dial on the safe. Her mother had told her the combination many, many years ago. Maria Rustikov had laughed a little when she explained to her daughter that Boris would never use anything but his birthdate for the combination because he truly believed that was the only day the world needed to remember. As a child Toni had thought that silly. As an adult she realized that it was more disturbing than anything else.
The door swung open and Toni reached inside to begin scooping her mother’s jewelry into a small, velvet lined sack. Gold, diamonds, emeralds, and pearls went inside. There were necklaces and hair clips, earrings, and pendants galore. Her mother had adored pretty things, and although her father had never given her mother anything save her wedding ring, the Kabalevskys had amassed an amazing amount of jewelry that had been passed down to her mother from her mother and grandmother before her. The rumor was that some of these things had been smuggled out of Imperial Russian when the Czar fell.
Carefully tucking her treasure into her backpack, Toni closed the safe and spun the dial. She wondered vaguely how long it would take her father to realize that she’d liberated her personal property from his stash. She was already aware of the fact that he’d been giving a few of the small pieces to his favored mistresses. She honestly wondered if he’d been doing that while her mother was still alive. It sickened her to think that he might have.
Leaving her parents’ room behind, Toni headed down the stairs and back toward he front door. She had one place to go for the moment. Uncle Nikolai would welcome her, and nobody was going to bother her there. Then it was time to take stock and figure out what her next move was going to be. It was time for Antonina Kabalevsky Rustikov to grow up and take her place in the world.
A sudden thought of Dimitri made her heart contract painfully. How could he lie so convincingly? And how could she have bought in so thoroughly? No more. She decided that she was just going to have to harden herself against the man. Easier said that done? Yes. But Toni knew she could do anything she set her mind to.
Chapter Thirteen
Dimitri pulled a knife from his pocket and opened the razor sharp blade. To his credit, Boris did not flinch away as Dimitri had expected him to. He lifted his chin instead. In fact he looked as if he was expecting Dimitri to slit his throat. That was not an insult. It was a compliment to have such a reputation. It was just too bad that making that choice would only make things worse. No matter how angry she was at her father, Toni wouldn’t have wanted Dimitri to kill him in cold blood.
“No.” Dimitri deliberately cut the zip ties binding Boris’s ankles to the chair legs. He saw the old man’s calf muscles bunch and quickly blocked the halfhearted attempt at a kick. “You know, I’m letting you go. You would do well to not piss me off and make me change my mind.”
“Why would you let me go?” Boris looked confused.
“Because killing you serves no purpose.” Dimitri shrugged. “Unlike my hotheaded brother, I understand the value and satisfaction to be gained from making someone suffer.”
Boris’s brow furrowed as he processed this thought. “A real man would kill me and have his revenge.”
“Imbecile,” Dimitri said in Russian. “You are too stupid to understand that putting you out of your misery is far too easy. A real man—as you say—understands that there are far worse things than death.”
“Such as?” Boris stood up, holding out his hands to Dimitri as though he was a servant.
Dimitri slit the zip ties on Boris’s hands, deliberately nicking the skin and making the man swear.
“You fool! You could cut my vein and have me bleed out right here on the floor! I thought you didn’t intend to kill me. Or must I die anyway because you are stupid?” Boris’s tone and manner all suggested he was the worst sort of man.
“Come now.”
The door swung open and Toni reached inside to begin scooping her mother’s jewelry into a small, velvet lined sack. Gold, diamonds, emeralds, and pearls went inside. There were necklaces and hair clips, earrings, and pendants galore. Her mother had adored pretty things, and although her father had never given her mother anything save her wedding ring, the Kabalevskys had amassed an amazing amount of jewelry that had been passed down to her mother from her mother and grandmother before her. The rumor was that some of these things had been smuggled out of Imperial Russian when the Czar fell.
Carefully tucking her treasure into her backpack, Toni closed the safe and spun the dial. She wondered vaguely how long it would take her father to realize that she’d liberated her personal property from his stash. She was already aware of the fact that he’d been giving a few of the small pieces to his favored mistresses. She honestly wondered if he’d been doing that while her mother was still alive. It sickened her to think that he might have.
Leaving her parents’ room behind, Toni headed down the stairs and back toward he front door. She had one place to go for the moment. Uncle Nikolai would welcome her, and nobody was going to bother her there. Then it was time to take stock and figure out what her next move was going to be. It was time for Antonina Kabalevsky Rustikov to grow up and take her place in the world.
A sudden thought of Dimitri made her heart contract painfully. How could he lie so convincingly? And how could she have bought in so thoroughly? No more. She decided that she was just going to have to harden herself against the man. Easier said that done? Yes. But Toni knew she could do anything she set her mind to.
Chapter Thirteen
Dimitri pulled a knife from his pocket and opened the razor sharp blade. To his credit, Boris did not flinch away as Dimitri had expected him to. He lifted his chin instead. In fact he looked as if he was expecting Dimitri to slit his throat. That was not an insult. It was a compliment to have such a reputation. It was just too bad that making that choice would only make things worse. No matter how angry she was at her father, Toni wouldn’t have wanted Dimitri to kill him in cold blood.
“No.” Dimitri deliberately cut the zip ties binding Boris’s ankles to the chair legs. He saw the old man’s calf muscles bunch and quickly blocked the halfhearted attempt at a kick. “You know, I’m letting you go. You would do well to not piss me off and make me change my mind.”
“Why would you let me go?” Boris looked confused.
“Because killing you serves no purpose.” Dimitri shrugged. “Unlike my hotheaded brother, I understand the value and satisfaction to be gained from making someone suffer.”
Boris’s brow furrowed as he processed this thought. “A real man would kill me and have his revenge.”
“Imbecile,” Dimitri said in Russian. “You are too stupid to understand that putting you out of your misery is far too easy. A real man—as you say—understands that there are far worse things than death.”
“Such as?” Boris stood up, holding out his hands to Dimitri as though he was a servant.
Dimitri slit the zip ties on Boris’s hands, deliberately nicking the skin and making the man swear.
“You fool! You could cut my vein and have me bleed out right here on the floor! I thought you didn’t intend to kill me. Or must I die anyway because you are stupid?” Boris’s tone and manner all suggested he was the worst sort of man.
“Come now.”
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