Page 76 of Plaintive Vow

They look like a father and son enjoying an easy day together.

I don’t want to put any pressure on Andrei to make him think he has to fill that role, but maybe there will be a day when he’d like to look back on little moments like these. Or maybe these photos will end up just being something for me to look at and remember.

Either way, I’m smiling as I put my phone back into my purse, stopping when it lights up with a text from Nadya.

Nadya:Did you hear about Pavel?

Me:No. What about him?

Nadya:Andrei didn’t tell you???

Nadya:Rumor has it someone found him in his apartment.

Nadya:And according to that same rumor, it looked like someone killed him

I force myself to slow down, reading her words again and again, until the words start to lose meaning.

Someone killed Pavel?

He’s dead? What does shemean, Pavel’s dead?

My hands shake as I put my phone away, ignoring the way it continues to ping with incoming texts.

I look at Andrei while my thoughts scatter in a thousand different directions. He already knows, right? There’s no wayhe doesn’t. His phone was blowing up this morning, and he ignored it.

He knows.

Shouldn’t he be doing something?

Maksim must be livid. Surely, he’s demanding answers and retribution.

Blinking, my gaze focuses on Andrei’s bruised knuckles as he pushes the swing, like he doesn’t have a care in the world, and my heart stops as realization clicks.

Andrei wouldn’t kill Pavel.

He’s loyal to Maksim. He wouldn’t kill his pakhan’s son.

That wouldn’t make any sense.

Right?

Niko says something and Andrei laughs in response, loud and full-chested, and it feels like I can take a deep breath for the first time in years. It probably says more about me than it does Pavel, but the relief crashing over me makes me feel weightless.

The monster that’s been hiding in the shadows is gone. I don’t have to worry about him ever again.

For a moment, I feel like I could cry.

My mind keeps nagging at me, telling me that there’s no way Andrei had anything to do with Pavel’s death, but my heart rebelliously whispers that maybe he did.

My steps feel light as I walk toward them.

“You okay?” Andrei asks, raising a brow as I wordlessly wrap my arms around his solid torso.

“I’m great.” I nod. “Are you able to stay home tonight?”

He eventually nods, and I don’t bother trying to smother my grin as he wraps an arm around my shoulder, pulling me tight against him.

“Good.”