Page 94 of Sinful Wrath
Anton frowns. “What makes you say that?”
“The door’s open. And she doesn’t strike me as the sort of person who is chill when it comes to her security.” I reach into the center console of the car and pull out a handgun.
“Well, this just got interesting.” Anton pulls a gun out of his inside holster and climbs out of the car.
We’re both silent as we hurry across the lawn, our guns ready as we silently climb the porch steps.
I turn to Anton and put my finger to my lips before slowly pushing open the front door.
The place has been completely ransacked. Every piece of furniture has been turned over or smashed, and there’s a trail of blood that leads from the middle of the foyer all the way to the kitchen.
I put my arm out to halt Anton, not wanting to go any further.
The house is eerily quiet, but that doesn’t mean that it’s empty. I lift my gun, my finger hovering over the trigger as I take a steadying breath, bracing myself for an ambush the moment I make my presence known.
“Katya?”
Silence.
“Katya, are you there?” I yell louder, but I’m still only met with silence.
Tightening my hold on my gun, I stalk across the foyer, avoiding the pool of blood on the floor, and peer into the kitchen.
“Fuck.”
Katya’s lifeless body is sprawled on the tiled floor. Her blue eyes are wide open, her face frozen in terror as blood oozes out. The back of her skull has almost completely caved in, and both of her shoulders and hips seem to be dislocated by the odd way her limbs are facing.
I crouch down beside her and press two fingers to her neck.
“She’s still warm.” I glance over my shoulder at Anton who’s cringing at her butchered body. “Seems whoever did this got started the moment she hung up the phone.”
Anton looks around. “No way this was just a burglary.”
“This has Igor written all over it.” I get to my feet, careful not to get any blood on my clothes. The last thing Ineed is for Alexei to be asking questions when I arrive back at the house.
“Whatever she knew, he clearly doesn’t want you finding out.”
“You’ve got that right.”
I’ve been responsible for dozens of deaths and never once have I felt anything close to guilt. The feeling is foreign to me and one that sits heavy on my chest as I drive back to Forest Hills after dropping Anton off in the city.
It’s too much of a coincidence that I arrive on her doorstep demanding answers about my half-brother only for her to turn up dead hours later.
This was a warning, and I have a feeling it’s only going to get worse.
My head feels full as I enter the house, and I want nothing more than to drink myself into oblivion to distract myself from the colossal fuck up that I just made.
“Mikhail?”
Or I could distract myself in an entirely different way.
I follow the sound of Lucia’s voice into the living room and find her sprawled over the couch with her legs draped over the back cushions and her long hair fanned out behind her. She’s wearing that short little skirt that drives me crazy, showing off her delicious thighs that I can’t wait to have wrapped around me.
“Hey.” Her voice rasps as if she’s barely spoken all day.
The sound goes straight to my cock, and I’m crossing the room in an instant. I crouch down beside her and let my hand trail up her exposed thigh, watching as the skin pebbles beneath my touch.
“Is everything okay?” Her eyebrows pull together.