“Why not?”
“Because I have to kill Konstantin first. I have to secure a future for us both. You’re the next hit.”
“I heard. But I’m going to secure your future. I’ll take your necklace and go back to St. Petersburg after I message him that I’ve killed you.” Her eyes flare for a moment. “I’m not going to kill you. You’re going to go to Sicily with the Morellos and stay there. Never leave. Stay safe. I love you, Anatonia.”
She shakes her head trying to deny it. I watch her swallow deeply.
“It’s true. I’ve been half the man I was before I met you, and I was never whole. Not since Grigori’s death.”
“Grigori is dead?”
“Did you know him?”
“If he’s the Grigori I think he is, yes,” she says softly, her voice raspy sounding.
“He was killed almost a year ago. He was told it was his last assignment; he was buying his way out of the family. But he never came home. His body was found in the Neva.”
“He held me while they killed my mama.” She won’t look me in the eye.
“He cared for you. He kept an eye on you after that.” I hold her chin so she can look at me. “I love you and I won’t allow Konstantin to kill you.”
“You don’t call him Pakhan anymore?”
“I’m not going to kneel before a man that has made it his mission to destroy the woman I love. Now, I need to get you out of here and we need to take care of the body.”
I pull away from her and walk to the adjoining bathroom where I find a washcloth. I clean myself and then get another for her. I watch as she wipes away my cum leaking from her body, and my cock reacts to the sight.
“Kotenok, I wish I had time for you to sit on my face right now, but I have to get everything planned.”
“Don’t do this, Vitaly. Let me go there and take care of him. I’m the only one who can.”
“I’m trained too. I can end him easily. He’ll allow me to come to the house to show him the proof, and that’s when I’ll take him out.”
“It’ll be a trap. You didn’t kill me when you should have. He’ll know.”
I ignore her and walk over to the cabinet she indicated that contains the camera. I see it’s recording straight to a laptop. I stop the camera and remove the jump drive. I’ll have to doctor the footage slightly. Cutting it when I took her. No one gets to see her like that. I pull out my cell phone and send the message.
Me: It’s done.
Pakhan: Proof.
I take a picture of the Byzantine cross in my hand and send it to him.
Pakhan: Come home, we will celebrate your freedom.
Me: Give me a couple days to take care of things. I had another that got in the way.
Pakhan: If it’s that Mexican, make sure he never tries to barter with me again.
Me: Already done.
Pakhan: One week.
“I just sent the message. You need to stay invisible until I get back to Russia. I’ll message you as soon as it’s safe.” I don’t tell her I doubt this plan.
She moves across the room to me, her body soft and languid. I’m never going to see her again and all I pray is that I left a part of me with her. That if she ever finds another man, he treats her better than I did.
As soon as she’s next to me, her hand slides up my chest.