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I nod, imagining the hostile glares. “Emma, do you forgive Kenney for what he did to you?”
“Maybe someday.” Emma’s mouth tightens as she looks at her reflection. “But not right now.”
I let the topic drop quickly. “Where did you hide the safe?” I ask.
Emma points with her head, and I follow her into the closet. Her arm stretches deep into a pile of jeans and uncovers the chunky little safe. She looks up expectantly at me, and I can’t tell her no.
I hug my body close, feeling an icy chill that isn’t there. “Good, I’ll need it later.”
Emma jumps up and hugs me. “I wasn’t sure if you’d go through with it.”
“I have to.” I look past her at nothing and swallow hard as I recall the feeling of Andrei’s love last night. “Eventually.”
Chapter 23
Andrei
I rub my hand over my face as the shower soaks my hair, thinking about the last two days. I knew Paige was lying the other day. Her startled expression gave it away, and she didn’t hide her Nokia phone very well.
I found it, and I dialed the last caller on it. Kenney didn’t expect to hear my voice, and I listened to his pathetic threats.
When I found him shot dead, I couldn’t leave the scene. It would’ve made things worse to run, so I waited for the police to arrive. He was a fool to think he could trust Talia. But my heart sank down into my gut as Kenney’s lifeless gaze stared up at the ceiling. I knew Paige would blame me for it, and that was the exact moment that she walked into the room.
I was cuffed and taken to the station. The detective that interrogated me knew who I was by reputation, but he also knew I had no record. He knew I keep a distance from the law. I’m not a fool. I don’t kill cops.
In return, the police turn a blind eye, hoping the Bratva will cancel each other out.
A sign of respect. They know how the game is played.
I shifted in the hard metal chair in the windowless room. “Was Kenney Grant working undercover?”
“I’m the one asking questions, Barinov.” The detective made a face but refused to answer. “I’m not here to answer yours.”
I have my doubts that Kenney was telling Paige the truth. He wasn’t undercover. Which meanssomeonekilled him.
My body still aches from sitting in that room for hours, but it was worth it to return home. I didn’t run, and Paige had to believe me this time. I sit down on the bed and run my hand over the messy sheets on her side, as if she’s still lying there. The smooth sheets aren’t as soft as her body, and I miss her. She won’t leave me for now.
After I get dressed, I go downstairs to the office, and Dmitri is waiting alone.
“Where is Natasha?” I ask as I sit down beside him on the couch.
“She’s out looking for clues,” he replies. “It’s a tangled ball of truth and lies. But she’ll get the right answers.”
I nod. “He was dead when I got there. The lawyer’s office was closed because he was in court. It was obviously a trap, but for who?”
“Viktor said Paige was given the wrong address, and then they were followed.” Dmitri pauses. “Whoever set her up also setyouup. They probably knew you would find the phone.”
Everything he’s telling me is old news. “Paige has become close to Zhanna Nikolaeva.”
Dmitri sits up and looks at me expectantly. “That’s good news. Isn’t it?”
I shake my head and sink down into the cushion. “Not when the old bitch is teaching my wife how to leave me.”
“What would be her reason?” asks Dmitri. “It’s not like you plan to marry her.”
I get up and walk behind the bar. Hidden in the back of a locked cabinet is a bottle of Russo-Baltique vodka. Vasily would only drink it on special occasions. Special occasions must’ve been rare because I have several full bottles of the stuff. I pour two glasses and offer one to Dmitri.
“Zhanna had an affair with Vasily when she was newly widowed,” I explain. “But when Eva had me—a son—he wasn’t going to leave.” Holding my glass, I look at Dmitri. “You’ve been right all along, Dima. I’ve neglected the Bratva for love. I denied being in love. I thought I’d get over it in time. But it’s the opposite. I know now that I will never be over Paige. I’ll always want her. But she won’t always want me. Not when she realizes her power and the fact that she doesn’t need me.”
