Chapter Eight
“Tell me what happened to my mother,” Toni said quietly.
The sounds of the restaurant on the other side of the brick wall were barely audible inside the dim, comfy office. The furnishings were old and worn. Toni spotted several pictures of her uncles and her mother when they were young, and a few of the grandparents she’d never known. The whole place gave off a vibe of security. It felt as if anything said within this space would be protected. There was no danger here, and no judgment. There was only love and acceptance. Toni could see why her mother would have come here whenever she had a problem that needed working through.
Nikolai leaned back in his leather executive chair and gave her a sideways glance. “Your mother committed suicide, my sweet. You saw the report I’m sure.”
“I don’t want to hear the bullshit story that my father told the authorities. I don’t believe my mother killed herself,” Toni insisted. “She wouldn’t have done that. She wouldn’t have left me that way.”
“Perhaps you must ask other questions then,” Nikolai suggested. “This way you can understand.”
“What questions?”
“Ask yourself why your father married your mother when there was no love lost between the two.”
Toni gazed at her uncle. He looked much like her mother, much like her. They all had black curly hair and bright blue eyes. Her mother had been a renowned beauty. They had solid connections deep within the organization. Her uncles shared territory with their cousins, but none of the Kabalevskys were greedy.
“My family has always worked together,” Nikolai told her slowly. “Your father was just beginning back then. He had a position within the organization, and he’d gained reputation as an enforcer, and a bit of a ladies’ man.”
“Even back then,” Toni murmured sadly. “I don’t think much has changed for him.”
Nikolai laughed. “He would like to think it has not, but he is not the young man he once was.”
“He was angry with my mother when she didn’t have a son,” Toni remembered. “Why?”
Nikolai spread his hands. “Our families are patriarchal. We choose our heirs based on bloodline and gender, but Kabalevskys do things differently.”
“How?” Toni was beginning to think she could guess.
“Ah,” Nikolai said with a touch of irony. “Our trusts and holdings are set up so that the gender of the person who inherits is not in question. It is the relationship that matters.”
“So that’s why I inherited my mother’s fortune.” Toni would have rather had her mother back, but even she had to admit that having the money had made independence from her father possible.
“Yes.” Nikolai nodded. “Your mother was unable to have more children. Did you know that?”
Shock left Toni’s fingers and toes tingling with awareness. How had she not known that basic fact about her own mother? “No, I didn’t.”
“She was very concerned about protecting your inheritance,” Nikolai said gravely. “She came to see us several times in the last few months of her life to make certain that everything she had set aside for you was still safe.”
Toni frowned, trying to think about what this meant. “You mean my father didn’t have access to those funds? That would have driven him crazy to know there was a whole pile of cash and assets he couldn’t touch.”
“It did, quite regularly,” Nikolai said with a wry smile. “You might say it’s what kept him with your mother. He was determined to get control of her fortune.”
“What would have happened if he’d had a son with another woman?” Toni wondered. “Would the new baby inherit?”
“Not if he wasn’t a Kabalevsky,” Nikolai retorted. “Why?”
“Because my father sired a child off his last mistress.” Toni couldn’t understand it. Was she wrong? Was the entire pregnancy an accident? It made no sense. Katya didn’t act as though it was a mistake. The only thing that had gone amiss was her father suddenly changing his mind about the whole thing.
“He what?” Nikolai sat forward in his chair, his expression stormy. “The disrespect!”
“Oh, because it’s so much worse to have a kid than just to cheat without any awkward byproducts to leave around as proof?”
Now Nikolai looked chagrined. “Okay, so maybe I can see where you’re coming from on that, but still. Why would he be so careless?”
“That’s the thing,” Toni insisted. “I don’t think it was a mistake. I think it was intentional. I just don’t know what his angle was—or maybe is. I just don’t know!”
There was a soft knock at the door. Nikolai frowned. He got up from his desk and went to answer. There was a hushed conversation that Toni couldn’t hear. Then her uncle chuckled and turned back around to look at Toni.
“There is a man here looking for you Toni Rustikov.” The twinkle in Nikolai’s eyes did not match his somber tone of voice. “He says his name is Dimitri Alkaev. Did you leave some things out perhaps?”
“Maybe.” Toni blushed. “I sort of ran away from home, allowed myself to be kidnapped by Dimitri and his brother Anatoli, and then I’ve been hiding out at their house ever since.”
“Until today?”
“Yes.” She shrugged. “I was a willing prisoner. If they’re not going to take care to make me stay put, I feel like I should have the right to pursue my own agenda when I want.”
“Seems fair,” Nikolai agreed.
“You think this is funny!” Toni accused.
Her uncle sighed. “I know Dimitri. That’s what makes it funny.” Nikolai nodded to the enforcer who’d brought him the message. “You may show Dimitri into my office.”
DIMITRI STRODE INTO Nikolai’s office without any notion of what to expect from the encounter. Had the man discovered that Dimitri had kidnapped his niece? Was his pissed? And more importantly, would he retaliate. Dimitri Alkaev considered himself to be the sort of man people thought twice before messing with. But one did not “mess with” a Kabalevsky without getting the entire family involved.
“Hello, Dimitri.” Nikolai was sitting in his chair. He didn’t even bother to get up when Dimitri entered. “I assume you’re here to talk about my niece, Antonina?”
“Is she here?” Dimitri tried to keep his tone level, but he had been getting increasingly worried about Toni’s safety over the last hour or so. “She didn’t tell anyone where she was going.”
“My niece is an interesting woman, Dimitri Alkaev,” Nikolai drawled. “People often think that she is a bit of a delicate flower.”
“I’m not sure I would agree with the delicate portion of that statement,” Dimitri commented. “So far I’ve found her to be shockingly resilient.”
“She is,” Nikolai said, his voice flat. “Which is why I know that if she were in any real trouble, she would come here and we would handle it. Together.”
“But?”
“But I find I don’t appreciate the notion that my niece was kidnapped by the Alkaevs.” Nikolai stood up. He put his hands flat on his desk and leaned forward. His manner was intimidating, though Dimitri didn’t feel the need to back down. After all, he hadn’t done anything wrong. Nikolai wasn’t done. He peered at Dimitri with those uncanny blue eyes that looked so much like Toni’s. “Tell me, Mr. Alkaev. What are your intentions toward my niece?”
Dimitri didn’t answer right away. First of all, he refused to be intimidated. Dimitri wasn’t some green boy. He ran territory in his own right. He had a place on the mafiya council. Other men, older men, listened to his opinions and respected his authority. Why should Dimitri cower before Nikolai Kabalevsky? However, there was no reason to start a war with Toni’s uncle. Not when the man could prove a valuable ally.
Dimitri helped himself to a seat before Nikolai’s desk. The overstuffed chair was comfortable and upholstered in durable leather. Dimitri kicked back and watched to see what Nikolai would do.
There was a moment when Dimitri wondered if he’d made the wrong choice. Then Nikolai settled back into his own chair and seemed to be waiting for Dimitri to continue. Dimitri offered a dip of his chin, intentionally showing respect. “When this entire situation began, I’ll admit that I had no thought but to kidnap your niece for the purpose of using her to get back at her father.”
“How did that go for you?” Nikolai’s expression betrayed nothing of his thoughts. Dimitri could almost be jealous of the man’s poker face.
“Honestly, it didn’t go very well, because she had already left her father’s home of her own will. She was adrift I think, and looking for answers about her mother. So she offered me a deal. We would help each other.”
“And what help did she require?”
Dimitri couldn’t tell if Nikolai had his own thoughts on that or not. It was very difficult to say. Regardless, there was only one answer to give. “She doesn’t believe her mother was a suicide.”
“And she wants you to help her prove it was not?” Nikolai pressed his fingers together “Do you believe you can do this?”
“I believe I can help her investigate. As to proving it, I have no notion of what the truth is at this point.” Dimitri shrugged. “But I’m willing to help her in whatever way that I can.”
Nikolai cocked his head, his curiosity evident. “You have feelings for my niece.”
“I don’t believe that’s relevant.”
The man’s laughter was loud in the small office. “So the answer is yes.”
Dimitri didn’t confirm or deny. He didn’t actually know the answer. “Having feelings” was such a paltry way to describe Toni’s effect on his life. He had known her for such a short time and yet the effects had been almost immediate and somewhat life altering. He was looking at almost everything in his life differently. The way he handled his sister, and his brother’s bloodthirsty reaction to Katya’s predicament were only part of it.
“She’s gotten beneath your skin,” Nikolai said, obviously amused. “Toni has a way of doing that. Her mother was the same way.”
“Tell me about her mother.”
Nikolai sighed. “My sister was a ray of sunlight. Growing up she was the peacemaker. It was simply the way she was wired. She was loyal to a fault. She would have done anything for you, if you were lucky enough to be one of those people who had earned her devotion.”
“And her marriage to Rustikov?”
“A mistake,” Nikolai spat. “He came to our father with his charming words and promises. A bargain was struck, and Maria was never the same again.”
“But would she kill herself?”
Nikolai shrugged. “Who knows what she would do. I cannot say what was in the mind of another. Not even my sister.”
“Thank you.” Dimitri stood up. “If you could let Toni know that I was here, and that I would appreciate it if she would let me know that she is safe.”
“So you aren’t here to force her to come back with you?” There was a smile twitching at the corner of Nikolai’s mouth. “She was your prisoner, was she not?”
“No.” Dimitri knew this man was playing a game. Dimitri refused to fall into that pattern and play along. Not when he could strengthen his position by simply walking away. “She was never my prisoner. She came with me willingly. I never told her to stay. I never even asked her. So I would request that you pass along the message that she is always welcome in our home. She is a valued guest. And if she chooses to return, the bargain she struck with me still stands.”
“Well, well, well,” Nikolai drawled. “I do believe my niece has done well for herself with you, Mr. Alkaev.”
Dimitri grinned, getting up and heading for the door to show himself out. “I’ll take that as a compliment.”