Page 99 of Plaintive Vow


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Only after the dead man’s hand is covered in Maksim’s blood do I drop it, doing my best to make it look like whoever this man was is the one who killed Maksim.

It won’t be enough to convince any cops that there wasn’t another person here, but it’ll give me deniability if I’m asked.

But, realistically, no one’s going to care who really killed Maksim Maslov, anyway. The Outfit and I will know the truth, and that’s all I care about.

For Maksim to die alone in a tattered room, with no one to care, would be the ultimate failure in his eyes. I hope this corpse enjoys the notoriety of being the one to do the honor.

At least on paper.

I linger only long enough to wash the blood off my hands and face before I head home to change my clothes and tend to the scratches on my face. They won’t scar, but they won’t look great while they heal, either.

Then again, I probably have a few days before anyone even knows anything’s happened.

All I want is to have Blair and Niko home with me. I shoot a text off to Renzuto, letting him know my end of the deal is done. Even if he doesn’t believe me until someone exposes the body, he won’t try to do anything to me again until he knows for sure.

Once I no longer look like an extra from a slasher flick, I speed toward Alexei’s condo.

The need to have my family back in my arms is incessant, making it hard to breathe, and I don’t feel settled again until I’m carrying a sleeping Niko upstairs. I help him change into his pajamas while he’s half asleep, then carry him to our bedroom.

Blair’s already under the comforter, curling herself around my pillow when I lay him down next to her. She wraps an arm around him, pulling him to her chest as she looks at me with big, scared eyes. I give her a reassuring smile as I slip in next to them, laying a hand on her hip.

“Did you take care of it?” she whispers, looking worried even as her eyes are involuntarily fluttering shut. I nod, but she doesn’t see.

“Yeah. It’s not going to happen again.”

She nods, rubbing her face against the pillowcase.

I watch the two of them long after they fall asleep. I don’t want to turn off the light, though I know I should.

If there’s a heaven, I know that I’ll never see it. I’ve done too much shit for any God to even consider it. But knowing that these two, who mean more to me than I can ever express, trust me to keep them safe feels as close to it as a man like me could ever get.

Chapter 29

Andrei

Nikita stands at the head of the room swirling a glass of cognac, working hard to give off an air of inflated self-importance. He seems to think that because he was Maksim’s right hand, he deserves to be showered with respect and has a right to the power and position of pakhan.

He’s oblivious to the fact that he lacks both the charm and the authority required to lead anyone. Without Maksim here, he’s nothing but another ego in a suit.

Alexei takes another long drink from his glass, feigning boredom as he watches the room. Outwardly, he looks just like everyone else. Black suit. Drink in hand. Not a tear to spare for our fallen leader as his eyes shift from man to man, inspecting them each in turn.

The only thing giving away his irritation is how tightly he holds his shoulders, refusing to let his guard down.

He always was smarter than he let on.

The women and children left the funeral over an hour ago, and the crowd is starting to get restless. They no longer appearto be content to reminisce and pretend to talk shop. They’re waiting for someone to take charge and turn this into a proper meeting, but no one’s stepping up.

So many of the men here think they can lead, but none of them have the balls to actually take the first step and seize the crown.

Nikita takes another look around, clearly expecting someone else to do the work while he reaps the glory and steps up to declare himself the new pakhan.

Beside me, Alexei subtly tenses, unable to keep from boring holes into the side of Nikita’s head. His expression has fallen out of his neutral mask, lip ticking up in a snarl.

I nudge him with my elbow before he can act on his sudden anger. The intensity in his eyes doesn’t ease, but he does look away from Nikita long enough to shift his glare to me. It only lasts a moment before he goes back to his silent vigil.

“You know, if you really want to let him hang himself with his own noose, you’ll take whatever power he thinks he has for yourself.”

Out of everyone here, Alexei’s the best man to take over, something I was hoping he’d figure out in his own time, but he needs to get over whatever his hang ups are before he does.