“He’s dead.”
Trey gives me a look as if askingare you sure?
“I pulled Nikolai’s knife from his chest myself, Trey. I heard him take his last breath.”
Trey slices his hand through the air, cutting me off. “What? YouheardVladimir take his last breath.”
When I nod, he forces out in a hurry, “What did it sound like?”
I do a weird shrug. “I don’t know. Like someone taking their final breath.”
“Was it wheezy? Gargling?” Trey stands to his feet. “Did it sound anything like the breath Kliment just took?”
I shake my head. “It was more a. . .” I make a noise similar to the one Vladimir made when I saved Nikolai from prosecution by placing myself in the DA’s sight. “But why does it matter? Even if Vladimir survived a knife wound to the heart, nothing would have saved him from the inferno that followed our departure.”
Trey’s brow bows. “The inferno that occurred twenty minutes after you removed Nikolai’s knife.”
He’s not asking a question, he’s stating a fact. Nikolai had every intention of cremating Vladimir in the hell he was tortured in thirteen years earlier, but my wish to help the trapped women meant a change to the game plan. Nikolai delayed Vladimir’s undeserving memorial for me.
Shit.
Spotting my downcast lips, Trey murmurs, “Twenty minutes is plenty of time for an injured man to seek cover.”
“No.” I shake his horrid words from my ears. This is not a notion I’m willing to consider. “Vladimir is dead. Nikolai killed him. End of story.”
“You said Maxsim knew stuff about Nikolai only those closest to him know. The rhyme you heard is one Vladimir sang to Nikolai when he was a child. What more proof do you need?”
“A solid one!” I cradle my head in my hands, striving to ignore the clump of vomit in my throat. “Why now, Trey? If any of this is true, why would Vladimir wait so long to act?”
“That’s like asking how long a piece of string is. Nothing Vladimir did made sense. He wasn’t known for rationality.”
I take a deep breath before forcing out, “Maxsim wanted Eli so he could raise him to take Nikolai’s place.”
“Or. . . Maxsim took Eli for Vladimir so Vladimir could return the Popov entity to its true heritage.”
My spine snaps straight as my eyes rocket to Trey.How does he know Nikolai isn’t a Popov? Hardly anyone knows that.
Trey’s throat works hard to swallow. “Carmichael.”
“What?”
Trey points to the journal he showed me earlier. “Nikolai needed documents notarized. The beneficiary couldn’t notarize them, so he called a man he knew could. Carmichael.”
“So he just told you Nikolai’s secrets?” I swear, I’m as furious now as I was when I discovered how Carmichael double-crossed Nikolai when he was only a boy.
“Not exactly.”
My glare ramps up.
“I overheard some things.”
“You spied on Nikolai? Are you insane? He’s had men killed for less.”
I’m not lying. If you deceive Nikolai, expect to pay for your error with your life.
I swallow my anger when Trey whispers, “I needed to protect Kristina.” His wide eyes dance between mine when he adds on, “I couldn’t have her sold again, Justine. I love her.”
I release an exasperated breath. I’m annoyed he spied on Nikolai, but I understand why he did it. Nothing is off limits when it comes to protecting the people you love.
