Page 5 of The Enemy’s Defector (Ivanov Syndicate #3)

KATERINA

A ll night, I suffered from nightmares about killing Dmitri and that other guard.

It wasn’t guilt that kept me up and so frantic even in my sleep.

No regrets would bring me down about saving myself from being raped.

Or for saving Joann from a similar fate.

Even if I could, I wouldn’t take back those actions.

Fear was ever-present in my heart now since I’d turned that gun on them, though.

It was a stark milestone of my defiance.

Of defecting and choosing not to stand with the Kozlov name. It didn’t feel like I was turning my back on my “family”. Anton and his overzealous guards never felt like the family I used to know, love, and respect when my father was alive and in charge.

In my subconscious, though, I struggled with this deep anxiety over what could happen next.

I was as good as dead. If I hadn’t been as good as dead for not going to the Ivanovs to marry into their family as a spy for Anton, I certainly was now for killing one of the top leaders Anton praised.

I would be hunted down.

I’d be a wanted woman and always on the run.

I’d have no chance of a possibly normal future, no home to depend on and no family to care for.

By refusing that marriage arrangement, sneaking to find the proof of Anton killing my father, then shooting Dmitri, I had no future to look forward to.

Snuggling into the thin sheet that I’d found in this small building at the back of the property, I huddled into a tight ball for comfort. It wasn’t overly chilly today, but fall would be coming quickly. I couldn’t hide in any of these abandoned guest homes on the land for long.

Joann and I had dragged the bodies to the closet, and then she likely had Malcolm dispose of them while she cleaned the blood. I’d taken my one backpack and ran, sticking to the shadows until I reached this empty house.

According to the sounds of my uncle’s men stomping around downstairs, though, I realized too late that it wasn’t as empty as I’d hoped.

These smaller houses used to be available for guests of honor—dignitaries and other members of the elite side of society who’d come here to vacation and relax, as though it were a fancy resort.

Back when my father was alive, he offered these several guesthouses for that purpose.

He understood the value of making and keeping allies and buttering up others he might want to take advantage of.

Anton’s mode of business was just to screw over everyone, as quickly and thoroughly as he could.

The guesthouses had stood mostly empty for years now. When I’d snuck out at night to go through them and search for those stored video files, I’d checked all these buildings since Anton never paid them much attention. So long as I stayed on the property, he didn’t hover over me much.

Unfortunately, someone else planned to hang out in here to escape the rain pelting down on the roof this morning.

Shivering from the weird chill in the air and that more Kozlov guards were nearby, I steadied my breath while I waited for them to come and go.

The room I’d chosen was a small one with a locked door.

Even if these guys were searching for a killer on the property after last night, they wouldn’t likely stumble upon me. I wasn’t hiding in plain sight up here.

“I really don’t give a shit who killed Dmitri,” one guard said.

“Me neither,” another said, chuckling. “No one but Anton’s going to miss that ugly motherfucker.”

They’ve found the bodies. That confirmed it.

They were here to search for a trespasser or killer.

Slipping my hand out from under the sheet, I grabbed my laptop and turned it on to check the camera’s footage of the first floor.

I’d hacked into the camera for this one night of hiding out before taking off.

Sure enough, two soldiers were downstairs. They sat at the dining room table in the bare kitchen. But they hadn’t come emptyhanded. A bottle of vodka sat on the surface between them. One poured them drinks, clearly settling in to slack off and kick back.

“But when Anton’s here, he’s going to be fucking pissed,” the taller guard, named Igor, said. He was a new one.

“Fuck yeah, he will be,” the other guard, Dan, said. “Which is why you and me can chill now , before Anton’s plane comes in this evening.” He took his drink and sipped it. “Because you know as well as I do that Anton’s not going to relax for a single second until he knows who killed Dmitri.”

“Or when he deals with Katerina for lying about marrying into the Ivanov family,” Igor replied.

I winced, hating that they’d mention me. Of course, my uncle was livid that I’d defied him. But he’d be more furious if he knew I killed Dmitri.

“Who could’ve gotten close enough to be here, though?” Dan asked, gesturing loosely at the area around him. “That’s what I wanna know. Who the fuck could’ve gotten on the property to kill Dmitri like that?”

Igor laughed once, mirthlessly. “An amateur,” he answered. “Whoever hid the bodies in the old well near the wood line didn’t cover their tracks well.”

Oh, shit. Malcolm! Joann! What if the soldiers realize those two participated in hiding Dmitri’s body with the other man’s?

“It couldn’t be the Ivanovs,” Dan said.

Igor shook his head. “No. It couldn’t have. They’re too busy recouping with Grigory’s poisoning.”

I narrowed my eyes, focusing on listening to all they said. Nik had asked for my help to look into Grigory Ivanov’s poisoning. I hadn’t been able to find much in surveillance videos, but the night that I’d tried to help him, to sleuth on behalf of the enemy, I’d ended up in Nik’s arms.

“I doubt Dominic Romano would’ve tried to have Dmitri killed,” Dan said, musing aloud between sips of his drink.

It was weird, watching them on the screen but hearing them in live time. It was like viewing a movie with the audio off just slightly, but I could hear them clearly, nonetheless.

“No. Not the Romanos.” Igor poured them both more vodka, obviously used to drinking a copious amount of the liquor.

“Why would they try to kill one of Anton’s leaders?” Dan asked. “It wouldn’t make any sense.”

I sat up, my gaze locked on my laptop screen.

I knew that the boss of the Romano family, Dominic, hadn’t killed Dmitri.

I knew because that glory belonged to me.

But why would they dismiss the possibility of the Romanos being involved?

All Mafia families were enemies at one point or another, and the Romanos were loners, always against the rest of the world.

At least, that was what it had always seemed like to me.

But then again…

I had always wondered if my uncle was in cahoots with Dominic Romano.

He’d never done enough for me to witness directly, but when I read in between the lines of what he said sometimes, I had to seriously wonder.

Skeptical of all that Anton decided to do, I lacked a specific indication that he’d allied with the Romanos.

The more I thought about it, though, he’d never given any reason for me to think they were enemies.

Not like he did with Grigory Ivanov.

Ever since my uncle killed my father, he’d chosen to kill any former friendship between our families. That was obvious. But he’d never acted like that toward the Romanos.

This wasn’t the first time that this particular concept had entered my mind, either.

Way, way back—years ago—I’d overheard guards talking about “looking the other way” when a series of kidnappings took place.

Even though I’d only been a child then, it was the first step of my thought that the Romanos might be someone Anton would want to ally with.

As a child who was easily dismissed, I could slip in and out of areas.

I would go unnoticed and be able to listen in to guards and soldiers talking, the innocence of youth a perfect disguise to cover my curiosity and nosiness.

That was how I’d heard about where Nik and his brothers were being held.

And I was the one who tipped off the right people to ensure those boys weren’t killed.

Talk about déjà vu. I focused, dismissing the wry thought. Here I was, at it again. Listening in to Mafia gossip, all to hopefully find Nik.

“No. I’ll tell you what doesn’t make sense,” Igor replied. “I can’t understand why Anton and Dominic seemed to collaborate on having that Ivanov fucker taken.”

I opened my eyes wide, fully alert. They’d actually said it. They were confirming that they were behind it and that they were allies and not enemies.

But who took Nik?

Where was he?

Sitting up more, I strained to listen and pay close attention.

This was precisely what I needed to know.

Alongside looking for evidence of my uncle killing my father, I had begun scouring through the list of Kozlov properties for any indication of Nik being held at them.

Now with Igor and Dan talking like this, I could truly believe Nik was nearer than I thought.

“It’s obvious,” Dan said. “They’re working piece by piece to dismantle those motherfuckers. It’s a shame Grigory survived. And now without Nikolai available and Maxim preoccupied, the Ivanov Syndicate will fall apart and crumble.”

“Just like Anton has vowed for years,” Igor added with a grin. He lifted his glass to clink it against Dan’s. “Just like we’ve needed for years.”

“It will be all the more for us. More power. More riches.” Dan drank to the illusion of such a shift in influence—an influence I would do all I could to stop.

I couldn’t sit back and let Anton get away with such a maneuver. No matter who he aligned with and which enemies he wanted to lean on, I would do all I could to thwart him.

For you, Father.

All in memory of what you stood for.

Tears slipped from my eyes, hot and bitter, as all this bad news was absorbed. It was one thing to suspect that Anton was ruining the family, but hearing confirmation of it and living through the experiences of witnessing the crusade against the Ivanov Family was something else.

Dan and Igor finished their drinks and left without checking the house.

If they were on the hunt for whoever killed Dmitri, they were clearly slacking off, but that didn’t surprise me.

Until my uncle was home, they’d procrastinate for as long as they could.

Because that was the kind of organization Anton ran.

Under my father’s rule, the soldiers and men were hardworking and loyal for the sake of wanting to support the family.

With my uncle’s takeover, the incentive to get his approval was nothing but a chase for sucking up and not caring about the family .

As soon as they were gone, I sat up more and pried the lid to my laptop open more.

It was time to get down to business.

There was not a single chance to delay here.

Not only was I endangering myself to be near the mansion so close to my uncle’s return, but I also had to find Nik. I had to do all I could to find him and prevent him from being one “piece” to destroy in Anton’s greedy game of ruining his enemies all so he could rise higher.

I’ll never let you get away with it.

I wouldn’t take a break in standing in my uncle’s way. That was how deep and dark my hatred burned and festered for him.

Yet, the more I hacked into security cameras and tried to find an indication of Nik being held somewhere my uncle knew about, I couldn’t trick myself into thinking that my loathing for Anton was the only reason I was on this hunt.

I’m coming for you, Nik.

I will find you.

I’d never had to go looking for him. As childhood acquaintances, we’d been in each other’s lives from the beginning.

Now that we’d forged a delicate friendship that exploded with passion, I had to ride the momentum of leaving my name, my family, my memories and hope that I could have a place with him after I freed him.

Be patient, Nik.

I’m coming for you.

Whether you want me to or not.