“You will always be Katerina to me,” he murmured.

That made me mad. “Right. You have other children? Legitimate ones?”

He smiled, not giving me shit.

“I haven’t seen you in years,” I reminded him.

And that had been a fluke.

Three years ago, Spider and I had stepped inside Neiman Marcus to buy one of his randoms a gift. He’d wandered off to finger the lingerie, and I’d gotten lost in the shoe section, drooling over a pair of cheetah heels I knew would kill my feet.

My father had walked right past me, saw me and immediately backtracked. That day, with a bemused expression, Alexander Barinsky, had taken me in, his eyes skating over my post-practice attire and probably ashen face. He’d assessed me, perhaps looking for chinks and weaknesses. Perhaps he was wondering how I’d fared all those years with Sarah. Had he kept up with me? I’d stared back at him, one part of me yearning for acknowledgement, the other part hating him for rejecting me. I’d straightened and waited, still as a statue.

As we’d examined each other, his shopping date, a tiny platinum-blonde, leaned over a nearby jewelry counter. Draped in yellow cashmere and pearls, she appeared twentyish and upper-class, but I took her for a whore playing pretend. Wife or girlfriend? I guessed the latter. I bet the wife was older and Russian. Whatever. The girl was the exact opposite of mama. And I’m sure she wasn’t his only one.

His companion tugged on his arm, probably to point at some pretty she wanted, but he didn’t look at her.

He’d run his eyes over me, lingering as if I fascinated him.

And in a creepy way, his attention scared me and thrilled me all at once.

Yeah. Mama had been thrilled by him and look what happened to her.

I don’t know all the intricacies of my parent’s relationship, but I did know he’d never bought her anything. As far as I know, he’d never paid her rent. Perhaps he gave up on her when she got lost in the drugs and alcohol or perhaps she’d never mattered to him one way or another except as a quick fuck. I don’t know the whole truth of them, just that she’d been one of his girls. But I did know he’d never dressed her up like this silly blonde thing. And, he’d never been seen with her anywhere in public.

Blonde bimbo talked and finally got him to break his stare.

He’d smirked at me and walked away.

Just like that. Over and out.

He spoke then, his voice silky, bringing me back. “Regardless of the length of time between us, you are divine. I’m delighted you came.”

“Did I have a choice?”

He waved his hands, his diamond rings catching the light. “Please. Let’s not be angry. You are here, I am here. Let’s get to know each other.”

My chest got tight. I’d wanted to hear those words years ago. “Why?”

He came around his desk to sit on the edge, letting his legs dangle loosely, casually.

I didn’t buy it for a minute.

His closeness ratcheted up my panic. The door was only five feet away. If I shoved him and then bolted would I make it? Maybe. Blondie would tackle me though. Or Red would shoot me in the back. They’d definitely beat me up.

He cupped my cheek, and I pulled away.

“You look like me, Katerina,” he murmured.

“I look like me,” I said, determined to not be lulled into dropping my guard with him.

He examined me, like a scientist would an insect, making me fidget and fix my skirt.

And as his cold eyes broke me down bit by bit, I remembered the nights Mama would wait for him to come, and he never showed. Because he went to see his other girlfriends, she told me, the ones without kids. Those words had wounded me, and for a long time, I’d blamed myself for her unhappiness. But now I knew the truth, of course. She’d lashed out at me because I was the only one there.

“It appears Sarah owes me money,” he stated.

Reminiscing was over.

“I find it hard to believe. Show me the proof.” Bluff, bluff, bluff.

He chuckled. “She came in a few months ago and asked for twenty thousand. She signed her name, saying she’d repay within a month. The proof is me. I do not lie about money. It would not be good for my reputation.” He held his finger up. “Since she is your guardian, I let the interest slide. It was…a gift. But she has taken advantage of my generosity. Three months overdue with her payment is not good.”

My mouth opened. “A gift? You let a sick woman borrow money.”

His brow creased. “Sick?”

“Early onset Alzheimer’s.”

“That is unfortunate. She seemed fine when I saw her.” He spread his hands wide.

She’s not, I wanted to shout.

“Our building is for sale. When it sells, I’ll pay you.” Of course, those funds were earmarked to get us out of Ratcliffe and pay for Sarah’s care in the years to come—or now.

He wagged his finger. “You are a bright girl. Smart to sell the house. But, the note is overdue, and I am not a patient man.”

Oh, I know. I could clearly remember all the times he’d lost his temper with Mama.

“We don’t have the money,” I said, my voice betraying me with its unsteadiness.

He stood and walked behind my chair where he rested his hands on my shoulders. “Katarina, tell me why people pay me back the money I loan them?” He lifted a strand of my hair and twirled it around his finger.

I eased forward in my seat as far from him as I could, but he tugged me back, pressing me into the back of the chair.

I swallowed. “Because you’ll hurt them if they don’t.”

“It’s amazingly simple.” I heard the smile in his voice. “If people believed I’d give them more time, they’d think me weak. I despise weakness. Are you weak, Katerina?”

I shook my head. But I was weak. I’d never stood up for my mama; I’d never jumped in to save her.

I wasn’t brave or strong like Joan of Arc.

He came around to face me, and I smelled his aftershave, something mossy and dark. Revulsion coursed through me at our proximity.

“A business like mine is not established over-night. It takes time to teach the neighborhood what you’re capable of. It’s like training a dog to sit. You can tell the dog to sit, but he won’t get it until the choke chain is tightened. Because he needs the proper amount of pain to understand the master means business. If he thinks the command to sit might not bring pain, he might test me and resist the command.”