Rose crossed her arms over her chest. “Were you waiting in a dark doorway to step dramatically out into the light, Papa? Such theatrics are beneath you.”
He didn’t smile. “Tell me it isn’t true.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” A bluff and not even a good one.
Papa nodded at the kitchen island. “Sit down.”
She didn’t know if it was a good thing that he hadn’t hauled her to his office for a lecture, but this felt worse somehow. She tried to tell herself she was a grown woman who didn’t have to answer to her father about where she’d been, but the defense rang flat and false. This wasn’t a normal situation, and Rose wasn’t a normal woman.
She sat.
He moved to the stove and put the kettle on. Maybe in other families this kind of conversation would call for a drink, but Mama had a history of alcoholism. It didn’t bother her anymore when people drank around her, but Papa still had a rule against having alcohol in the house to save her from having to deal with it. As a result, when things were about to get serious, he made tea.
She sat in silence while he pulled two mugs down and got to work making their tea. Peppermint for her. Ginger-turmeric for him. He took the seat next to her and blew gently on the steam curling up from his mug. “Your entire life, you have always put the family first, Roza. You’ve been a worthy heir.”
She couldn’t help a bitter laugh. “That hasn’t saved me from Jovan putting a target on my forehead.”
“There was always the chance it would come to this.” He didn’t look at her. “It’s going to get ugly. We might lose people. We need every ally in our corner we can manage, and that means bringing the other Romanov branches over to our side.”
She knew he was right, but she couldn’t help arguing. “They’re in Texas, California, and Washington. They might as well be in Russia for all they can help.”
“And yet Russia is where the threat lies.” He picked up his mug. “If they offer Jovan’s people a stateside base of operations, it will make a difference, Roza. It might make the difference. We cannot afford to alienate any of them now.” He finally looked at her. “What you are doing with Dante Verducci will alienate Kirill. It might be enough for him to do more than be a passive spectator in the coming conflict. We cannot afford to have that happen.”
“Papa—”
“I’m not finished.” He didn’t raise his voice, but ice frosted his tone. “In addition to potentially causing problems with our American extended family, there is also your sister and the Capparelli family to consider. If Romeo discovers where you were tonight, who you were with, he may very well go forward with a war declaration. Should that happen, Lorelei will bear the cost.”
The thought made her sick to her stomach. Lorelei was already bearing the cost, but Papa was right; if they went to war, there would be nothing protecting her from her new husband. They’d have no recourse if he harmed her—if he…killed her.
In the face of that, Dante’s reassurances that they would find a way through felt flat. How could they, when so much was stacked against them? She cupped her hands around her mug, letting the heat battle the chill taking root in her chest. “There has to be a way.”
“Roza…” Papa sighed. “I can understand the draw. He’s dangerous and obviously focused intensely on you. There’s a thrill that comes from being on the same level as someone who is your match.”
Like Papa and Mama.
She stared down at her tea, the feeling in her chest getting worse. “It doesn’t really matter if I’m drawn to him or not, does it? Because the circumstances won’t allow for us to be together. You won’t allow us to be together.”
“I’m sorry.” He actually sounded like he meant it. Papa clasped her shoulder. “We talk about the sacrifices one makes for family with a sense of glamor, but it doesn’t mean they’re a pleasant experience.”
She wanted to yell at him, to rail about how unfair this was. Papa had broken all the rules time and time again in his pursuit of Mama when they were younger. He hadn’t given a fuck if he entered into a war with everyone in his path because he wanted her and meant to have her.
Things were different back then, though. There was only one Romanov in New York, so he had little to lose beyond his life. Now, if there were a war, the casualty list could be their entire family. Her parents. Her sisters. Her people.
She closed her eyes. “I understand.”
Rose left her father drinking tea in the kitchen and retreated to her bedroom. There was no solace to be found within those four walls. She paced back and forth, her father’s word warring with her aunt’s.