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Though I’m no forensic expert, the sight of a dead man isn’t new to me. Judging by Andrei’s stiff position and the dried spatters of blood, I’d have to agree he’d been dead for hours.
But there’s more than one unpleasant piece of business to sort out. “Why didn’t you tell me about your big meeting?”
A flicker of surprise flares in her eyes and then disappears with a sneer. “What fucking meeting?”
“The one you had with my cousins. I’m guessing they promised that if I disappeared from the scene, you’d get to manage the club.”
“Maybe I thought you’d take the news badly. Point a gun at my face or something.”
“Is that a confession?”
Her shoulders twitch, a version of a shrug. “Yes, I should have told you. But you were dealing with a lot of personal baggage and I didn’t want to pile on.” Her eyes sweep over me with curiosity. “Was it Andrei who told you that?”
“No.” I don’t feel the need to elaborate.
She can guess anyway. “Must have been that jackass, Sophie. She was around when I was summoned to Essex Street. Even though she was thrown out of the room I could see her shadow hovering outside the door. But now that the cat is out of the bag, yes Jared said I would be running the place once you were convinced to step aside. That is, if you didn’t go along with their plans. They want to use the club as a headquarters for their brand new human trafficking pipeline.”
“And I wonder how he planned toconvinceme to step aside.”
“Keep in mind your cousins probably would have moved against you already if they weren’t so wary of Conner.”
“What the hell does Conner have to do with any of this?”
“If they mess with you then they mess with Emerald City’s hometown hero. The last thing the Marchenko boys want is to have the eyes of the world landing on the east side. That bought you some time, but only a little. Your cousins aren’t the kind of men who accept losses with grace. Believe me, I know the type.”
“Perhaps you could find work as their hired assassin. Seems like you’d need some more training though. You’re easy to beat.”
A laugh scrapes out of her throat. “This is why we’re best friends. You’re fierce, girlie.”
“Yeah, betrayal makes me a little salty.”
Her smile falls. “I didn’t betray you.”
“Prove it. Tell me why Andrei needed to talk to me so urgently. What was so important that he would only tell me in person?”
She frowns at the door, maybe remembering that our dead friend is still out there in the parking lot. “Andrei didn’t agree with my plan. I’m sure that’s what he wanted to talk to you about.”
“What plan?”
“We were going to kill them for you.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Those two clowns who share your last name are a fucking plague. Once they’re in charge of your family no one on the east side will be safe. Andrei wanted you to know what we were going to do. I told him you’d know once the job was done.”
I keep the gun trained on her. “Give me a reason to believe you.”
She smiles even though the barrel is pointed at her freckled forehead. “Look down, my queen.”
Now I feel it; the point of a blade pressing against my ribcage.
Fiona’s smile turns sad at the state of our standoff. “I could have cut your heart in half before you raised the muzzle of your gun. But I would never.”
“Why?”
“Because I’m your friend. Because I’llalwaysbe your friend. Even if you decide you hate me after today.”
My finger eases off the trigger. The gun is lowered. I can’t stand the weight of it in my hand. I drop it on the floor and kick it away.
