Before I know it, tears stream down my cheeks, my teeth clenching as I try to stand. Instead, my body falls back, shaky breaths heaving from my lungs as I gasp for air that simply isn’t there.
“Please, tell me what you know,” I beg. “Maxim would need an Army to get through the gates and walls surrounding The Diamond Estate. That’ll never happen. You don’t have to be afraid anymore, Karina.”
My heart hurts for the guilt and the pain this poor woman is feeling. It makes me hate Mikhail and Maxim so much more when I didn’t think I could.
“I don’t know where he is. Maxim came home the night I’m assuming Mikhail died. He was drunk and kept shouting so many things about The Diamond family. I honestly couldn’t understand half of what he said. But I heard murder several times. I heard him say he was going to kill you and your brother Dray. I honestly can’t remember everything I heard. All I wanted was to get as far away from him as possible.”
She looks at me like she expects me to say something, but I’m not sure how to respond to hearing someone is planning on killing Dray and me. We suspected as much. Still, it’s frightening to hear coming from someone who actually heard it.
“I comforted him all the while wanting to puke and scrub myself raw to get his scent off me and out of my penthouse. When he finally passed out on the couch, I searched his bedroom and found guns in the closet. Knives in the dresser drawers and copies of my bank statements. Papers adding Maxim and Mikhail’s names on them as my beneficiaries. They had my signature on them, but I never signed any papers. I put two and two together. They were planning on killing me and taking the money my parents left me. Millions that I haven’t touched.”
I search her face for signs of deception. Not finding any, the truth of them stab at my chest. I can’t imagine how she’s feeling. Never in a million years would my flesh and blood do anything to hurt me. Let alone plot to kill me.
Tears stream from her eyes again. Wordlessly, I pivot until I’m in a position to wrap my arm around her. She flinches when I do. Her tears turn to hysterical sobs as I hold her tightly while she cries and cries.
But what she says next turns my insides to ice.
“I told Jack, and he and I left a couple of days later. We had to get our lives in order until we figured out a plan. I shouldn’t have involved him. I should have just left him behind, but I couldn’t bear to be alone. He borrowed money from someone to get us by for a little while. I can’t remember who and we left. I wanted to get as far away from this city as possible, but Jack suggested we stay close and go to the police. He filed a report or something, I don’t know, everything is a jumble in my head. They were supposed to come talk to me tonight. I know nothing more.”
Jack did not go to the police. Roan’s contact would have notified him if a report had been filed. He’s in on this.
I mull over telling Aaron until I remember my father and Seth have Jack. Knowing the monsters in them will bleed him dry for what he’s done convinces me to stay where I am and hold on to the newest survivor The Diamond Empire will protect.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Seth
It took me three days to get Maxim’s whereabouts out of Jack. Three long exhausting, and excruciating days.
Three days of showering off the blood and gore of my work before going home and climbing into bed to an already sleeping Victoria. Looking like the dark-haired angel she is curled up waiting for me to climb in and tug her to me. Then waking at the ass crack of dawn to drive her to work just to be able to spend a bit more time with her, to talk to her, to make sure she’s honestly doing alright after talking with Karina before handing her off to Aidan.
Of course, I knew when I took on my job in the Empire. There would be times that getting information would be hard to torture out of someone. That someone would be so strong-willed, they wouldn’t give in no matter how much they suffered. Jack happened to be one of those men. A scrawny ass piece of shit with balls of steel.
It didn’t matter if I wanted to do what was asked of me or not. It didn’t matter that I wanted to be the one protecting and taking care of Victoria. It’s my job, and I had no choice but to do it.
Just as importantly, I had big shoes to fill. I’d told myself I’d walk proudly in them by doing things the way Aidan did. No doubt he did shit he didn’t want to leave his family to do. Most of the time, I’d imagine he hated some of the crap he did.
I sure as shit hated being cooped up in the barn with Jack. Someone I never thought would be made of blood, sweat, and tears by how scrawny he was. He could have walked away with a permanent limp and scars for taking a shot at Aaron. When we found out about his betrayal to Karina, he sealed his fate.
He’d scream out in pain every time I’d ask where Maxim was and when he wouldn’t answer, I cut off a piece of his flesh—filleting it like a fish. Then in the next breath, he’s trying to bribe my ass, agreeing to split half of Karina’s money if I’d stop.
Stupid motherfucker wasn’t going to get a penny.
I was close to peeling back the skin on his head and carving the stupidity out of
