Page 43 of The Enemy Protector
“Where we going?” he asks.
“I need to talk to my father.”
“What about class?”
“I guess I’m skipping today.”
Twenty minutes later, I’m storming into my father’s study. He’s in his recliner, TV on, eyes closed. I don’t care that I’m disturbing him.
“What.” His voice is barely a rasp.
“Yuri has been operating out of my office. Meeting with our management. Replacing key personnel with his own people.”
Silence.
“Did you know about this?” I ask.
“I suspected.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me?”
“It’s your inheritance, Sofia. If you can’t protect it before you even have it, you don’t deserve it.”
“He’s dismantling everything from the inside.”
“Then stop him.”
“How? He’s already killing off our people!”
“I don’t care how.” His voice is stronger now. He’s sitting up. A shot of anger will wake anybody up. “You figure it out. You find leverage. You make alliances. You do whatever it takes to hold your position. That’s what being pakhan means.”
“I need your help.”
“You need to learn to fight your own battles.”
“Vlad is dead.”
Another pause. Longer this time.
“Heart attack,” he says, but I hear the question in it.
“You knew?”
“I’m still pakhan. Of course, I knew.”
For one ugly second, I know this feeling.
Not the bruises or the blood.
The helpless part. Knowing exactly what’s happening and not being able to stop it.
And my father knew.
That’s the problem. We’re not working together. There’s a war within, and Yuri is taking advantage. I hate that the thought pops into my head—but if he was dead, the struggle would be over.
“You could have told me.”
A sneer crosses his lips. He’s happy I’m on my back foot. He’s enjoying this battle.
