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Kir continues. “You’re right. Not only didn’t he like it one bit, his obsession with being passed over has caused him to… make some bad decisions over the years.”
“Like murdering our parents,” I say.
* * *
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
Vadik
The room is silent. Not even a fork clangs against a plate.
“He was responsible for your parents’ death?” Charleigh whispers, swallowing hard.
I hesitate, never sure I want to talk about this. It’s been two years, but it still feels like yesterday. I brought it up, though, so I’ll finish the story. “We haven’t proven he was behind it yet. But we’ve always been certain it was him.”
“It’s just a matter of time, though. Someday he’ll trip up, maybe admit to it, maybe not, but he’ll pay,” Kir adds, looking across the room with a blank stare. “The worst of it is that our dad felt sorry for Dimitri and to honor his longtime friend, tried to look after him once his father passed. Papa was so kind to him. Both our parents were. And look at how they were treated in the end…”
Kir stops. There’s really not much more to say.
My jaw twinges, and I realize I’ve been grinding my teeth. Something I never did before my parents were killed.
“Charleigh, stay away from that guy. He’s a predator. He comes near you, tell us,” Niko says.
She nods silently, her eyes wide.
Yeah, she’s in a totally new world now. She might not see what’s ahead, but she sure as hell knows it’s not going to be like anything she’s ever known.
Her eyes get glossy and her nose starts to pink. She sniffles hard and clears her throat, chasing away the threatening tears. Her relaxed demeanor of a few minutes ago has all but faded. “What happened, when your parents died?” she asks quietly. “The ones I was at the funeral for? Something about a fire?”
Again, the room’s silent except for Chef’s assistant, who clears our plates.
“Yes. There was a fire. Whoever set it targeted the room where our parents were sleeping. It spread so fast they didn’t even make it to the bedroom door when they tried to escape,” I say matter-of-factly, forcing myself to breathe.
In, out, in, out.
The fire was no doubt the work of a professional. Dimitri didn’t do it himself. He’s far too stupid to pull off anything like that. I’m certain he hired someone. Someone who knew just what they were doing.
“That’s where I first saw you,” I say, looking straight at Charleigh. “Your father came to pay his respects at the funeral. You were on the other side of the room.”
What a time that was. Visitors, calls, flowers. Meetings with lawyers, sorting out the will. And then there was the food people sent. So much, it was ridiculous. We did not eat a single bite of it. Whoever got rid of our parents might want to get rid of my brothers and me, next.
Looking down at her hands, Charleigh shakes her head. “I’m so sorry.”
She might not specifically recall me from that day, but I do her, in a simple black dress and scuffed shoes. She was out of place, on one hand, not dressed as nicely as the rest of the crowd pouring through the receiving line. But she was also one of the few who wasn’t there with her hand out, so to speak. She wasn’t asking for anything, like so many others were.
Kir rolls his shoulders and his neck cracks loudly. “After Papa died, our incompetent uncle took over the club. And nowhe’sgone.”
“Gone?” Charleigh asks. “Like deceased, gone?”
If only.
“Oh no,” Niko snickers. “He fled the country on tax evasion charges. We don’t know where he is. But he left us a mess to clean up. He made off with a lot of the club’s cash, so we’re trying to put the place back together, so to speak.”
Charleigh’s lips press together. It’s dawning on her that she’s part of this rebuilding too. So to speak.
Actually, she’s ahugepart of it.
I pour a second glass of wine, carefully paired with the meal by Chef—another fancy requirement of Papa’s that’s still in practice for some inane reason. I rarely have more than one drink at lunch, but after our run in earlier with the scumbag Dimitri, I figure I’ve earned a bonus one. My brothers clearly feel the same and gesture for me to top them off. Charleigh is the only one who took no more than a taste of hers. She thinks this goes unnoticed, but it does not, at least not by me. I miss nothing. Knowing what the hell is going on around me at all times is part of what’s made me successful. Kept me alive.
