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“Doing well, cousin?”
Without thinking, I place my right hand over my left to cover my ring. I don’t like how he’s looking at me, calculating how much everything costs.
“You had something urgent to tell me?” I ask.
“I do, and there’s no easy way to say it.” He takes a deep breath. “So I’ll just say it straight.”
“Your mother is dead,” he says.
The shock knocks me off the stool, and I lean heavily against it as my ears ring from the news.
“What?” I breathe.
“From what we can tell, she was the victim of a botched break-in.” Kenney speaks to me but keeps his eyes on Oleg watching us. “Her body was found earlier this morning. Her front door was left open, and a neighbor called. I know you haven’t seen her in years, but I thought I should be the one to tell you. Family and all that.”
I stare into nothing. “I saw her the other day. She was about to move back in with Dad and help take care of Emma. Does my dad know yet?”
“No.” Kenney sighs. “And if I’m being honest, I don’t think he wants to hear it from me.”
I nod. “He won’t.”
“Paige.” Kenney gets off his stool, leans toward me, and lowers his voice. “There is something else … never mind.” He looks behind me and I follow his gaze to my guards. None of them have moved, but Oleg keeps his eyes trained on Kenney.
Kenney knows who and what they are—the matching dark suits, prominent tattoos, and inscrutable looks. But thankfully, he asks no questions and says nothing more.
He walks out without saying goodbye, and I sit there in silence as reality settles in my stomach.
My mother is dead.
Chapter 45
Andrei
I know something terrible has happened. I watch Dmitri and Natasha out on the terrace from my office window. His feet are planted apart as she glares at the ground. Something has gone wrong, and they’re deciding who will tell me. My stomach drops, knowing Paige is not in the house. Natasha furtively glances over her shoulder and sees me in the window. She steps close to Dmitri, who looks up. The conversation ends abruptly; she stays where she is while he walks toward the French doors.
I can’t wait and hurry to meet Dmitri at the doors. Seconds seem like hours as only the worst thoughts crowd my mind. Nothing had better have happened to Paige. I will destroy whoever is responsible. I’ll cut the fingers off the person who touched her one at a time while they watch.
“She’s safe, Andre Vasilyevich,” Dmitri tells me immediately. “But the Karamazov Bratva carried out a hit in an unknown neighborhood.”
“Unknown?” I ask as we walk past Natasha toward the maze.
“There were no persons of interest,” he pauses, “But it was close to Paige’s old neighborhood.”
I can barely hear myself speak over my booming heart. “Is that all we know?”
“Natasha followed up.” He glances furtively at the maze, then takes his phone out of his pocket. “A woman was found dead on the bedroom floor of a rental. It was the same woman that was with Paige at the hospital. Oleg confirmed it.”
I take Dmitri’s phone out of his hands and look at the woman in the photo. Her eyes stare lifelessly as a trickle of blood marks her mouth. I don’t need confirmation of who she is. The woman looks like Paige except older. And dead.
I hand the phone back to Dmitri and motion to Natasha to join us. “Find out who carried out the hit,” I give her orders. “And bring them to me. Alive. I want to ask them why myself.”
I glance toward the garage, and Natasha knows the person who pulled the trigger must be tied up inside before the week is over. She hurries off at a quick pace toward her Rover, motioning to two guards to follow.
“Does Paige know?” I ask.
Dmitri nods. “She has a cousin in law enforcement, and he told her at a local bar.”
“Is she there now?” I ask.
