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Whoever it was deserved some credit for being smarter than Liam. But his animosity only proved that I had been outsmarted too. And that was not fucking allowed.
I was always ten steps ahead. I had to be.
“Who did it?” I asked again, eyes back on the ceiling. “And most importantly, why? I gave strict orders not to kill him!”
The clicking of the ballpoint pen started again, and I grated my teeth.
Four hours had passed since we sat in the living room and went through possible options as to who the culprit might be. Someone had bypassed security, stolen the coordinates of the location where I was holding him, and made sure he paid an unfriendly visit.
That someone killed Liam and it wasn’t on my order.
My fists went down on the armrest of the sofa. “Fuck, this wasn’t supposed to happen.”
“I agree.” Viktor piped up, inclining on the couch, his fingers tapping furiously on the keyboard of the laptop on his thighs. “Haven’t found anything on the guys he was with when he attacked. No known enemies, well, apart from you … but I can’t make sense of it. Who else would have wanted him dead?”
“But I was the one who put a target on his back.”
He rolled his eyes and let out a wry grunt. “Are you trying to justify yourself? I know you didn’t kill him. Your successful hunts inflate your damn ego. You wanted to torture him before you sent him to the underworld.”
That was the plan until someone else came along to ruin it.
I stood up, stretching my legs. “Find the person who did this, Viktor.”
“I will.” He adjusted the sleeves of his button-down shirt and stood up too. The sober look in his eyes was unexpected when he said, “And Juliana? How is she dealing with it?”
I didn’t say anything. Couldn’t say anything.
He bobbed his head empathetically and left in silence.
The walk to her room was short because I spent more time planning in my head how to catch the killer. I opened the door and went in. She sat on the bed, her legs crossed, her hair thrown forward so that it covered the sides of her face.
She just stared into space.
The answer to Viktor’s question was “no good” She was devastated, heartbroken. After yesterday, she was a shadow of her former self. An empty shell. She didn't speak, didn't eat, didn't say a word to me or anyone else. I looked into her ghostly eyes.
“Krasotka,” I whispered, hoping she would hear me.
She blinked. “Go away. Please.”
I grated my teeth and moved closer. “Juliana—”
“Rafail, please, leave.” An angry teardrop rolled down her cheek. “I don’t want you here. I just want to be alone. Why can’t you respect that?”
A sigh escaped me, and I raked my fingers through my hair. “Listen, I know you hate me and think that—”
“Yes,” she fired back. “I hate you and, yes, I think that everything that happened is your fault. My cousin is dead because of you. Because of your selfishness and inability to forgive. So, yes! I hate you so much for putting me through this pain.”
If it had been any other woman, she wouldn't have made it past the first four words in that tone. She might as well have had a piece of her tongue for dinner. But this was not just any woman. She was my wife!
She made me feel things that were as unnecessary as pain. Watching the tears roll down her cheeks did not bode well with me.
She didn’t need to say it to confirm what I knew she thought about me. That I had killed her cousin and she hated me for it. For speaking so harshly, I wanted to punish her, slap her across the face to remind her of her place.
But I didn’t. I couldn’t. The thought of hurting her squeezed my heart, suffocating me.
“Fuck!”
I left the room, slamming the door hard as I stomped out. The truth was, even if I didn’t kill him now, eventually I would have.
