60

SASHA “Sasha, is that you?” I hide farther behind the wall at the bottom of the club’s stairs and tighten my grip on my burner phone. “It’s me, Uncle Albert.” “What were you thinking?” His voice hardens with concern. “How could you leave Russia without telling me?” “I’m sorry, but you said not to contact you unless it was urgent and absolutely necessary so…so…” “So you decided to go without informing me after you promised to stay away from the Morozovs.” I fidget, more sweat trickling down my spine with every passing moment. He sounds calm, but there’s an edge of disappointment behind his words like he trusted me with something, but I failed him. “I just wanted to know what Roman Morozov’s involvement was with the death of our family. I deserve to know why I lost everyone in the blink of an eye.” “And? Did you get your answer?” “No. He died as soon as we got here, but I’m getting closer to Kirill. If I prove myself, he’ll give me access to the office in which his father kept files, and