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“Emily tried to be there for me, but I couldn’t hear it,” he continues. “I needed space, so we broke up. I went to Russia to try and deal with my family shit, and she stayed here.”
“It’s a convenient alibi, being out of the country. I’d commend the planning if it hadn’t resulted in the murder of my sister.”
He sighs, but tries to carry on like I didn’t say anything. He doesn’t want to waste a second of the time he has left.
“When I was in Russia, Emily and I reconnected. She reached out and we started talking. There had been some weirdness between us the last few months, even before my mom died, and she wanted to explain everything and fix it. Fix us. So I was going to come back and we would sort through our shit.”
“What ‘shit’ was that?” Piper asks.
I glance over. She’s hyperfocused on Rodion. Aside from the occasional squeeze of her hand in mine, I almost forgot she was here.
Rodion shrugs, careful not to look her way any longer than necessary. “I don’t know. She told me she wanted to tell me in person. By the time my plane landed on American soil, she was dead.”
I snort. “How convenient. You two were making up and then she is murdered on the same day you are back in the country? It’s pretty coincidental. And I don’t believe in coincidences.”
“Neither do I,” he says. “I think someone knew Emily and I were reconnecting. Someone knew we were getting back together and they didn’t want that to happen. Maybe it has something to do with what she wanted to tell me, but I… I don’t know.”
Rodion drags a hand through his hair, sending the ends spiking up in every direction. “I’ve been tracking down leads in my free time. My biggest theory is the Albanians, of course. But so far, no one has given me any useful information.”
“If an Albanian did this, I’d know about it,” I tell him. “None of my contacts have said anything to that effect.”
He shrugs, his arms hanging limp at his sides. “I don’t know, Timofey. I wish I did, but I—I’m telling you what I do know. I didn’t do it.”
All of the restraint I’ve managed to draw on until now goes slack all at once. I lunge forward, smoke practically pouring out of my ears. “You’re fucking lying. You know how I know? Because Emilytoldme you threatened her.”
Rodion shrinks back against the wall, and Piper pulls gently on my hand. She’s just reminding me that she’s there.
And it works.
If I do decide to kill Rodion, I’ll make sure she’s out of the room first.
I retreat back next to Piper, eyes still narrowed on Rodion. “Emily told me about every single time you swore she’d end up as one of the dots tattooed on your arm.”
He nods. “I did that. I have never claimed to be a good boyfriend, a good man, anything like that. I’m as fucked-up as they come. And when she threatened to leave me, I fucking lost it. But I never,everhurt her. Not physically. If I had, she would have told you.”
“At one point, maybe. But we weren’t on good terms at the end,” I retort. “Because of you. The moment you two got together, I knew Emily deserved better. When she said you threatened her, I swore to her I’d kill you if you ever laid a hand on her. Then, slowly, she pulled away. Probably because she was tangled in your web and didn’t want me to slit your throat when she showed up with a black eye.”
“There was never a black eye! I swear.” He glances at the clock on the wall, and I have no idea how much time he has left. I’ve lost count. “I loved her, Timofey. I did. But I had no clue how to love her until it was too late. I wasted years being jealous and controlling. Now, she’s gone, and I—I’ll never forgive myself.”
In his words, I hear a warning.
Since the moment I met Piper, she has been a means to an end. Even as my feelings for her have grown and expanded, I’ve rammed them down into the box I’ve fit her into. With a promise to myself all along: once I get what I want from her, I’ll toss her aside.
But things have changed.
If I follow through with that plan, I know I’ll live to regret it. One day, I’ll have the same pained, desperate look on my face as Rodion does now.
It’s that expression that, more than anything else he has said, makes me believe him.
“His time is up,” Piper says quietly.
I look back, and she’s glaring past me at Rodion. She doesn’t believe him. She still thinks he’s responsible.
“So what’s it going to be?” Rodion asks, resignation in his voice.
I hesitate. Suddenly, the air itself feels heavy on my shoulders. Then I let out a long sigh that does nothing to lighten it. “For now, you’re going to walk out of here alive.”
He visibly sags in relief. “You believe me, then?”
