I shrug. “Not much. But by the sounds of it, when he was your age, he had nothing. He didn’t even have a father.”
“How do you know this?”
“Why do you think?” I scoff. “Because he told me.”
Igor shifts on the lounger, screwing up his lips. “He had nothing, did he?” He starts laughing, shaking his head in disbelief.
He’s really starting to creep me out. This isn’t funny.
Igor never had a fucked sense of humor like this when we were together.
“If that was the case, then he should know better.”
“What do you mean?”
The sun disappears behind a cloud. And Igor’s smile goes with it. His face is cold, nothing at all like I remember him looking. There was always a spark in his eye. Color to his cheeks.
Of course, now I know it was all fake.
Igor’s mouth twitches. “The annoying part about all of this, Joy, is that I really did have feelings for you.”
“Bullshit.”
“No. Not bullshit.” He nets his hands together. Swings them between his legs. “My relationship with females has always been… complicated. I never had a stable female figure growing up. I didn’t think relationships were for me. And then I found you and I could feel myself falling. Which I wasn’t meant to do.”
“Right. Because your plan was to use me.”
Igor spaces out. “I felt something. And I liked what we had. But it could never last. Females never stick around long in the Bratva.”
I shuffle closer, searching Igor’s eyes. “Your father’s still hung up on what happened to your mother, isn’t he?”
Igor stares at me for a moment. And then cracks a smile. “You really think my father is a good person, don’t you?”
“I think we all are at our cores. Your father has been through a lot. And that changes people.”
Igor goes back to shaking his head in disbelief. His eyes never leave mine. “Wake up, Joy. The last person my father married, he killed.”
I gasp. The air gets stuck in my throat.
The sun is back out. But I’m stone cold.
Igor keeps watching me. He doesn’t look cruel anymore. Just hurt.
Valerian killed hismom.
“What?” My breath is shaky. “Why would he do that?”
“Because he’s a monster, Joy.” Igor keeps watching me. “I believe most peoplearegood. But my father was born evil. Which is why I have to take his Bratva down. It’s the only way I can stop him.”
Igor’s voice is leveled, which tells me he’s been living with resentment for years. He must be tired. But he can’t rest. I see the determination in his eyes. He won’t stop until his father has paid the price.
I sit on my hands to stop them from shaking. “Why did he do it?”
Igor shrugs. “This is just what he does.”
My heart beats rapidly in my throat. I stare at the pool. I need a minute to gather my thoughts.
Surely this can’t be.