Page 72 of Darkest Deeds
“Yes, Nikolai. Let my dead daughter speak. I would love for her to hear this too. Put me on speaker.”
“Fuck you.”
“That is a shame. I was looking forward to having a discussion on how I discovered she was still alive. It is a fascinating story. One that begins with a trip to my club. You did not honor our initial agreement, but put me on speaker and perhaps we can arrange a new one.”
“No deals.”
“That is very disappointing to hear. The thing is, you stole something that belongs to me, and now I have stolen something that belongs to you. I was hoping we could negotiate a trade.”
“There’s nothing I have you could steal.” The Cavalieri Della Morte have no personal attachments. Arthur forbids it. He sees it as a weakness our enemies can exploit. Besides Ava, there’s only one thing I value in this world and she’s…
No.
“You’re lying.”
“Am I? It has been a long time since I have seen my old friend, Irina. She’s still as beautiful as she was thirteen years ago. Life in New Orleans has served her well.”
Throwing my head back, I let out a roar, and Ava stumbles backward, falling ass first onto the tile floor. I’m numb as I press the speaker button. Everything she’d brought back to life starts to shut down.
“All right, you got what you wanted,” I say, my voice low and deadly. “You’re on speaker. Put her on the phone.”
“Nikolai!” My mother’s frantic and frail voice sweeps over the line, and it’s all I can do not to crumble to the floor beside Ava.
I blink back the burning in my eyes. “Bud' sil'nym, Mama. Ya idu za toboy.” Be strong, Mama. I’m coming for you. I bite back a curse as her cries get softer until a door slams and they disappear. “Don’t touch her!”
“Silence! It is my turn.” Sergei lets out a satisfied sigh. “Hello, myshka.”
Ava doesn’t move. She doesn’t even breathe. The only sign of life coming from her still body are two steady streams of tears, one rolling from each corner of her eyes.
“My darling, tell your lover about how you have been lying to him.”
My eyes snap to Ava’s.
“I don’t know what he’s talking about,” she sputters.
“Oh, come now, myshka. The boy is not completely stupid.” Amidst Ava’s hysterical protests, Sergei shatters everything. “Do you really think she was searching my office at Seven, Nikolai? Did you not wonder why she came back emptyhanded? I suppose she did not tell you she was meeting with Dmitry, did she?”
“Ava? Is this true?”
Tears are now freely spilling down her beautiful face. “Yes, but you don’t understand. We were working together to bring him down.” She points a shaking finger at the phone in my hand. “But I couldn’t do it anymore. After we…after you and I…” She stops to brush the tears away with the back of her hand. “I went there to confront him and tell him I wanted out. I was going to tell Ethan the same thing today.”
“Yes, that is all heartwarming, but I know everything that happens in my club. Imagine my shock to find out my own daughter was the mastermind behind a plot to ruin me.”
“No!” Ava screams, lunging for the phone. “I didn’t mastermind anything! What the hell did Dmitry tell you?”
Sergei is unfazed. “Dmitry did not tell me anything, myshka. You did.”
There are only a few beats of silence before a voice I know intimately speaks from the other end of the line. But unlike the panic coming from the one sitting by my feet, this one is calm, forcing me to hear ice in her voice I can’t ignore.
“We need to talk.”
“You are looking well for a dead woman.”
“This isn’t working.”
“Well, what do you expect? You have been on vacation doing whatever it is you are doing with the man who kidnapped you.”
“Look, I’ve bought us some time, but you’re going to have to get your hands dirty. I’ve got my own problems to worry about at the moment.”