Leopard's Wrath (Leopard People 11)

Mitya rubbed her back and stroked caresses down her hair. He looked at her father over Ania’s head. He nodded his answer to the man. His leopard could definitely take Antosha’s in a fight. When it came down to it, Dymka would be able to kill Antosha’s leopard as humanely as possible.

Antosha regarded the couple for a moment and then mouthed “thank you” before he closed his eyes and was instantly asleep.

“I think it is safe for his nurse to return,” Mitya said.

“Annalise was my nanny,” Ania corrected, lifting her head from his chest. “Dad’s been slowly going downhill. The doctors all said he would. We consulted with the best. It was impossible to remove the bullet without killing him, but over time, the bullet would most likely begin traveling on its own.”

“You had three years with him, Ania,” Mitya reminded her as gently as possible. “If the bullet had killed him outright, you would have been alone that entire time. How long has this been going on?” He took her arm, pushed up the sleeves and examined the long scratches.

She squirmed, trying to pull her arm away, embarrassed on her father’s behalf. “His leopard broke free a few times and I had to contend with it. Not all the way—Dad managed to fight it back—but enough that his claws raked me a few times. I’m lucky that Annalise is so loyal, but I’m afraid to leave her alone in the house with him now.”

“You’re avoiding the question, kotyonok. How long has this been going on?”

She moistened her lips, avoiding his gaze. “The last three months he’s been steadily going downhill.”

Mitya shook his head, took her hand and strode from the room. He could feel her reluctance with every step they took back to the main part of the house. He went straight through the formal dining room to avoid the kitchen and continued into the great room. He let her go when they neared the fireplace.

“Sevastyan, have Vikenti and Zinoviy pack up the dinner and remove everything from the house. If there is anything we need to know immediately, have them pass the information to you to determine whether or not I need to be interrupted.”

Sevastyan knew what he was saying. He wanted all the men to make themselves as scarce as possible while still doing their jobs. The moment they were outside, Vikenti and Zinoviy would use their leopards and the cover of darkness to find out as many things as possible about the Dover family and their estate.

Sevastyan nodded, shot one look at Ania, started to say something and then closed his mouth and moved away.

Mitya went to the bar. “Do you want a drink?”

Ania shook her head and then took a deep breath. “There’s water in the small fridge, maybe a bottle of that.”

Mitya located one and brought it to her. She sank down onto the thick rug that lay right in front of the long fireplace. The fireplace was very modern, with a long glass window and an abundance of flames leaping and flickering inside.

“I’m sorry about your father, Ania. He’s a good man, and very strong to endure the suffering he has.”

“He won’t use any painkillers because he says the leopard could defeat him.”

He kept her gaze captive in his. “Ania. Baby. You know his leopard will eventually defeat him. He’s dying. He’s in terrible pain.”

She leapt up and paced away from him. “Don’t you think I know that?”

He watched her, her female close due to her extreme agitation. She was graceful, pacing back and forth like a restless, caged leopard. He didn’t reply, because of course he knew. She had to come to terms with her father’s dying on her own. She was resisting because she really believed she would be alone. She’d been handling her father’s business as well as taking care of him by herself for a long time.

She stopped pacing beside a long leather couch, the color a soft rust. Her fingers dug into the top, gripping it hard. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You have to let him go, Ania,” he said quietly. “You aren’t alone anymore, even if you feel you are. You have me to lean on.”

She shook her head, rejecting his decree. “I have things I have to do, and I can’t do them with you around.”

His gut knotted at her disclosure. He’d been afraid all along she was preparing to go to war with a crime lord, one she was certain had set her father up and had killed her grandparents and mother.

“Tell me what those things are.”

She got a stubborn look on her face. “I have to do them, not you.”

“Ania, you are in my care whether you like it or not. Your father knows me. He knows the kind of man I am—”

“You aren’t killing him.”