“Shove it, Zahkarov. She doesn’t need to see the bloody mess you created.”
Okay, that made sense, but I was sure Aralina, like me, was used to seeing dead bodies, just not her boyfriend’s.
Ugh, I needed a double pain pill to process this bloody clusterfuck.
What now? Was Kirill or Kolya going to get rid of the witnesses?
Kirill didn’t let go of me even when he hugged his sister and murmured reassuring words to her. Then he nodded for Sato to take her away.
Next, Dom approached. He was eyeing Kirill’s tight grip on me with amusement. “I’m glad you’re okay.”
“You know me.”
He gave me a quick squeeze on my shoulder. “Go easy on her, Zahkarov.” There was a warning in my brother’s tone. Then he turned and left.
“Lucy,” a trembling voice said behind me.
I forgot Chloe!
“I shot him twice,” Chloe said, staring at Jeremiah’s lifeless body. Kolya was hunched over it, probably devising ways to dispose of him.
“I wasn’t the one who killed him,” she whispered.
“No, you didn’t,” Kolya said. “I did.”
“What? I thought you did?” I asked Kirill.
“I’m a better shot,” Kolya responded in a cool voice, reaching for Jeremiah’s neck to feel for a pulse.
“The fuck you are,” my husband shot back.
Theo stood there looking down at his brother’s body. Regret and resignation were a cloud hovering over him, his frame rigid with tension. He signaled his men to take Jeremiah’s body away.
“Not so fast.” Kolya rose to his feet and glowered at Theo. “You think I didn’t detect a faint pulse.”
“He’s alive?” Kirill asked quietly.
“What if he is?” Theo challenged.
“He killed my men and terrorized my sister.”
“You think I’m going to hand over my brother to you?” Theo shot back. “There are consequences if Jeremiah or I disappear. You should ask your brother Maksim about the repercussions that may arise to your own bratva if that happens.”
Kirill stilled beside me.
“He’s bluffing,” Kolya sneered.
Without waiting for my husband or his enforcer to give him leave, Theo moved to the stairs. “I’ll be in touch. I’m sure neither of us wants a scandal to come out of this.”
Then his eyes searched for Chloe, who seemed to want to disappear into the walls. “I’ll be in touch with you too.” But he didn’t turn his back on Kirill and held his eyes.
Kirill tipped his chin. “Fine.”
Kolya’s lips curled back, and it appeared he was going to defy my husband, but Kirill body-checked him. “You'd better go before I change my mind,” he told Theo. “This one doesn’t always follow orders.”
He was referring to Kolya. He was the only one in the bratva who had the audacity to defy Kirill. Surprisingly, my husband didn’t mind; he was even amused to let Kolya run it his way. I had no doubt that if Kolya did shoot the Kings, Kirill would sigh and deal with the consequences later.
When Theo left with his men and a barely breathing Jeremiah, I didn’t realize how tense I’d been and released a relieved breath.
