“Your grandfather did,” Emilio says. “He brought her to Aleksy to prove that Aleksy was a fuckup. What he didn’t expect was for Aleksy to kill him.”
A pang forms around my heart.
My poor brother.
Another soul taken by violence.
“Has anyone spoken to my mother?” I ask.
They both shake their heads, showing no interest that they care to either.
“What happens now?” I whisper, and my shoulders fall with a long sigh.
“Someone will eventually arrive at your brother’s,” Emilio directs. “They’ll find the dead bodies and call the police. You’ll get a call. You and your sister will grieve over the loss and tell the police nothing.”
I nod, completely okay with that plan. “And what about Dasha?”
“Your sister is free to decide her own future,” Emilio says, his eyes focusing on me with deep intention. “Youboth are.”
Is he giving me an out from this marriage?
48
ThankGod Lev was a traitorous bastard and killed Aleksy.
I didn’t have to pull the trigger that could’ve cost me my marriage.
I saw the grief on Liliya’s face when Dasha told her Aleksy was dead.
Aleksy might’ve treated her like shit and put her life on the line, but she still loved him. He wasn’t always the monster the Bratva molded him into.
Like the rest of us, he had come out of the womb with a clean heart.
Bloodless hands.
But it didn’t last long.
The world we live in doesn’t allow us to be pure.
I told Liliya she had the choice to leave.
I saw the shock on her face, but she didn’t answer at the table.
Instead, she kept asking Antonio questions.
He told her that Julian had connections with the feds, and she wouldn’t be questioned about anyone’s deaths. We had alsomade sure to gather all the video surveillance, save it on a hard drive for us, and then delete it from the estate’s records.
Antonio is gone now, Dasha is asleep, and Liliya and I are in our bedroom.
I’m sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at the wall, wearing only a towel, post-shower.
Liliya climbs up behind me and starts massaging my sore shoulders.
I relax into her touch, inhaling the aroma of her sweet perfume.
Everything about her is sweet.
So perfect.
