21. Nik

21

Kat's eyes widen. "He's missing? But you saw it. Him, I mean."

"I did. Vlad took me straight to him. I saw his body on the museum's floor. A dozen or so of my men did, too."

"Then how come it's missing? How's that possible?"

I grind my teeth. Good fucking question.

"That's what I'd like to know as well. We delivered his body to the funeral home. I was debating if I should have an autopsy done when they alerted me it was gone."

"Well, where could it be?"

"If I knew that, it wouldn't be fucking missing, Kat."

She blinks at me in silence. After a moment, I feel bad for biting her head off. It's not her fault Maxim's missing. I hope.

With a sigh, I add, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to take it out on you. It's just…it's been a challenging week. I'm sure that bastard McGuire has something to do with the disappearance of Maxim's remains."

"Why would he take the body?"

"To hide the evidence of his crime? Because he wants to add insult to injury? Or violate Maxim's remains? To fuck with me? Take your pick."

Kat is silent for a moment, seemingly processing all the information I just dumped on her.

"What makes you believe Maxim was strangled with a garrote?" she asks.

"He had ligature marks around his neck and a blueish discoloration on his skin."

"I see. But you were still considering an autopsy."

"Yes. I wanted to be sure that's how he died. People in my line of business can be a little underhanded about this sort of stuff. Even though I was pretty sure I knew how he was murdered, I was still considering whether it was a good idea to get indisputable confirmation. We sent his body to the funeral home that night, and I asked them to give me until the morning before doing anything. I'd have made my decision by then. But a couple of hours later, he was gone."

"Why did you hesitate with the autopsy? When you put it like that, it just seems like a no-brainer."

"I—Like I said, all signs indicated his cause of death was pretty self-evident. I didn't want to have him violated or delay putting him to rest if I didn't absolutely have to."

Kat's eyes soften. "Sorry. I should have thought of that," she says. I nod. "This whole story is insane. A man with mafia ties is murdered at The Metropolitan Museum during a party where the mayor himself was in attendance. Then, his body goes missing. How come this isn't all over the news?"

"I've kept it quiet. It was the least I could do for Maxim. I don't want his name used as clickbait, and I don't want the police interfering with my business. I'll handle Patrick McGuire myself."

Kat is silent for a long time. I don't blame her. It's a lot to take in.

"So, how do you expect me to help you with this? As you know, this isn't exactly my area of expertise," she says at last.

"I know McGuire did it, and I will make sure he pays for it. But I can't just take him out based solely on his history with Maxim. Not without risking a massive war between his family and my bratva. The last time there was a war within the Seven Families…it was bad, let's leave it at that. Suffice it to say, I need to avoid a war at all costs. I can't risk my men's lives so recklessly. Now, If I had unquestionable, undeniable proof of McGuire's involvement and guilt, then I'd be justified in taking action. War could be avoided. Lives would be spared."

"I still fail to see how I can aid you with any of that."

I smile at her. "You're beautiful. You're charming as hell and too clever for your own good. I am the bratva's pakhan. I'm one of McGuire's rivals. But you are neutral. You're an esteemed member of our little slice of the criminal underworld. One with curves that go on for miles and with a smart mouth that is dangerously distracting. In more ways than one. You can get into places I can't. There are people who will talk to you but not to me. My men are seen as an extension of me, but you… McGuire will never see you coming."

"We weren't being discreet at the party. He could've spotted us together. He might know of our connection."

"I realize that. I'm not concerned about it."

Kat raises her eyebrows. "Why not?"

"Even if he knows about us, it won't matter. If anything, it'd help our cause."

"That makes no sense. You just gave me a whole speech about how I'm neutral, and blah, blah, blah…"

I lean closer to her. "The temptation to take my latest conquest from me would drive him to seek you out. He wouldn't be able to help himself. You'd play him like a fiddle."

"You seem very sure of that."

"I am. Nothing to worry about."

Kat scoffs. "Speak for yourself. You want me to trick the boss of the Irish mafia into giving you a justifiable reason to off him. I have plenty to worry about."

I stare at Kat until she meets my gaze. "I won't let him lay a hand on you. He won't harm a hair over your head. If he touches you, he's dead."

She sighs. "What about the war you want to avoid?"

"Fuck the war. You're under my protection now. If he even dreams about harming you, I'll destroy him without a second thought."

Kat studies my expression, trying to gauge my sincerity. Fascinated, I watch different emotions flutter over her face as she absorbs my words.

"Do you trust me?" I ask her.

The little thief considers my question. "I believe you are sincere. You'll do your best to protect me. But I've known you for such a short amount of time… And it's been a wild ride so far. You can't expect me to trust you just yet. I know you don't trust me."

"Well, you stole from me."

"You kidnapped me."

"Because you stole from me."

Kat has the nerve to roll her eyes at me. "Let's not argue semantics, Nik. My point remains. You can't demand that I trust you when you don't yet trust me yourself. "

"Again, you stole from me. You presented yourself as an untrustworthy person from the start."

"Get off your high horse," she says, scoffing. "You didn't very well tell me everything about yourself from the start, either."

"I wasn't dishonest. I just didn't tell you what you didn't need to know then."

Kat raises her eyebrows at me, her gaze unwavering. "I could say the same."

"But it's just not the same, and you know it."

"I know no such thing. What I know is that you're being unfair to me. You're setting these extremely high standards for me when you don't uphold them yourself. For example, you resent my attempts to exert a minuscule degree of influence over you through the sexual attraction between us when you've been taking every chance you get to control me—mind, body, and soul."

I narrow my eyes at her. "So you do admit to trying to control and manipulate me."

Kat's response is to roll her eyes at me. "Are you really going to ignore the point I'm trying to make?"

I sigh. I guess I'll have to point out the obvious. "The problem with your logic is that you believe we should be on equal footing, and that's just not the case. I may not have fully disclosed everything about myself the night we first met, but I didn't steal a priceless diamond from you. I didn't betray you."

"I didn't know it belonged to you."

"It doesn't matter. The point I'm trying to make here is that I get to control you. Because you owe me."

"What you're really trying to say is that you own me."

I shrug, trying to appear nonchalant when the mere thought of truly owning her—mind, body and soul, as she put it—gives me an insurmountable amount of pleasure.

"Unfortunately for you, Kat, I do have leverage over you, so I get to impose my will over yours. Unless you have an ace up your sleeve I don't know about, I don't think you can say the same," I say.

As soon as the words leave my mouth, I wish I could take them back. Kat squints her eyes at me, and it's as clear as day that she will take my bold statement as a challenge.

She smiles at me. Slowly. "I think you and I know that's not exactly true, Nik. I'm sure you'll come to see that there are different kinds of leverage. If memory serves, you struggle to resist mine," she says in a sultry tone.

"Well, may the best man win, I suppose, Kat."

Her only reply is a smirk.