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I manage not to say anything to Edna, focusing my energy on not letting the mental image of Maxim’s decomposing remains tossed in a ditch overtake my brain. It’s a better use of my strength than choking the life out of Edna.
“To be perfectly candid with you, Nikolai,” she adds, “you might as well give up hope of finding your friend’s body. It’s for the best. Take it from someone who does this sort of thing professionally—the odds of you finding anything you can even remotely attempt to put to rest are very slim. Any person who’d dare to steal the corpse of the bratva’s pakhan’s best friend isn’t messing around.”
Kat interrupts Edna’s tirade with a polite smile. “Thank you for the advice. We appreciate your professional opinion and insight.”
“Well, you’re welcome, of course,” Edna says with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Now, of course, if anyone can pull off such a feat and find a rotting corpse after so long, that’s your man Nikolai. But I’m just not sure it’s worth the effort. Maybe you’re better off burying an empty casket as a symbolic gesture and moving on. I am, of course, more than used to the reality of putrified body parts, but I understand it can be an upsetting experience to many—which is why I advise against this pointless pursuit.”
Unable to restrain myself, I clutch my whiskey glass tightly before forcing my hand to relax. The last thing I want is the damn thing shattering and cutting Kat as she leans against my side, caressing my arm.
Still, the image of Maxim’s blue eyes turning into oozing, decomposing fluids as his skin breaks down to reveal the contents of his body is hard to shake.
“We’ll definitely give that some thought, Edna,” Kat says in a pacifying tone. “I must ask—where did you get that bag? I just love that color.”
Edna chuckles, blushing with pleasure at Kat’s well-placed compliment, meant to distract her. “Oh, this old thing? There’s this fabulous little shop in Rome, my dear. Remind me to give you the address later. Now, about Maxim’s death, let me ask you this?—”
Kat cuts her off, straightening next to me, her voice as striking as a lashing whip. “Edna, I’ve been delicately trying to let you know how insensitive and rude you are behaving, but I realize my attempts at polite subtlety are wasted on you. I’m afraid I must ask you to stop asking these pointed questions or making graphically gruesome comments about Maxim. I insist, actually. Please don’t talk about him at all. You’re being incredibly indelicate and hurtful. Nikolai’s too much of a gentleman to tell you to have some tact, but I don’t mind saying it at all.”
Edna’s head snaps back as if Kat had struck her. I’d be willing to bet a lot of money that no one’s ever talked to her like that. As her shock subsides a little, she looks down her nose at Kat in that supercilious way of hers. With an insufferable air of superiority, Edna says, “For old time’s sake, I’m going to pretend you didn’t talk to me like you just did. I’ll give you an opportunity to ask for my forgiveness.”
Kat laughs, sipping her drink. “Come now, Edna. You’ve always been a practical woman. Don’t lose your grip on reality now.”
Edna squints her eyes so tightly I’m not sure she can see anything. “Nikolai, please talk some sense into this girl. She’s lost her mind. She must not know who she’s speaking to.”
Before I have time to say anything, Kat interjects. “It goes both ways, Edna. You must’ve forgotten who you’re speaking to as well. After all, I know all about your little incident back in Brussels. Maybe you’ll need my services again., so I’d be nice to Nik and me if I were you. Or I might be inclined to not pick up the phone next time you call me.”
I expect Edna to chew Kat off for speaking to her like that. I know for a fact that made men—armed to their teeth and with over a hundred pounds on Kat—will cower at mere hints of Edna’s displeasure. Instead, she stares at Kat, her mouth slightly ajar, looking stunned.
Honestly, I can relate. I know just how she feels. I suppress a nervous laugh, torn between feeling ecstatic and horrified. Horrified because I don’t even want to imagine the consequences of pissing off Edna for a man in my position. Ecstatic because Kat took me by surprise by being in my corner like that. I don’t know where this version of Kat came from, but I like her—a lot.
Still, I study Edna, trying to devise a way to salvage this disaster. “Edna—” I say, unsure of what to tell her.
To my surprise, she chuckles. “You know, I’ve always liked you, Kat. You’re just my kind of girl. No bullshit. You’re right, of course. I forget myself sometimes. You mustn’t take it to heart, darling.”
My head pivots to Kat, and I’m relieved to see in her expression that she will accept Edna’s olive branch.
“Oh, I would never, E. Don’t give it another thought,” Kat says.
“And I didn’t mean to offend you, Don Stefanovich,” Edna says, showing me deference for the first time in the decade I have known her. “You know I loved that boy. You must forgive me. At the end of the day, I’m nothing but a crazy old woman who spends way too much time in the company of corpses. I forget these things.”
“You have nothing to apologize for, Edna,” I say, lying to her face with a smile.
Out of nowhere, Edna jumps up excitedly. “Oh, if it isn’t that handsome rascal Garrett I see! He used to work for me, you know. I must bother him mercilessly. If you two will excuse me…” She waves her goodbyes to us over her shoulder, walking towards the poor man.
Kat and I watch her leave in a flurry of motion. I glance in Kat’s direction, and she shoots me a curious look.
“What?” she asks with a frown. “Why do you have that look on your face?”
“My knight in shining armor,” I say with an exaggerated sigh.
Kat rolls her eyes, but her lips curve in a slight smile. “I just—I couldn’t take it any longer. It was like watching a car wreck. Somebody had to tell her to stop.” She shrugs, but I’m not so easily fooled.
I sigh again as I pull her into my arms, unable to restrain myself any longer. I need to feel her body against mine. “My hero.”
Kat looks at me with exasperation, but she doesn’t resist me. I place my hand on her hips, pulling them against mine, and the feel of her flesh makes me want to growl in possessive pleasure.
Mine, mine, mine.
She wraps her arms around my neck, shooting me an aggravated look. “I won’t have anyone else messing with you like that. If anyone gets to put you in your place, it’s me.”
