Free Where the Sun Hides (Seasons of Betrayal #1) by Bethany-Kris, London Miller Page A

said before he could check the impulse, and
even if he’d been able to, he didn’t think he would have restrained himself.
    With the command resting between them, Vasily paused—the
glass he was bringing to his lips suspended in the air—his gaze moving to Kaz.
Even Gerald looked up from his reading, where he was acting as though he was
not listening to the conversation.
    That was the thing about having one’s father as the boss as
well. The lines blurred as to which persona you got. It was one thing for Kaz
to speak out of turn to his father. Though still disrespectful, it could be
excused. But to speak to a Pakhan as though he were equal, that was an
offense not taken lightly. It didn’t matter that Vasily’s vocalized response
was one of a father’s feelings toward his son, the discussion at hand was
between a boss and his soldier.
    Placing his glass back on the counter, Vasily laid both
hands down, leaning his weight into them as he narrowed cold eyes on Kaz. His
displeasure bled out of him. “What did you say?”
    Kaz had a choice, everyone always had a choice, just as
he’d told Violet last night. He could repeat himself, risk his father’s wrath,
or he could bite his tongue and stay silent. Knowing his mother was still
somewhere in the house, Kaz chose the latter.
    “Nothing.” It took a lot for him to even voice that—Kaz
wasn’t usually one to back down from a fight.
    A heartbeat’s time. Two. Then, Vasily’s shoulders relaxed
as he straightened. “Finish what you were saying.”
    “Ruslan took one home.” Kaz didn’t remember the girl’s
name, or had he even bothered to find out? “And Nathaniel took the other to the
hospital. Undoubtedly, you already know this. So, instead of wasting time on
what we already know, how about you tell me the real reason you called me
here.”
    Vasily frowned. “Why?”
    “Why what?”
    “Why was any of that necessary?” Vasily elaborated. “What
happened before this?”
    Truthfully, Kaz hadn’t thought much of what had ultimately
caused the girls to be in Ruslan’s office. The only thing he remembered hearing
was a glass breaking near the bar, and the girls’ cries of alarm from where
he’d stood with Ruslan.
    While his brother had immediately went to help the women,
Kaz had lingered behind, making sure the broken glass was cleaned up and that
no one else was hurt, then he went to see if his brother needed any help
with them.
    “One had too much to drink, I assume. I didn’t see it all.”
    That did nothing to placate his father, however. He still
looked baffled, and a bit annoyed by it all. “You knew better,” Vasily said
again, shaking his head. “How many times have I told you that Brooklyn is
off-limits to you? And that you were to never be around the daughter of
Gallucci.”
    The first he had said so many times that Kaz thought his
head would bleed. And the second had been repeated a few times, but not nearly
as much as the first. It wasn’t as though Kaz had had any interest in Violet
before last night. He had never given the girl a second thought.
    “Plenty.”
    “Then don’t let it happen again. The last thing I need is
Alberto Gallucci giving me shit because you’re making moves on that daughter of
his.”
    Kaz sat back with a shrug. “Duly noted.”
    The front door opened with a crash, the sound of two
giggling teenagers breaking up the somber mood that had settled in the kitchen.
Just as before, Kaz let down his guard as his two younger sisters, Dina and
Nika, came barreling into the kitchen, oblivious to the tension that had just
been there.
    Of the two, Nika was the more outgoing. Dina let her sister
lead, waiting her turn as Nika immediately came over to him and wrapped her
arms around him. Getting to his feet, Kaz returned the embrace, reaching to
bring Dina into the fold as well.
    “Kaz, what are you doing here?” Nika asked, smiling up at
him.
    “Just visiting,” he returned smoothly. “And coming to ask
what the two of