Chapter 20: Seduction: Chapter 20

I tell my brothers everything. We have no secrets from one another. But I have no idea how to tell him. . . this. I cannot betray my family, yet I cannot betray the woman that I love.

And yes, I’ll admit that, if only to myself. I love Vera Ivanova. Against all better judgment and knowledge in my head, I’ve fallen in love with this fierce, intense, brilliant, beautiful woman. So I do what’s become a habit by now: I tell him a half-truth.

I draw in a breath and release it.

I shove my phone in my pocket and release my grip on Vera. She lifts her head from my shoulder.

“Did I do a good job, Daddy?”

I kiss her forehead. “Such a good job, baby girl. Let’s get dinner.”

Though Irina walked by, nothing seemed off. She’d smiled widely, as usual, and reminded me that dinner was approaching. She asked if we’d join them, and when I said yes, she said she’d see us there.

Still, I feel torn. I have to protect Vera, no matter the cost, even if that means hurting her in the process.

I have to.

We walk hand in hand to the dining hall and are joined by the American at the door. He only gives us a curt nod and walks in ahead of us. Maxim, normally silent and aloof, smiles at Vera. “That was incredible. Did you tell Markov about your breakthrough today?”

“She did,” I say warmly, wrapping my arm around her shoulders. “I couldn’t be prouder. This is why we’re here.”

“This is why we’re all here,” Professor Morozov says as he enters and joins us. “Today was a landmark day and calls for a celebration.”

He removes a bottle of chilled wine from his lab coat and opens it.

“I half expected him to serve it in beakers,” Vera says in my ear. I stifle a snort.

“That’s terrible.”

“Oh, honey. I’ve seen worse in a lab, believe you me.”

Here, in these small interludes of normalcy, it almost feels like we could actually make this work. That Vera and I could be a normal couple, unhindered by the restraints and demands of family.

Still, I can’t shake the feeling that something is terribly off. Aleks says no one saw anything Irina is acting normally, and Vera’s fellow students are buoyed by their findings today and proud of her. Even Jake begrudgingly toasts her and admits he’s impressed with the progress they’ve made.

“In honor of today, we’ll take this weekend fully off,” Morozov suggests at the end of the meal. “You’ve all worked so hard, some of you even getting a run in before the sun rises.”

His eyes twinkle at us.

Vera looks at him in surprise. “You’ve seen us?”

“Oh, yes,” he says with a wink. “An old man misses nothing.”

“You two are dedicated,” Sophia says. “I crash at night and don’t even think of moving until it’s practically time for our next clinical.”

“Aye,” Liam says. “The days are long and taxing. I’m thankful for a weekend off.”

“As am I,” Irina says. “I actually have to step off campus for a bit to attend a benefit this weekend.”

Vera is shit at masking her facial expressions. She looks absolutely terrified.

“Do you?” I ask, reaching for the bottle of wine to refill our glasses. “We do, too, with Vera’s family. Which will you be attending?”

“Oh, I don’t remember the name,” she says, shaking her head. “Someplace near Ostankinsky District. . .”

I breathe out a sigh of relief and give Vera’s leg a reassuring squeeze under the table and a shake of my head. The Ostankinksy District is in the northernmost part of Moscow, nowhere near where we’ll be going.

“Will you two need us to arrange transportation?” Morozov asks.

I shake my head. “Thank you, no. I’ve already done so.”

Irina smiles. “I think going forward, our students might benefit from having supportive partners with them, don’t you think?” she asks Morozov. “It’s such an added bonus.”

They all laugh as dessert comes out, but I’m not comforted by any of this.

Today, our necks were bared to our enemy.

I have a job to do. A mission to complete. But I can’t allow Vera to be hurt on the sidelines.

My time has come.