His killing never set right with Nicki after he found out about all that. And roughly a few weeks after Sturov’s death, he discovered that his wife had passed away. If I had to choose a moment that changed him, I’d have to say it was that. The night he found out, he shut me out for almost a day before finally coming to me and telling me everything.
I guess I should have known where it was going because Nicki just stopped finding any joy in the job. A few weeks before the accident, even you had noticed the change in him. You came and asked me about how he was doing. What you didn’t know by then and what I didn’t tell you is that Nicki decided he needed to find a way out.
My stomach turns over, and I have to stop reading for a moment. I reach for the nearest stool to me and sit down. I was just asking myself what I might’ve done if I had known for sure… Now I’m about to find out. I take a breath and read on.
So, we decided together that the only person we could trust to help us was you. And the night of the accident, the three of usmet for dinner at your apartment. Nicki told you everything that he was feeling, including how he wanted to marry me but didn’t feel like he could as long as he was an enforcer. By that point, he was thinking in terms of the future and what it would look like if we ever had kids. What would they think of a father who would kill a man for protecting his wife the only way he knew how?
If you’re wondering if you stood by your friend, I can say that you did in the only way you could. You told him to tell no one else from that point on. You also told him that you would help him, though you needed some time to think about what that would look like.
I relax a little in my seat. I guess the person I was in the past lives up to my expectations, after all.
You took him home that night. Nicki was paranoid about being watched, so he had me call a car service and said he would meet me back at home. What you talked about after I left, I’m sorry. I don’t know. What we both know now is that he never came home that night.
That’s why I’m putting your name on this account with mine. Even knowing you might not remember everything. The only person I’ve told about my plans has been Tati, and soon, I plan on going to a lawyer to find out what my options are. I hope to do this soon as I don’t trust that Nikolai’s spies aren’t watching me. I believe that even though Nicki only told me and you about his wanting to leave the Bratva, somehow, Nikolai found out. And that’s why he’s dead and why you can’t remember what happened.
If you’ve gotten this far and you’re reading this, you must also realize that Nikolai clearly doesn’t care about your welfareeither. It’s my greatest hope that you’ve been led here looking for answers. I pray these documents help you find them.
Shit. She risked everything for this. More than ever, I wish I had acted sooner to protect her.
As I stated, in this box is everything that I’ve found so far. I know it’s forbidden to talk to the Feds, but ever since I learned that part of your memory was gone, I couldn’t risk telling you outright. At least not until I had enough to back it all up. I just hope that you’re not too deep in that you can’t see what kind of monster Nikolai is.
Should you also decide to leave the Bratva, I wish you all the luck in the world, and I wish you so much more if you’ve decided to be the one to avenge my dearest Nikita. Either way, please stay safe and stay alive at all costs.
—Marla
And that’sall that she wrote. I set the note aside and start looking through what’s here. The police and autopsy reports, just like Tati said. And a flash drive with the word “Crime Photos” written on it. I don’t relish the idea of looking through crime scene photos of the accident that killed my best friend and nearly killed me, but I’ll have to look at it. I’ll have to see it with my own eyes.
I start reading through the report, scanning down to the description of the accident. Sure enough, it’s described as drunk driving. According to Tati, the autopsy says that there was no alcohol in Nicki’s system. As I thumb through the pages, a printout of a photograph stops me.
It shows the road leading to a broken barricade. I turn the page to find another printout, this one showing the ravine just behind the broken barricade. The back end of a car is visible among a grove of twisted bark and pine needles from the trees down below.
“Shit… Shit… Vik…”
The voice in my head is Nicki’s, cursing as he realizes the brakes are out. The road ahead of us is blowing by fast…
All at once, the memory of the moments before comes rushing back. Nick looking down at the dashboard frantically, his hands gripping the steering wheel.
“I can’t stop! Fuck! I can’t fucking stop!”
His foot is slamming the floor. I reach over and grab the emergency brake and yank it up, and the car still sails without so much as a stutter. We’re about to hit a curve in the road.
“Hold on!” he shouts.
I close my eyes as the sound of the crash echoes through my brain. The crunch of the metal, the smashing of glass… Nicki’s screams…
“Shit,” I say, getting up from the counter. My hands are shaking as I go to wipe the sweat from my brow, and my heart is pounding hard…
I take a big breath, breathing in slowly through my nose and out of my mouth. I have to do this a few times before my hands stop shaking and my mind starts to clear.
The brakes went out. Even the emergency brake. That wasn’t an accident. I thought that in the moment. I knew it then.
I turn back to the print of the road. The metal barricade is twisted outward and part of the cement has been broken up from the impact of the car. It’s a grisly opener to every other photo that comes after.
And there are no tire marks. None. The car sailed off the road and into the ravine with the only resistance being the barricade.
If it needed to be done and I were the one to do it, to make it look like an accident, I’d cut the brake lines.
Son of a fucking bitch. He put a hit on his own son. Any doubt that I had before this moment is gone. Nikolai truly is a monster.
