The hard punch went straight to the middle of his face. I threw another into his gut just because I was pissed off.
“Enough,” Alexsey growled. “Not like this. Not when we could have prying eyes.”
He was right. We had no idea which guests were still hiding in rooms. “Jaxon. Sweep the house and grounds for any remaining guests. If their names match to the list, let them go.”
“What if they talk?”
We hadn’t faced being worried about witnesses in a long time. “Let them,” Mikhail answered before I had a chance to. “We faced a home invasion. It’s happened before. That’s what we’re going to tell the police and any reporters. Go spend time with your family, Sasha. You’ve been through an ordeal.”
“Not until I talk to the goddamn caterer.” I’d been the shy kid, the one who’d shied away from every aspect of our family for as long as possible. Hell, I’d never raised my voice to Mikhail or questioned anything he’d commanded since becoming Pakhan.
Maybe because I’d lived as a shell of a man, the last seven years making it impossible to care enough about almost anything outside my home to keep me enraged.
Everything changed today.
While he didn’t try to stop me from jogging down the stairs, I knew he’d follow. I headed into the kitchen by slamming my hand on the door. All eight of the remaining caterers jumped. They were all standing as if in a lineup, uncertain what fate awaited them.
I noticed the owner right away. Mary Tyler had catered a half-dozen events in Dreamscape over the last year, more at theother resorts over the last five years. Her food was the best in the business, her professionalism without question. While she’d been second choice based on Halle’s recommendation, I hadn’t thought twice about making a phone call and asking for a favor.
Which was why when I noticed the terror on her face, I immediately softened.
“I’m so sorry, Mr. Dmitriyev,” she said. “I don’t know what to say.”
There was an ache behind my eyes, the dull throbbing making it impossible to think clearly. I was right in that Mikhail was close behind me. Since the only time he’d seen me this way was after Selena died, he had a right to be concerned.
“Were they your regular employees?”
“No, sir.”
I felt the same pull toward uncontrollable violence just like before. I closed my eyes briefly, allowing Lainey’s face to push into my mind. I was also able to hear her voice as if she was singing right next to me. “What happened, Mary?”
“You’ve always been such an amazing client so when you called, I couldn’t say no. We simply didn’t have enough regular employees for your party and another that had already been booked. My partner contacted a firm we’ve used before. They only hire fully qualified people.”
Mikhail was suddenly right beside me, taking his time staring at the group of younger men and women in the line. I recognized at least four of them.
“Are any of them in this group?”
She shook her head and the look on her face indicated she’d connected the dots. “These are my regular employees. They’d never do anything like this.”
“As you might imagine, we’ll need the names of the employees and your contact at this agency.” Mikhail’s voice was on edge, but at least he could offer her a smile.
“Of course. Anything you need.” She was white as a sheet.
I placed my hand on her arm. “It’s okay, Mary. It’s not your fault.” Right now, I was still at the point of destroying anyone who got in my way of discovery. I’d never been this angry. “Why don’t you and the staff collect your things and head out? I have a cleaning crew on the way. I’ll make certain your chafing dishes and anything else we find is brought back to you tomorrow. Okay?”
“If you’re sure.”
“I’m sure. This has been a difficult day for everyone.”
Until we’d had a chance to check the bodies and deal with the police our way, I didn’t want anyone else on the premises taking pictures or finding additional dirty laundry for the internet. Although I was almost certain news had hit social media already. That’s how people were. They couldn’t care less about the living people involved in a tragedy.
“I’m headed outside,” I told Mikhail, at least waiting this time until he nodded.
Once I was standing on the pool deck surveying the carnage, I realized just how quiet it had become. Where there were screams and wails before, gunshots penetrating the beautiful afternoon sky, now there was only the light breeze and the sound of Nina’s favorite wind chime.
The bar set up for guests was a complete disaster, bottles tossed, glasses smashed. With chairs tossed to the side, tablecloths strewn across the ground, two tables crushed from where bodies had fallen against them, and blood splattered throughout with bodies littering the ground, there was no denying what had occurred.
What struck me harder than anything had nothing to do with the dead man in masks. It was the fact that the three present tables appeared undisturbed, as if there’d been some divine intervention in protecting them.
