Chapter 39
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Alexei
She didn’t believe me. It didn’t matter how many times I told Amy that I would do anything to make things work, she didn’t believe me.
Not that she said anything, but she couldn’t hide the look in her eyes or the times she quickly looked away. I didn’t blame her for the doubt, not for one second, but it did hurt me. In a way, I knew I deserved that pain. Amy had to learn to trust me again, and I could wait until she did.
I owed her to go slow. Still, Violet was going to be a problem I had to deal with soon.
And I still didn’t know what I was going to do.
If it had been anyone else, they would already be dead, but this was Violet, and it didn’t matter what she had done.
I couldn’t believe deep down that she was fully to blame for all of this.
“Mr. Petrovov.” One of my men positioned outside Amy’s suite approached me as I slipped from the room to go and visit with my son. There were men outside the NICU as well. No one complained, well, not anymore anyway. They had at the beginning.
“Is everything alright?” The only reason any of these young men would talk to me was if something wasn’t.
His eyes danced away. “Your grandfather.”
My heart skidded to a stop. “Is he?” I could finish the sentence.
Quickly, the boy shook his head. “Oh God, no, the older Mr. Petrovov is fine. It’s him at the house.”
My heart started up again. “At my house?” My eyebrows shot up. He nodded silently. “Why?”
“I’ve got no idea, sir. The call came in from both the guards at your home and the carers in the retirement home. He stole the carer’s car. They thought he would head here.”
If it hadn’t been so ludicrous, I would have laughed. The older Nikolai was almost bedbound, and he had stolen a car.
“But he went to your house.”
Now that did surprise me. The old man had been bugging me for ages to come and visit. I thought if he was going to do a Houdini, he would have come here as well.
“Wait, he went home?” I froze. “Where is Violet?”
He stared at me without saying a word.
“Shit.” If my grandfather had gone there with no call to me, then he planned to end this thing once and for all. He was old, but he was still lethal. He wouldn’t even hesitate.
“Can you go and tell my wife that I’ve had to rush home. Tell her it’s to do with Nikolai.”
He nodded.
“Do not under any circumstances mention Violet. Is that understood?”
Again, he nodded, but this time there was a hint of disgust in his eyes. Ignoring it, I took off down the corridor. It wasn’t like I was hiding anything from Amy. I just wasn’t telling her the whole truth. Violet was no longer part of my life. But that didn’t mean she deserved to die.
The gates to my house were open when I got there, and there was a small yellow car parked haphazardly outside the front door. Leaving my car door open, I rushed up the stairs, looking wildly around until I spotted a woman I didn’t know through the open doorway to the dining room.
Striding forward, I watched her shrink back in fear.
“Who are you?” My eyes scanned the room. Nikolai was sitting at the head of the table. His liver-spotted hands folded on the mahogany wood. Next to him sat Violet. She was shaking in fear.
At first glance, they looked like they were having a nice visit, and it was only when I looked closely that I could see the real looks on both of their faces.
“Mindy, sir,” the woman said in a timid voice. “I’m your grandfather’s carer today.”
I did a double-take. Had my grandfather not only committed theft but kidnapped one of his caregivers as well?
I rolled my eyes. Nothing surprised me when it came to him anymore.
“Ah, Alexei.” He stippled his fingers under his chin and met my eyes. There was so much age in his face, but his eyes were as bright as ever. The body was old, but the brain was still sharp.
“You didn’t have to come,” he said with a wicked smile. “I have everything under control.”
“Of course, I had to come. You kidnapped a carer, stole her car, and forced her here.”
“She drove, not me.”
Behind me, the woman bristled. “Only because you said if I didn’t, you would do it yourself.”
The old man chuckled. He was enjoying this.
“You didn’t have to come. You should have stayed with my favorite daughter and my great-grandson.” His eyes darted towards Violet. “Have you heard that they named him after me?”
Violet twisted her hands together. Her eyes didn’t lift from the table. “No sir.”
“Grandfather.” I tried to draw his attention to me. “Why are you here?”
“To do what you seem incapable of doing, Alexei.” He said with a sigh. His eyes bored into Violet’s as she glanced at him. “I am ridding you of this bitch once and for all.”
Sighing, I dragged out a chair and fell into it. “And you think killing her will solve all of my problems."
He didn’t even look at me. “It would solve all of your wife and son’s, Alexei, and they should be what matters to you.”
The accusation in his voice was clear. “They are what matters to me, but that doesn’t mean Violet deserves to die.”
“She almost killed Amy and your son, Alexei. If anyone deserves to die, it’s Violet.”
Behind me, I heard the carer gasp. I’d almost forgotten she would have known Amy and liked her. Twisting in my seat. “Can you give us some privacy? The kitchen is at the end of the hallway.” I didn’t bother to check she had left before I turned back to my grandfather.
“That isn’t your decision to make,” I said coldly and heard Violet let out a sigh of relief.
“Well, you’re not doing it, Alexei. I would have thought after everything—”
“I haven’t forgiven her,” I snapped back. “What she did was unforgivable, but Violet has been part of my life forever. I can’t just have her executed without hearing her side of the story.”
The elderly man said something in Russian that made my eyes widen.
“Thank you, Alexei.” Violet reached over the table and tried to take my hand. “I knew you would understand. I knew you still cared.”
I ripped my fingers from hers, wiping them on my pant leg. “I don’t understand, Violet,” I said coldly. “But I’m giving you the chance to explain it to me so that I might understand.”
She sobbed, but it was a dry sound. Was she faking it? I searched her face. It was dry. She didn’t look like she was crying at all. “Thank you, Alexei, I won’t let you down again.”
“You won’t get the chance. Tell me everything.” Settling back in my chair, I studied her. “And believe me, the only reason you are still breathing is because my wife and child are. This means nothing.”
Her smile faltered. Violet blinked, and tears slipped down her cheek. The first one I had seen on her face. But she didn’t say anything. Bristling with rage, my grandfather pulled a gun from somewhere on his person and aimed it directly at her face.
Where had the old man gotten a gun from in his nursing home?
“I don’t know what you want me to say,” she cried. “Alexei, please,” again she begged for me.
“Just tell me the—” Truth, I was going to say, when she burst into tears. They flooded her face and soaked her cheeks.
“Kristoff.” She sobbed out, her words barely recognizable.
Kristoff. An icy calm settled over me. I wasn’t surprised. I’d heard his name mentioned at the club.
“You have been working with Kristoff?” I asked.
She lifted her face to meet my eyes. And for a second, I saw the woman I would have once done anything for. She looked like a broken doll. There wasn’t any hope in her eyes.
“He made me—” she stuttered. “He made me do it all, Alexei.”
Without thinking, I reached out and touched the back of her hands. “He forced you to do all of this. Why didn’t you just tell me straight away, Violet?” I asked softly.
“I couldn’t. He said he would kill me, and I believed him. He hates you, Alexei. He wants to end your family once and for all. That’s why he sent me after Amy. I wasn’t going to kill her, though. I just wanted to scare her enough that she would run away and never come back.”
I frowned and pulled my hand back when she went to entwine our fingers. Her face fell. Some of what she was saying didn’t make sense.
“You could have told me,” I said again firmly. “But you need to tell me everything now. There can’t be any secrets between us, Violet.”
“He will kill me.”
“I’ll protect you. I’ve always protected you. Just give me what I need on Kristoff to keep my wife and child safe. If you have ever cared for me, you will.”
“You’re a fool, Alexei,” My grandfather muttered. “You need to end this once and for all.”
Ignoring him, I trained my gaze on the blonde in front of me. “Tell me everything.”
Violet began speaking, fast and high-pitched, almost like she was in a rush to get all the words out. I listened intently.
“Is that everything?” I asked when she fell silent. “You’re not leaving anything out?”
Mutely, she shook her head. “You have to tell me you will protect me, Alexei. I’ve told you everything I know. He will come for me.”
I had no doubt that Kristoff would come for her. “You’ll be safe, but you have to know you can’t stay here. Amy and young Nikolai will be coming home soon. I’ll put you up in one of my apartments in the city with a guard. You will be safe there until I can deal with Kristoff.”
From the head of the table, my grandfather exploded into angry Russian. “You cannot be fucking serious, Alexei.”
“I have to take her word for things Grandfather. I’ve known her too long. She wouldn’t lie to me.”
“You blind, egotistical fool. I didn’t raise you to be this blind.” He glared at both of us for a second and then called for his carer, who appeared in the doorway. “I would like to leave now before I do something I won’t regret like killing that bitch and saving my grandson’s family.”
“Yes, sir.” She rushed forward.
“Grandfather.” I tried. “Please try to understand. This isn’t me putting Violet first.”
“It’s exactly that Alexei, and I am disgusted with you.”
I sighed. “I can have a man take you back.” I didn’t expect him to understand.
This isn’t me choosing Violet over my wife and child. But I did owe Violet some protection.
“I am going to the hospital to visit with Amy and my great-grandson,” he spat. “I am going to the place you should be instead of being here with that spiteful bitch.” He speared Violet to the spot with his eyes.
When he turned that icy glare at me, there was nothing but disappointment in his eyes, disappointment and disgust.
Nikolai had never looked at me like that. Like he didn’t like me. The little boy who craved his approval wanted to shrink back.
“You will realize what a viper she is soon enough, Alexei. I just hope you still have a wife and child when you do.” He motioned for his carer to come forward. “Because that bitch is going to destroy you and this family.”
“I won’t let that happen,” I said firmly, as the carer expertly lifted him into his wheelchair. “Amy knows she and Nikolai are all that matter to me.”
“You won’t let it happen?” he gave a sarcastic laugh. His lips pulled tight. “Alexei, you are already letting it happen.”