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“Let me guess, you’ve seen worse in the O.R.”
“Not the violence, mind you. But the O.R. does tend to desensitize you to the sight of blood and guts.”
He raises an eyebrow at me. “Is that the medical term for it?”
“Wise guy.” I shift so I can look at him better. “Bash, in the course of three months, I’ve hidden a gun, treated a GSW without reporting it…and chopped a guy's dick off.”
He brushes some strands of hair from my eyes. “You want a medal?”
“Bash.”
“Sorry, too soon.”
“I’m…it’s like I don’t recognize myself anymore. At the same time, it’s like a whole new side of me has been awakened, a side I never knew existed before.”
His sapphire eyes study me. “That doesn’t sound like such a bad thing.”
My heart sinks to my belly. “Babe, I have to tell you something. I’ve been meaning to, I just didn’t know how.”
He continues to study me, his eyes narrow. “You can tell me anything, Mads.”
I let the silence linger. My gaze drifts to the windows. I notice the snow has begun to fall in big pillowy flakes. I feel his fingers on my chin as he gently turns my face back to him.
“After what we just went through together, we shouldn’t have any more secrets.”
“I know but…I think you’ll be angry.”
He looks askance at me, his eyes search mine. As if reading my mind, he finally says, “What did you really do with the gun, Mads?”
Detective Hart’s words echo in my head. “Did you think he might be taking advantage of your feelings for him, to make sure the gun is safe?”
I take a deep breath and blurt it out. “I didn’t throw it in the Hudson River, it’s in the attic of the house I rent.”
He simply stares at me for a moment. Uncertain, I return my gaze to the falling snow as I await his response. He cradles my face in his hands and kisses my brow. “Thank you for telling me the truth. Tomorrow, we’ll go take care of it. I never should’ve put that on you in the first place.”
“You’re not angry with me?”
He shrugs. “It was a rookie mistake, I’ll forgive you this once.”
“Okay, and I’ll forgive you for not telling me you were engaged.”
“Oh…right.”
I hold out my hand. “Shall we call it even? No more secrets from here on out?”
He gives my hand a firm shake. “No more secrets.” The rigid set of his shoulders softens, and he relaxes into the cushions. “I don’t know how much you heard in that room, but…” he closes his eyes and lays his head back. “Sergei ordered the hit on the former head of our family. The man I believed to be my father.”
“Oh my gosh, really?” I sit up. “Wait, what do you mean, the man youbelievedto be your father?”
His eyes are still shut. “I don’t know whether he was just trying to save his skin, but he claims he and my mother were together before she married my father. And that…he was my dad, not Alexi.”
I peer at him. “Do you believe him?”
He opens his eyes, his gaze rests upon the glowing flames dancing in the evening light. “I don’t know. Whether he was or not, I wanted him gone. For killing the man I called father, but mostly for what he tried to do to you.” He looks at me. “Either way, I’m glad he’s dead.”
Chapter 18 – Cleaning up Loose Ends
Thenextmorning,Ilet Madison sleep in while I checked in on all the fallout from last nights chaotic events. Stieg text me to say that the kitchen’s clean, letting me know that Sergei’s body has been properly disposed of and the room has been sanitized. Good man, that Stieg.
