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1
NIK
“There you are, darling. As delicious as ever, might I add,” a familiar female voice says behind me.
Kat and I turn around to face the woman addressing me.
“Edna, you’re too kind,” I say in greeting. “It’s been a while.”
“Too long, darling. Far too long. Although I suppose it’s always a good thing when a man in your line of work doesn’t need someone in mine. But I wasn’t talking to you, Nikolai. Katherine, it’s been ages. I never properly thanked you for giving me a hand with that nasty Brussels business. Lovely dress, by the way.”
I glance at Kat, surprised to learn she and Edna are familiar with each other.
Kat smiles warmly at the woman in front of us. “How are you, E?”
Edna Smith is a very peculiar person. Barely five feet tall, she always manages to look down her nose at all of us made men, even through her black-rimmed glasses. She has to be at least in her late fifties, but she doesn’t look a day over thirty. The woman can be a bit abrasive, and her many quirks can grate on anyone’s nerves, but she grows on you.
Regardless, Edna doesn’t care if people like her. Truthfully, it doesn’t matter to her one bit. After all, anyone in my line of business needs her now and then, so we can’t afford to get on her bad side. That’s the privilege that comes with being the best in the field. God knows she isn’t afraid to wield it.
Like Kat, Edna is a renowned independent contractor in our little demimonde. But unlike my bewitching date, Edna is in what we call the clean-up business.
“Now, I heard the rumors, but I confess I didn’t take them for much more than meaningless gossip until now,” Edna says. “It made little sense to me that Nikolai Stefanovich—the all-mighty pakhan of the Russians—and Katherine Devereaux, my favorite cat burglar and con woman, would be romantically involved. After all, you two are polar opposites of each other, as I know very well. What could have possibly brought the two of you together?”
“What, indeed?” Kat asks me with a mischievous smile, winking at me.
I narrow my eyes at her, and she blows me a kiss. Lord, have mercy on me. With a small sigh, I sip on my whiskey.
“I see it now, of course,” Edna adds with a delicate shrug. “Pure, animalistic sexual attraction, obviously.”
I almost choke on the liquor, fire burning in my throat and even in my nostrils as I cough uncontrollably. Kat rubs my back, softly laughing.
“I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Kat says as my coughing fit subsides.
“And it’s great timing on your part, too. There’s nothing like the promise of new love to help keep the sorrow and grief of losing a loved one at bay. I was horribly sorry to hear about Maxim, Nikolai,” Edna says, flipping her short hair back. She always liked him.
I nod in acknowledgment. “I appreciate that, Edna.”
“I’ve been very curious about a few details concerning his death, though, so I’m glad I ran into you tonight. What’s this nonsense I hear about his body disappearing?”
“Nothing to worry about,” I say, giving her a smile that doesn’t quite reach my eyes. “It’s just a small mix-up with the funeral home. I’m sure it’ll be worked out soon enough. Nothing but an oversight.”
Edna doesn’t seem convinced by my response. As a matter of fact, the little woman raises her thin eyebrows so high that they disappear behind her bangs. “What are you talking about, Nikolai? What kind of oversight leads to a body going missing? There’s something weird going on here. I’d know, of course. Making corpses disappear is my bread and butter, as you’re aware.”
I carefully consider my answer as I take a deep, fortifying breath. Truth be told, I’d love nothing more than to ask Edna to fuck off and mind her own business. But as the pakhan of the bratva, I can’t even consider the possibility. She’s far too essential to our operations. I can’t risk offending her.
“What can I say, Edna?” I ask with a smile, shrugging. “We’re working on it, and I’m confident this issue will be sorted out sooner rather than later. While we’re at it, you wouldn’t have any information you’d like to share with me, would you? I can only imagine what a woman in your position could do for a man in my unfortunate situation. As always, I’d make it worth your while, of course.”
Edna scoffs. “Nikolai, please. Don’t insult me with your vulgar suggestions. You know how fond I was of that boy. I’d never play any part in any shenanigans involving his body. That poor thing. Is it true that he was strangled to death? With a garrote, I hear? Well, at least it was quick, I suppose. In your line of work, one can never be too grateful for these small blessings.”
Next to me, Kat gasps, but I don’t let my polite smile fade away. I know Edna doesn’t mean to insult. This frankness of hers is just one of her eccentricities. I can’t say I blame her for being so desensitized to discussing the practicalities of death.
“Was an autopsy done?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Not yet.”
“Well, it’s best to assume it’ll never be done. Even if you miraculously recover his body, it’d be pointless. He’ll likely be too far decomposed by now. I think we can safely assume that anyone who’d steal his corpse wouldn’t be concerned about keeping it fresh. Even if they don’t have any other nefarious goals besides hiding evidence of their crime—which, trust me, isn’t a given.”
My stomach churns a little, and Kat shoots me a concerned look, a cute little frown wrinkling her brow. She clutches my hand, and I return the gesture.
