I send Alexei a message that Yuri called and he knows we have Ariana, and then I leave the security room.

As soon as I walk into the living room, Ariana glances at me.

Fuck. This is going to suck.

When I sit down beside her, her eyes lock with mine, and she must see the news on my face before I can say anything.

Grief settles over her like a dark cloud. With a quivering voice, she asks, “My dad’s gone, isn’t he?”

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I offer her my condolences.

She begins to get up, but I grab hold of her hand and tug her back down. She leans forward and turns her face away from me.

“Your father was a great man, Malyshka,” I murmur softly, and then I link my fingers with hers, trying to give her some of my strength.

Ariana nods, and taking a quivering breath, she whispers, “Thanks.”

We sit in silence for a long moment, and then Ariana pulls her hand from mine, and getting up, she walks out onto the deck. I rise to my feet and follow after her as she makes her way toward the stretch of boulders on the side of the island.

Reaching the very top, I stop a couple of steps behind her. She wraps her arms around her waist, and then her shoulders shudder under the weight of her grief.

“He was just Dad to me,” she whispers, and I move closer so I can hear her better. “He wasn’t the head of the Bratva or a criminal. He was just my dad.”

Her sorrow creates a fire in my soul, and when she lets out a soft sob, it wakes a part of me that’s been dormant for so long I’ve forgotten it was there.

She takes a couple of deep breaths then turns to face me. “Can I have the phone? I need to call my brother.”

Fuck.

Thinking up a quick lie, I shake my head and say, “It’s not safe right now. We can’t give away where we are.”

Instantly a frown forms on Ariana’s face. “But we spoke to my dad yesterday, and you call Alexei.”

Christ.

“Things are tense in Russia,” I try another angle.

“What does that have to do with me talking to my brother? God, Demitri, you’re being impossible.” Her voice begins to climb, and emotions flash over her face, reddening her cheeks, “Our father just died!”

Things are going to shit fast, but there’s no way I can let her talk to Yuri. Learning of the betrayal will kill her. She needs time to process losing her father.

I shake my head again. “I can’t let you talk to him. Just wait a bit longer.”

Anger tightens her features as she stares me down. “Just because my father asked you to protect me, it doesn’t make you God over my life. Give me the phone,” she demands, holding her hand out to me.