“Hey. I’m okay. The worst is behind us.”
He cradles me, nodding slowly. We let silence settle until he kisses my hairline and frames my face. “I’ll see you at Silas and Leni’s this Friday.”
I nod, already picturing the family dinner and the chaos waiting for us there.
“I think it’ll be a good opportunity for you and Maksim to talk things out.”
He presses another kiss goodbye and heads for the door, but stops with his hand on the knob.
“No.”
Fifteen
MAKSIM
When my face was forced underwater and I fought for air, time always slowed. It’s like the world went silent, leaving only the relentless drum of a pulse against my skull. I wonder if it feels the same to Konstantin. The panic, the fire in his lungs, that suffocating hopelessness.
My fist tightens in his hair, shoving his head harder into the cold water, his body bent over the edge of the tub. His thrashing is useless, weak splashes against inevitability. Every now and then, I loosen my grip,justenough to make him believe he’s getting a breath. That I’ll show him mercy.
Mercy I was never given.
Maybe it wasn’thishand in my hair all those years ago, or his voice hissing that I deserved to die like a dog. But he was there. Watching and enjoying my suffering.
His body spasms, and a slow smile spreads across my face as I yank him out and let him hit the floor. But even as I watch him choke on blood and water, the ghosts of my past scrape their claws along the edges of my mind, reminding me that none of this will ever truly be enough.
I slap him and wrench him upright against the wall, fingers clamping around his throat.
“I want names. Addresses. Every man who worked with Pyotr.”
Konstantin sputters, choking for air. “I-I don’t have that information.”
I grin and pat his cheek like he’s a misbehaving child. “You’re a tough son of a bitch. I’ll give you that.”
He manages a bitter laugh, chest heaving. “You chase the devil long enough, Maksim…he finds you. Or you find him.”
My jaw ticks. I squeeze his face until blood beads at the corners of his mouth, and he groans. Cryptic warnings don’t scare me. They just piss me off.
“Maybe I’m the one they’re looking for. And I’ll be right here waiting.”
That’s when my phone buzzes. Valentina’s face lights the screen, and for a second, I’m torn. The urge to tear this man apart collides with something softer but far more dangerous. I shove it down and drag Konstantin back into the tub.
My gun cracks twice, shattering his kneecaps. His screams rattle the walls, so I rip a towel from the rack, wrap it around his head, and crank the shower on high. Water beats down, soaking him.
“Don’t go anywhere,” I say, twisting the knob toward the hottest setting. Drowning in scalding water wasn’t on his agenda today, but he had weeks to disappear and didn’t. I told him I’d be back.
I always keep my promises.
The phone buzzes again. This time it’s not a message, it’s her voice, spilling into the room before I even realize I’ve answered.
“Hey, Maxy.”
The bathroom door clicks shut behind me, muffling Konstantin’s whines.
“Hey,” I say, forcing my voice steady and shaking my head at the absurdity of smiling this big right now.
“I don’t know if you saw my text,” she says, “but what do you want for dinner?”
“Are you cooking?”
