Beginning at the more important question, I reply to Trey, “A battle ensued. Nikolai and Rico were outnumbered, but they held their ground until. . .”
Air hisses between my teeth when my hand shoots up to my hair. The sting of the brute’s hold is still burning my scalp. “A man grabbed me. He was so large, he didn’t need to extend his arm to hoist me from the ground.”
“That’s good, Justine. Keep going,” Trey encourages, stepping closer to me.
My hand falls from my head. “Nikolai threatened him, told him he’d kill his family if he didn’t let me go.” Trey nods, aware Nikolai would go to the ends of the earth to protect me. “That’s when another man entered the equation.” I stop as my brain struggles to clear the fog in my mind. “Maxsim. Nikolai called him Maxsim.”
“Maxsim?” Trey checks, his tone high. “Are you sure?”
“If he’s Alexei’s son, then yes, I’m sure.” My voice jitters with panic. “They argued about Nikolai killing Alexei and how Maxsim was going to use Eli to take Nikolai’s place.”
“How did Nikolai respond?”
“Umm.” I stop, my memories still hazy. “He said he had changed the rules, that Anatoly’s rulings were no longer relevant.” Tears prick my eyes when the reason for the large bruise on my stomach dawns on me. “His reply angered Maxsim so much, he signaled for his goon to hit me.”
Maddox and Trey’s eyes follow my hand when it lowers to shield my stomach. Even with the incident happening three days ago, I can still recall the bile that scorched my throat from his hit. He held nothing back, maiming me as badly as his hit stole the life from Nikolai’s eyes.
Not trusting my legs to remain upright, I sit on the edge of my bed. It’s not the large king-size bed Nikolai and I have shared the prior twelve months. It’s the dilapidated mattress my internship salary struggled to cover.
I wanted to gift Nikolai something unique to celebrate our one-year anniversary. That’s virtually impossible when you’re dating a man who has everything. After a few days of deliberation, I realized there was one thing I could give him that money could never buy. Happy memories.
That’s why I had our room transformed into my apartment. Our time there was short, but we amassed a vault-load of memories—memories we added to only a week ago.
“Do you know what happened to the men Nikolai and you traveled with? Roman? Rico?” I stop shaking my head when Maddox adds on, “Dimitri?”
My pupils turn massive. “Dimitri was shot.”
When Maddox shifts his eyes to Trey, Trey discloses, “Dimitri is under watch at an undisclosed location. He was found by the feds surrounded by numerous deceased members of a Russian association. They’re seeking the death penalty.”
He appears as if he wants to say more, but his lips remain shut.
Mine aren’t as willing to ignore the massive elephant sitting in the room. “What aren’t you telling me, Trey?”
Most of my interactions with Trey have occurred while Nikolai is in my presence, so I’m often distracted, but I still know him well enough to know when he’s skirting important issues.
“Don’t lie to me, Trey. You know the consequences if you do.”
Who the hell am I? I may be the most scared I’ve ever been, but I don’t threaten people.I guess what Nikolai said is true: when forced to pick between leading or being led, you pick the one you’re most likely to survive.
Failing to hear the deceit in my tone, Trey squawks like a canary, “Nikolai’s DNA was found on scene. A pool of his blood was located next to a man only known as a myth:Ubiytsa.”
“Killer,” I translate.
Sick unease melds though me when Trey nods. “Rumors are his father was a Ukrainian weightlifter, and his mother an operative at the Russian soviet. With his childhood devoted to beating his mother’s lineage into him, his seven-foot-eight height never matched the maturity of his brain. His mental capacity only reached that of a young teen.”
“Was he the man who held me hostage?”
Trey nods again. “We believe so.”
With both Trey and me stunned into silence, Maddox joins our conversation. “What are you saying? Nikolai killed a man, and in retaliation, he was killed?”
Trey’s shrug has him missing my paling cheeks. “We don’t know. Dimitri was the only man found alive.”
“Because he was too injured to flee?”
My optimism is dashed when Trey shakes his head. “He was left as a warning. If this was a takeover bid, Maxsim needs the word spread that he toppled the king. Dimitri is his equivalent of a town crier.”
“But Maxsim didn’t topple the king. Nikolai isn’t dead.”
