“What are you going to do? I don’t want to be kept in the dark. My father kept me in the dark.”
“I’m going to call one of my guys who’s good at… taking care of problems like this. He’ll come over and get rid of…”
“Her body?”
He sighs. “Yes.”
“Do you think I’m evil because I killed her?”
“You said it was an accident.”
“It was. I just… I just can’t help but feel guilty over it.”
The smile he gives me settles into my stomach like a warm hug. “That’s because you’re a good person. Alexandra would cause problems for me in the past. I know she came over here with bad intentions. She didn’t deserve to die but I know you didn’t purposefully mean to kill her.”
“How can you take my word for it? You barely know me.”
“I know. But I can see it in your eyes. You’re telling the truth. I’ve been around a lot of people who have lied to me. Backstabbed me. I can tell the truth from the lies. Now, go into the bedroom. I’ve got this. Let me show you that you can trust me.”
Slowly, I nod and force my body to get up. For once, I don’t feel so alone. Maksim is going to take care of this. I don’t have to fear him.
I wait in the bedroom while Alexandra is taken care of. It’s a wild thing to even think about. Someone ‘being taken care of.’ It doesn’t feel real.
I hear the sounds of another person enter the apartment and Maksim talking to them in a low voice. I don’t move a muscle.
Eventually, everything goes quiet and Maksim returns to our bedroom. “She’s gone.”
“What’s going to happen to her?”
“My guy, Josh, is going to make it look like an accident so no one finds it suspicious that she’s dead. You won’t be caught. I promise.”
“You’ve done this before, haven’t you?”
He looks me right in the eye as he answers. “Yes.”
“Does it ever get easier?”
“Yes,” he admits, sitting down beside me. “I remember the first dead body I saw. I was fourteen at the time. My dad had me sit with him as we watched a man get tortured.”
I gasp. “That’s horrible.”
“It’s the Bratva way. The man had stolen from my dad and he needed to see the man pay. My father and his friends tortured that man until he died. I was so scared. But my father made it very clear I was going to become a Bratva man like him. That I had no choice. So I did as he said. And in time… it got easier. The deaths. How to handle a dead body. Now it’s nothing to me anymore. Even the sight of my ex-girlfriend dead doesn’t upset me like it should.” He furrows his brow and shakes his head. “I’m the fucked up one for that.”
“Would you be upset if I were the one who was dead before you?”
“I’m not sure. But… I know that when I saw you were in danger from those men in Greece, I had to act. I had to protect you. I had never felt that before. So… yes. I think I would be very upset if you were dead before me. It’s a new feeling.”
A warmth spreads through me. Comforting. “I’m not sure if I would be upset if you were to die. But I do know that if you wereto die, I’d be sent back to my dad and I don’t want that. I want to be my own woman.”
“You said your dad killed your mom.”
My eyes flick to his and away again. There’s only openness in his gaze. “I’m not one hundred percent sure but I’ve always felt it in my gut. You can’t mention this to anybody though. I don’t want my dad finding out.”
“I know how to keep a secret. I know what it’s like to have a domineering dad. This will just stay between you and me.”
“Thank you.”
There’s a beat between us while we look at each other. The death of Alexandra has ironically brought us closer. It’s broken down our walls and now there’s no going back.
