I’ll never get to talk to her again.
I ran my fingers through my hair. This had knocked me down, and I wasn’t sure when I would get back up and fight another day.
It’s going to be okay. It’s going to be okay.
Kazimir and Luka exchanged uncomfortable glances.
“What’s going on?” I looked at Kazimir and then Luka. “What are you both thinking?”
“I need time to think about this,” Kazimir said.
“My friend is dead, and the Shower Posse wouldn’t have done this. Many of Kennedy’s cousins are in the gang. Something else is going on, and when I find out who is behind this, I’m going to kill them.”
I was going to rip their world apart like they’d done to me. Hadn’t I seen enough death in my life? Hadn’t I lost almost every damn person I loved? I’d thought God and I had a deal. That since I’d suffered so much tragedy in my childhood, I would get a break as an adult.
In life, people said that everything happened for a reason. But what about death? What was the fucking reason for that? That fucked up Angel of Death enjoyed to take the young and beautiful. The innocent. The ones that people loved. Snatching souls. Breaking hearts. Upsetting the world with unexpected death.
My tortured mind drifted as my gaze fell on her dead body. Violent thoughts spun through my head.
Suddenly, I felt drunk. Intoxicated. Like I was losing my balance and close to blacking out from drinking too much liquor.
Kazimir watched me. “Luka, stay here and take care of her friend. We need some space.”
Anger shadowed Kazimir’s face, but I didn’t care why he was getting mad. I wanted to know who’d killed my best friend—my sister—one of the few people who loved me in this city.
“Come on, Emily.” Kazimir tenderly grabbed my hand and guided me away.
We left Luka in that part of the gallery and walked to the front.
Outside, the sky darkened. The door had been closed and locked. The lights were off so no one walking by could see inside.
I checked the door.
The person had the key to lock up. Did they take it from Kennedy after they killed her or did the person already have it?
Kazimir squeezed my hand. “What can I do?”
“Why Kennedy?” I asked.
“I don’t know yet.”
I spat the words out. “Russians did this.”
“Yes.”
“I didn’t ask. It’s the same style of shot—clean and straight to the brain.” I moved my hand from his. “Do all of your men shoot that way or only a few?”
“Only the ones that started off with me in the beginning.”
“How many is that?”
Kazimir frowned.
My voice rose with pain. “My friend is dead. Please, answer my question.”
Kazimir kept a blank expression on his face. “There are ten men that kill this way. It’s called a classic shot.”
“Ten?”
Kazimir lifted the side of his lip into a sneer. “Yes, ten men, but only three are here in New York right now.”
“Who are they?”
“Luka, me.” Kazimir clenched his teeth. “And my stepbrother, Sasha.”
I backed up. “Your brother?”
“I thought my brother may have had a hand in this, when we were at the building today. Only Luka and he knew we were going today.”
“Did Sasha know Rumi?”
“Of course. Sasha handled my business in New York from time to time. Although last night I’d realized that he’d been coming to New York more. That brothel was one of his new businesses.”
“Very new. Probably two years old, but then it was so high-end it could just be out of my social circle’s ears.”
“No, two years sounds right.”
I hugged myself, trying to warm my body from this new cold reality. “Sasha knew you would come to New York, if Rumi was dead?”
“Yes.”
“And he had an easy way to kill the brothel madam because he owned the place and probably could get around without anyone noticing.”
“Yes.”
I sighed. “What I don’t understand is why Kennedy was killed.”
“The lions.” He took both of my hands and pulled me into a hold. “I’m so sorry, but it was the paintings of the lions.”
“The lions?” I struggled to get out of his grip. “I don’t understand and let me go.”
“No. You need a minute.”
I looked up at him as tears brimmed on my lids.
“Take a minute to breathe, Emily. Just one. Maybe two.”
Sighing, I buried myself into his chest and cried, showing my weakness, exposing it all. I had no idea it would come out like that. I’d held it in. I was doing a good job.
Kazimir wrapped his arms around me. “Sasha commissioned you to do the lions. He knows me. He knows how I am about seeing things and looking at meaningful coincidences.”
My words choked on my tears. “But, why?”
“We’ll see.”
I moved my head from his chest and wiped my face, refusing to break down in front of him anymore. “You can let me go now.”
He did, but now concern covered his face.
I turned away from him. “I’m fine.”
“No, you’re not.”
“I will be fine.”
“I’ll have my men take care of your friend and handle everything.”
“You’re not sure if you have any men right now. Your brother could’ve gotten to them.”
“Sasha always has a good start with a plan, but he never thinks of the end game.” An evil smile appeared on his face. “For example, even if he did have my men here, even if he did control New York. . .” He pierced me with his gaze. “What is controlling New York to controlling the whole fucking world?”
A shiver ran through me.
“We’ll go somewhere safe,” he said. “I have calls to make. Reinforcements to come.”
I backed away, needing to get space between him and me. I missed his arms and wanted more comfort. But there was no time for that. I had to figure out what was going on and survive.
Without saying anything, I walked away.
Kazimir must’ve understood my anxiousness.
Silent and patient, he followed.
“Your brother thinks you’re dead,” I said over my shoulder. “If I was him, I wouldn’t even tell your men the plan. Perhaps, I would blame it on the Shower Posse.”
“Any of my men that made it out today will point to the Shower Posse, probably not Sasha. No one would ever think he had anything to do with it.”
“Yes.” I walked to my office and entered. “I imagine you demand loyalty among your men.”
“Yes, they’ve watched me kill many for lack of loyalty.”
“So, it would’ve been difficult for Sasha to get your men to go against you?”
“More than difficult. My men know that if I find out that they’ve been disloyal, not only will they die, but generations of their family will too. And I never waver on that promise.”
“If I was Sasha, I would’ve maneuvered a plan behind your back to get you killed, yet without his hands touching it.” I tapped the edge of my desk. “And I would stay close to you the whole time. The closer I was, the less you would suspect.”