There was no sign of Igroek. "The news?" He sat down.
"We'll wait for Igroek and Tatyana."
"She'll be here soon." She was on her way back from fittings at the boutique. His bride. His wife. "We have another situation, Grandfather."
"I am aware the flight was missed."
That wasn't surprising. Grandfather had his own sources of information. "That's not it."
"Ah." Grandfather's eyes gleamed. "About time, Nikolay. He almost got you killed at Chan's."
He had gotten Ivan killed, a good man with a loving wife. "If you want to lead this family, you have to make the tough decisions. But don't take action just yet. He could be useful."
If isolated and carefully fed information.
"It is a tough decision. Auntie..." Was a good woman. He'd cause her pain. He'd have to face, tell her...
"It is necessary. A man who betrays family will betray anyone." Grandfather folded his hands. "Have I mentioned why I don't trust Igroek's brother?"
The door opened and shut behind him. From the quiet, he knew it wasn't Tatyana. "No."
"Igroek thinks it is because of his shady dealings with me. No." A shake of the head. "What showed me his true colors were his dealings with your grandmother. Although she loved me from our first meeting, she was an honorable woman, committed to her engagement.
Until she found out about an indiscretion Igroek had with a woman in Cincinnati. Only four of us knew of that night. One, the woman, was dead."
"He said you told her." Igroek's face was grave.
"Your grandmother was very much like Tatyana, Nikolay. What would Tatyana do if Stepan told her you cheated on her?"
Nik didn't want to contemplate it. "She'd beat Stepan senseless with her shoe and then shoot me." Multiple times with her .22.
Grandfather nodded. "Close. Your grandmother broke the messenger's nose and then left her fiance for his best friend. We married the next day."
"He said it was a street thug." Igroek's fists clenched.
"He probably said he was going to fly out today, too." Grandfather finally acknowledged the man. "Ask a man you trust, you trust, not one of your brother's men, if he got on that flight.
A man who betrays family will betray anyone."
Igroek sat down. "Why would he do that? When I return to New YorkȄ"
"If you return to New York." A sad shake of Grandfather's head. "What are the implications for our family if this stubborn ass dies here, Nikolay?"
Grandfather knew damn well what the implications were but, well trained dog that he was, Nik played along. "We'll get dragged into a war."
"We don't want that. Not when we have a wedding to host." A wide grin. "So until Nikolay cleans up your mess, where I go, you go, Igroek. You're under our protection."
"You can keep your protection, Kaerta." Igroek scowled. "I don't need it. Avel won't do anything. If he were going to kill me, he would have done it by now. He had the opportunity."
"But not the inclination, not until now when he has no choice." Grandfather puffed on his cigar. "Would you follow Avel, Nikolay?"
"No." Although the man was a cunning bastard and clearly intelligent, he didn't impress Nik.
"No one would. Your brother could never lead your empire. He isn't an idiot. He knows that.
Once you're dead, his days are numbered."
Igroek took out a cigar, clipped the end, lit up. He puffed, silent for once. Because he knew it was the truth. His own brother. Nik, about to deal with his cousin, felt sympathy for the old man.
"You can't keep me a prisoner, Kaerta."
"Oh, I can." Grandfather's face was set in stubborn determination. "You're on my turf now, Igroek. I'll do anything to keep my family safe."
"You wanted to see me, Grandfather?" Tatyana flounced in, a white veil billowing behind her. "Nikky!" She pitched herself into his arms.
He caught her, welcoming the interruption, pulling her into his lap. "Did you wear that all day, Brat?" He eyed the floral headpiece, which appeared a little worse for wear. She'd had it on during the blood tests this morning.
"Pretty much. It's my spare veil, I'm testing it." She kissed him. "Did you like your tuxedo?"
"Children, please," Grandfather grumbled. "Let's do this." He waved the envelope.
"Do what?" Tatyana tilted her head.
Oh, shit. She didn't know. "DNA tests," Nik told her. "They used your blood samples from this morning." Grandfather used his influence to rush the results.
"Nikky?" Betrayal reflected in those mud green eyes.
He should have told her, warned her. They were a team. "TatyanaȄ"
"It wasn't Nikolay's decision," Grandfather soothed. "It was mine." He passed the envelope to Igroek. "She's your granddaughter. You do the honors."
The envelope was pushed back. "That is what we are here to determine." Igroek was a stubborn fool. He didn't deserve Tatyana.
"If you don't care, Igroek, why should I?" Grandfather rebutted, leaving the envelope on the table.
"We know why you care, Kaerta. You've put a lot of work into this charade andȄ"
"Oh, for shit's sake." Tatyana picked the envelope up. "I'll do it."
"Language, Brat." Nik grinned. That was his fearless girl.
She stared at the enclosed paper. She held it up to her nose. She turned it as though looking at it upside down would help. She sighed, setting it back down, lines etched between her eyes. "I have no idea."
How hard could it be? "Let me see it." Nik took it from her. Numbers. Probabilities.
Paternity indexes. Were they good or bad? He didn't want to fuck this up. "Pavel!" he bellowed.
"Yes, Boss?" The big man entered the room.
"Tell me what this says." He tossed the papers to him. "In plain terms."
"Wait a minute," Igroek protested.
Because he already knew what the paper said. Tatyana was his granddaughter. Igroek knew it. And although he wanted to deny it, wanted Tatyana to belong to him and him alone, Nik knew it. "I'd trust Pavel with my life. He won't discuss what is said in this room,"
Nik
