Page 18 of Where the Wind Whispers

And then, Vasily wouldn’t have a reason to use her to get to him if he thought he had won that battle.

It was the quickest way to catch him off guard, if only because the man thought Kaz would be reeling from Violet leaving him.

That could work.

“You putting Vasily in the ground is the first step,” Alfie went on as he pulled his vibrating phone from his pocket. “You’re short of him, and you can breathe a little easier.”

“But not too easy.”

He still had Alberto to worry about, and an impending war, not to mention Violet’s feelings. Whether she was angry with him presently, that still didn’t negate the fact that she loved her father. She wasn’t going to take his death well.

“You know, for the right price, I know someone who can take care of that pesky little Italian problem for you—would save you the trouble.”

No, Kaz knew plenty of hitmen within his own organization who could kill Alberto Gallucci if he gave the order—but there was an order to things.

That was one lesson his uncle, Gavrill, had never heeded—mind your steps in case you miss one.

Vasily’s death was sanctioned—he had given a reason why the man had to die, but Alberto, on the other hand … he wasn’t part of the Bratva. The Italians had their own set of rules. Unless he wanted dozens of men dead, he had to tread carefully.

But Kaz had an idea, one he wasn’t quite ready to commit to …

“It has to be by my own hand,” Kaz said, answering Alfie’s inquiry. “I made them both a promise.”

They would both die.

And he intended to see it done.

Violet stared at the white walls, trying to picture something other than white walls. The cherry hardwood floors did nothing to spur on her imagination.

She supposed maybe this was the time to call on Vera.

Kaz’s sister was the designer, after all. It was her job to take empty spaces and turn them into something amazing. She had the right eye for that sort of thing, while Violet couldn’t see much more than a few pieces of furniture and a coat of paint to turn the empty bedroom into a nursery.

Out of the many empty bedrooms in the large home, this particular one was the closest to the master bedroom. And while it was quite early for Violet to even be thinking about these sorts of things, she had nothing better to do at the moment.

It was this or walk the fucking halls.

This it was.

Violet hadn’t spent much time at all inside the home since Kaz had gone into the hospital. In fact, she’d only come back once to grab the purse she’d left in the kitchen the night all the hell had gone down.

She didn’t realize how lonely the home would feel when it was just her.

Rubbing away the tension in her temple, Violet sighed, tired and unsure. It was more than just the empty bedroom that wouldn’t be empty for much longer. Her whole life currently felt like it was just tossed up in the air, hanging in an uncertain balance mixed heavily with a good dose of crazy.

She didn’t know what was going to come next.

All Violet wanted was to have peace—quiet.

To be safe and happy.

She had the distinct feeling she and Kaz wouldn’t be given that gift.

Violet gave the room another once over, deciding she would give Vera a call to come in and put something together for the room. It would be one less thing for her to worry about, anyway.

As she turned to leave the bedroom, Violet damn near collided with a silent, somber Kaz leaning in the doorway with his arms folded over his chest.

Her hand flew up to her throat where it felt like her heart had landed. “Jesus, you scared me.”