“Here they come.”
My head jerked up, and I saw Alek walking toward us, an older man at his side.
My throat closed as the plan presented to me became a reality. This wasn’t some sort of game. There were no true winners here. This man had come to exact vengeance on his own flesh and blood, on the nephew who had killed his son. Alek and Yuri were here to demand the same in honor of their father.
And me?
I was the catalyst that brought the story full circle… Nikolai sealing his own fate the moment he’d bragged about his crimes in order to keep me too frightened to fight back.
“Oh my God,” I said, finding it difficult to breathe. “What… what if I’m wrong? What if Nikolai was lying to me… confessing something he never actually had the courage to do? Why else would his cousin call him a coward—”
“You’re not wrong,” Yuri said. “He gave you details he wouldn’t know unless he was there. Your own grandmother confirms the story of Luke committing suicide by shooting himself exactly between the eyes was not only implausible, but most likely impossible. As for being a pussy… that is exactly the sort of man Nikolai is. No man who tosses a woman off a balcony simply because she won’t do as he says is a real man. No man who runs over a man barely able to stand simply because he might have witnessed a murder is a man.”
I shuddered as Yuri’s words filled the car, each given in a tone that spoke of absolute conviction. He turned his head to meet my gaze.
“No man who lays a hand on a woman in anger, who feels the need to terrify her, to threaten her with those people she loves is a man. Nikolai Kosloff is nothing but a bully, a coward, and a dead man walking.”
I nodded as he opened the door and stepped outside. Though I’d not been given permission, I did the same, and we both moved around the hood of the car to greet Grigori.
“You must be the one,” Grigori said before he’d yet reached us.
“The one?” I asked, puzzled at what he might mean.
“The woman Alek is determined to protect with his very life,” Grigori said, looking from me to Alek and then back again. “And I can’t say I can blame him.” He held his hand out, and I took it, shaking it as if we were meeting at some party after a performance instead of in the shadow of a hangar plotting the death of a man.
I knew Alek was trying to keep me safe, to let me skirt along the sidelines, and yet I couldn’t allow him to do that. I was just as responsible for what we were planning as the three of them.
“My name is Clara Simyoneva, Mr. Petrov. I’d say it’s nice to meet you, but I know it’s not. I’m so sorry about your son. I… I know what it’s like to lose someone you love.”
He nodded. “I believe you do,” he said, releasing my hand and offering his to Yuri. “Despite what Miss Simyoneva said, it is nice to see you again, Yuri.”
Yuri shook his hand and nodded and, after releasing it, he gestured toward the car. “Shall we?”
Grigori nodded as well and when Yuri opened the back door, I said, “No, why don’t you sit up front, Mr. Petrov? You’ll be more comfortable.”
The man smiled, and years fell away from his face. “That’s not necessary. I’d rather Alek keep his attention on the road than be looking back to assure himself you are all right.” After speaking, he got into the back seat, and Yuri closed the door and walked around to climb in on the other side.
Alek took hold of the door handle but didn’t yet pull it open. Instead, he used his free hand to cup my cheek. “You okay?”
“I think I will be,” I answered honestly. “He’s nothing like Nikolai.”
“No, no, he’s not,” Alek said. Bending, he kissed me all too briefly before pulling the door open and then closing it once I was inside.
Once we were back on the road, the final details were shared with Grigori who nodded occasionally.
“You have any questions?” Alek asked me as he pulled the car down a side street.
“No,” I answered, my nerves settling, a calm descending over me that I hadn’t expected, but was grateful to experience. “If something goes wrong—”
“It won’t,” Alek cut in, but I shook my head.
“If something goes wrong, promise me you’ll take care of Baba.”
His eyes softened. “You don’t even have to ask, Clara.”
“I-I… thank you, Alek.”
“I’ve told you, no thanks are required between—”
“Enough already,” Yuri said. “Go ahead and kiss her, and let’s get this done.”
Alek chuckled but bent forward and did as his brother instructed; taking my face between his hands, he kissed me… not the gentle brush of his lips as before. This kiss placed his claim on me, let me know I couldn’t let anything happen… not when I had this to come back to.