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He moves to the side of the bed and sits down, facing me. His weight feels comforting, but his words have my heart spinning in painful ways.
“Do you remember where you were before The Accident? That night, where were you?”
I’ve tried hard these past two years not to think about it, but I couldn’t truly forget if I tried. “I, um… I was out with some work colleagues,” I tell him. “We decided to get drinks after rehearsal. Adrian said he’d meet me at the bar, but he was late.”
“He was late because he came to see me,” Kolya explains. “More specifically, he came to threaten me.”
I frown, but I can’t talk. I can only listen.
“He walked into my office unannounced. I could smell the alcohol on him. He was just drunk enough to speak freely, to behave rashly without any regard for the consequences.”
Consequences.Like a warning signal, my injured arm starts to ping with pain every few seconds. Almost as if to distract me.
“He told me that he was done being pushed around. He wanted his pound of flesh. He told me to cede control of the Bratva to Ravil.”
My breathing hitches up. “Why would Adrian want that?”
Kolya shakes his head. “I can only guess. Maybe he thought Ravil could legitimize him in a way I couldn’t. Maybe he just believed that I didn’t want him redeemed at all.”
“I feel like I’m going to throw up,” I blurt.
“We don’t have to talk about—”
“I want to know,” I say fiercely, meeting his eyes so that he knows how serious I am. “How was he threatening you?”
Kolya sighs. “He knew secrets about the Bratva. Certain deals, certain alliances. He threatened to tell Ravil everything if I didn’t agree to his terms. It would have been catastrophic.”
“What did you do?” I ask, even though I think I already know.
“I stopped tolerating him,” Kolya says, his voice practically a growl. “I promised Adrian a long time ago that I would always protect him. But I never thought I’d have to protect him from himself.” He strokes his chin, lost in memories. “That was the first night I realized that I might not be able to save him. That maybe what he needed was a reality check. I grabbed him and threatened him right back. I told him that if he moved against me, then I would no longer grant him my tolerance or my protection. In response, he tried to take a shot at me… and then he ran.”
My heart is hammering so hard that I’m worried I’ll miss the rest of this story. “H-he came to me…”
Kolya nods. “He picked you up believing that I wouldn’t pursue him if you were in the car.”
“You were in the black Hummer,” I murmur. “That was you.”
I can hear the haunting screech of tires that haunted my dreams for months after The Accident.
“I wasn’t going to hurt him—”
“He was driving like a maniac that night. Like he was scared—like something was chasing us. Like something wanted to kill—”
“He was paranoid. I would never have killed him.”
“You killed your father!” I cry out.
Kolya’s jaw snaps shut, and I feel the invisible wedge drive between us. When he reaches for my hand, I pull it away, pushing the wedge in deeper.
I can see his composure set in as he gets to his feet. “I need to get you to Sara,” he says, his tone relapsing back into that stone-cold apathy he does so well.
I muster up my remaining strength and stand. My bicep aches, but I support it with my good arm and start walking. “I’m not going anywhere with you.”
“June—”
I twist around, my fury taking hold of my body. “Do you know what I lost that night!?” I demand, choking on my sobs. “It wasn’t just my career, Kolya. I… I was pregnant. I lost my baby!”
He stands where he is, watching me warily. He doesn’t inch closer.
