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Edvard chuckles again. In all the time I’ve known him, I don’t think he’s ever taken offense to my tone. If he has, he doesn’t show it. “My source can be trusted. I can set up a job interview for you, if you’re interested.”
I let out a heavy sigh. “Of course I am. It’s like you said, I have no other choice.”
“Very well. I’ll make the arrangements and text you the details.”
“Thank you,” I mumble weakly. A realization suddenly hits me. “Wait! He knows what I look like.”
Edvard is silent for a moment. “Did he see you plant the bomb?”
“No. No, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure he thinks I’m just some unlucky pedestrian.”
“Then you’ll figure something out. Play up the coincidence,” he says. “Then be quick about it. In and out. Get the job done. I know you can do it.”
“Thank you for your help. And for believing in me.”
“Viktor was an old friend of mine,” he says gravely. “Practically a brother. You’re not the only one who wants Dimitri Antonov dead. I’ll support you in any way I can.”
The call ends.
I chew on the inside of my cheek, anger and hatred stewing in the pit of my stomach. It consumes me, threatens to tear me apart. For now, I need to think about how I’m going to do it. A knife to the throat? Poison? Shooting him between the eyes like he did my father?
My heart races at all the possibilities, each one of them gruesome and appalling. Ireallydon’t want to do this. Truth be told, I’m exhausted. I’m exhausted and afraid and falling apart at the seams, but I can’t afford to let myself rest. There will be plenty of time for that after.
This may very well be my last chance. The police sure as hell won’t help me. Not when the Antonov Bratva owns half the department in Moscow. Every time I tried to push my father’s case forward, every time I attempted to present them with evidence, it was always ‘something’s come up’ or ‘we’ll get right to it.’ Fast forward one year and nothing’s been done. At the rate things are going, my father will never see justice.
It’s as the old saying goes: if you want something done right, you have to do it yourself.
And this time, I will not fail.
Chapter 3
Dimitri
“Welcome back, sir,” Dahlia says, setting the laundry basket down on the nearby table. She’s a lady in her mid-sixties, grey streaking through her long black hair. For a woman of such small stature, she’s as strong as a bull and has just as much energy. A pair of pinched spectacles sits on the bridge of her thin nose. “I wasn’t expecting you back so early.”
“There’s been a change of plans,” I say.
“Well, I suppose it’s a good thing. It’s all over the news! An explosion on the other side of the city. Several of the major roads are blocked off for people’s security.”
I almost chuckle. “Ah, that might have been my fault.”
“Pardon me, sir?”
“Nothing.”
Behind me, I hear the front door swing open. The shrill voice of my mother, Catherina, reaches my ears well before I see her.
“Wheel him inside,” she orders someone, probably Boris. Catherina strides into the kitchen, head held high and chest out proud, dressed in an impressive mink coat and polished leather boots. Her expression is as severe as ever, thin lips pressed into a line while her needle-thin brows furrow.
“You’re a mess,” she comments, giving me a once over. “There’s glass in your hair.”
I reach a hand up to my head. Tiny pebbles of glass are stuck between my locks. “It’s nothing to worry about,” I assure her.
The squeak of his wheelchair announces Lev’s arrival in the kitchen, Boris diligently pushing him forward. My father sits in his chair, largely unresponsive, though I’m pretty sure there’s a flicker of familiarity in those dark eyes of his.
My father’s story is a sad one, full of tragedy and misfortune. I spent my entire life believing he was dead. Imagine my surprise when I found him locked away—on my uncle’s orders—forgotten in some small port town in the northernmost region of Russia. He doesn’t talk much. The doctors don’t think he’s capable. Whatever treatment Konstantin subjected him to has irrevocably destroyed his mind. My father stares off into the distance, vacant.
Catherina approaches me. “I’ve brought Lev at your insistence. I personally don’t see the point.”
