandfather was once the trusted advisor to Stepan Fedorov, the Pakhan. The Russian Mob leader. He deals in the skin trade. Your grandfather was the Sovietnik, and now your uncle is. Do you know what that means?”

“My family has ties to the mob?” I stared, blinking, trying to come to terms with what he was telling me.The Russian Mob?

“We don’t know for sure he wasn’t behind what happened to you. The most recent abduction, the man being Russian, coincided with your grandfather’s release from prison.”

“Prison?” I repeated, my heart beating faster inside my chest.

“Yes, sweetness. I’m going to need you to trust me and let me do the talking. Do you think you can do that?”

“Yes, Sir,” I said, wrapping my arms around him.

“I won’t let him hurt you. I’ll kill him before that happens. You understand that?” He tilted my face up and then dusted my cheeks with kisses.

“Let’s talk first, please,” I begged, and he sighed and let me go.

When we returned to the drawing room, everyone else was sitting. All eyes turned toward us, and Sophia handed both Alek and me a drink. Her hands lingered lovingly on mine. I sat next to Alek after meeting Ivan’s and Nikolai’s eyes. They were both on edge.

“Mr. Romanov, why don’t you tell us what you are doing here, uninvited, no less?” Alek asked.

“It’s rather simple. I’ve come for my granddaughter.” His voice was measured yet direct, and despite his age, he didn’t appear fragile. In fact, quite the opposite. His eyes were glued to mine while he spoke, not even bothering to look at Alek.

“Interesting. Why is it you’re coming forward now? Why didn’t you come for her years ago? Why have another man raise her? Hell, for that matter, why did you raise one son but not the other?”

Mikhail’s eyes shifted to Alek’s face and then back to mine. “I’ve already answered these questions. I’ve come for her because she is my family.” His eyes filled with emotion, and his hands clenched. “As to why I didn’t raise her father, thatisn’t any of your business. I’m not sure what you know about my granddaughter’s life between the ages of eight and ten, but—”

“Hmm, yes, the degenerate who kidnapped and tortured her for two long, agonizing years. I don’t know all the details, that much is true. However, I know enough that she was physically and mentally abused.” Alek paused as I shook beside him. “We won’t even get into the sexual depravity she was subjected to. Details for me aren’t necessary. We’ve held her after her nightmares have chased her down in the middle of the night. We’ve soothed her broken spirit and ensured she knew she was safe.”

“Safe? Is that what you call what you are doing for her? If you’ve kept her so safe, how did she get taken in Seattle?” Konstantin scoffed.

I gasped. “That’s not fair. It wasn’t their fault. I was told not to go over the wall. That was all me.” My face flushed red in anger and embarrassment. Nik grabbed my hand closest to him and began rubbing small circles on my palm to calm me down.

“Let’s discuss the Seattle situation, since you seem to know all about it. It seems a bit ironic that once you were released from prison, Kinsley was taken once more. Care to elaborate?”

“There’s nothing to discuss, at least not withyou. I’ll be more than happy to discuss it at length with Kinsley. You see, I don’t owe any of you anything. Kinsley is my family, and I won’t be denied what is rightfully mine. I’ve made many mistakes over the years, the first in letting her father go.”

His eyes flashed, his patience running thin.

“What is yours?” Alek’s eye twitched as his body tensed next to mine. “Kinsley isnotyours. She will never be yours. However, she ismine, and you’ll have to go through me to get to her.”

“Me as well,” Nikolai declared, his face transforming before my eyes, and I sucked in my breath.

“And if that isn’t enough for you, I can guarantee you I have the slowest, most painful possible death conjured up in my mind for you,” Ivan said, unsnapping his blade and pulling it out. His tone was so casual it was as if he were reciting the weather. His mother gasped.

“Ivan Matthew King, put that thing away,” she exclaimed.

Mikhail chuckled cruelly. “Kem ty sebia vozomnila?”Who do you think you are?

The room once more erupted in Russian shouts and insults. I got up and placed myself between Ivan and Mikhail.

“Stop!” I shouted, looking at Sebastian.

He whistled an ear-piercing sound that caught everyone’s attention. After everyone settled down again, he spoke. “Kinsley, please. The floor is all yours.”

I turned to Ivan, who was breathing heavily while trying to control the rage within. I traced his tattoo and whispered to him in Russian. He took a deep breath and looked once more at the men.