16. Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Sixteen
Finn
T he first thing I have to do is prove that Inessa has been keeping a secret. If I were to go to Viktor and accuse Inessa now, he would probably try to kill me. For some reason, his little maid has a strong hold on him. I honestly don’t understand how the men in my life have become utter fools for women.
I love to fuck women. But that’s about it. I don’t care to share my feelings with them. Or share my heart with them. Fuck that. I’m not a fool to fall in love because that would be a weakness.
Viktor now has a weakness in Inessa. I need to get rid of her before she ruins him for good.
I think about Natasha. How Viktor threw her away for Inessa. I know Natasha kidnapped Inessa and tortured her. Maybe she knows something about Inessa that I don’t.
I arrive at her house. After her housekeeper lets me in, I wait until Natasha descends the stairs like a fucking queen.
“Finn, right? I don’t think we’ve had the honor of ever officially meeting.”
“We haven’t. I’m here on business.”
“Oh?” She flutters her long lashes my way. She is hot and I wouldn’t mind fucking her later when all of this is over. I get a sick sense of pleasure out of the idea of being with the woman Viktor discarded.
“You hate Inessa.”
Natasha’s open expression turns cold. “What about her?”
“You hate her. Why?”
“Because she stole Viktor right out from under me,” she says, crossing her arms. “Why else?”
“Do you know anything about Inessa? Who she is? Where she came from?” In all the weeks since Viktor hired her, I did some digging into Inessa Roberts but I couldn’t find anything.
“Why are you asking me this?”
“Because I think Inessa is lying.”
Natasha’s eyes light up. “How so?”
“I’m not at liberty to say at the moment. But I need to know what you know.”
“Nothing. Just that she’s his maid. But I never liked her. She always seemed too smart to be a maid, like she was holding something close to her chest. I thought it was suspicious. Of course, Viktor never cared if I mentioned anything about Inessa to him. He’s smitten with her, that idiot.”
“You kidnapped her. How?”
“I hired men to do it.”
I shift on my feet, giving Natasha a dark grin. “You know I’m a hitman myself.”
She eyes me over more warily. “I know.”
“How were your men able to kidnap her? They couldn’t have gotten her from Viktor’s house. There’s no way. Not with his guards and himself.”
“It wasn’t at his house,” she explains. “I had her followed for a few days and noticed that she would always go to this cheap motel and pay for a room but she never stayed there. My men took her then.”
Some cheap motel? Viktor has never mentioned anything like this to me.
But then again, Viktor and I aren’t exactly close. We tolerate each other to get the job done but we’re not friends. I’m not doing any of this to protect Viktor.
I’m doing this because I love chaos. If Inessa is keeping a secret, it will be fun to expose it. I only ever do things just for the fun of them.
“Tell me the name of the motel. Give me the address.”
“You don’t get to come into my house and order me around.”
“Don’t I?” I lean over her. In the few times I’ve seen Natasha, she has never looked afraid.
She looks afraid now.
“Fine. I’ll write it down.” She quickly walks away and comes back with a piece of paper. “Here’s the address. What are you going to do with it? Hurt Inessa, I hope?”
“Not in the way you’re thinking.” If Inessa is keeping a secret, then exposing it should hurt her. It will hurt Viktor too and that’s part of the fun. I’m a sick bastard, what can I say?
I give Natasha a wink before leaving. The motel is about thirty minutes away. It really is in a cheap, disgusting part of town. Why would Inessa come here?
The man behind the front desk in the shitty, smelly little front office barely glances in my direction. “Rooms are forty a night.”
“I’m looking for someone, actually. A girl comes here. Pays for a room? I need to know what room she paid for.”
“Sorry. Can’t give out that information.”
I look around the moldy office. “I’m shocked a man who works at this establishment would worry about keeping his customer’s confidentiality.”
“It’s because I keep people’s confidentiality that people come here.”
I slide over a hundred bucks. “The girl has light blonde hair. Looks more like a fairy than a human sometimes. She pays for a room but she doesn’t stay here herself. Name is Inessa Roberts. What room does she pay for?”
He eyes the hundred bucks over. “I’ll need more than that.”
With a sigh, I hand over another hundred dollar bill. “Tell me.”
“I’m still going to need a little bit more.”
This fucker. I grab his shirt and haul him across the desk. He whimpers as I shove my face right into his.
“Just fucking tell me.”
He gulps. “Ok. Uh… There’s no one by the name Inessa Roberts here. But I know what woman you’re talking about. She pays for a room under the name Gleb Petrov. I think it’s her father.”
“What room?”
“Uh, ten. Room ten.”
“Thanks for doing business with me.” I shove him back. “Now give me the key to room ten.”
“Are you going to murder someone?”
“No. I’m just going to talk to someone. Now give me the fucking key.”
He quickly hands it over with trembling fingers. I snatch the key and head to the room.
It unlocks easily and then I’m standing in the room Inessa has been paying for without staying in for weeks.
A man is lying on the bed, drinking a beer. He scrambles to his feet when he sees me.
“You’re not Inessa,” he says.
“And you’re not Inessa either.” I look this man over. I’ve never met him before but he does look vaguely familiar.
Then it hits me: the same hotel I saw Inessa at a year ago. This man was there with her.
“Who are you?” I bark.
He flinches, holding his hands up. “Don’t hurt me. I can pay the money. I swear it.”
“I’m not here about money. Who are you? What’s your name?”
“Uh…” His eyes flick around the room, clearly trying to come up with some lie.
“Are you Gleb Petrov?”
He blanches. “How did you know?”
I stalk towards him as he shuffles away from me. When his back hits the wall, there’s nowhere for him to go.
“Who are you?” I ask. “Exactly?”
“I…”
“Do you work for the Bratva?”
“Not anymore,” he admits, dropping his head low. “I did at one point. But I don’t anymore. I swear it.”
“Why?”
“I… went broke. I lost my money. I was always low on the totem pole.”
Explains why I’ve never heard of him before.
“And your daughter… she knows what you used to do for work?”
His eyes flash with worry. “Leave Inessa out of this.”
“She’s the reason I’m here,” I growl. “Does she know what you used to do for work?”
“Yes. She’s friends with… Elena Romanov. They went to school together.”
I step back. Holy shit. Inessa knows Elena… which means she has to know Aiden. Explains why I saw her at Elena’s birthday party a year ago. They’re fucking friends.
Inessa is technically a part of the Bratva – a fact she seemed to forget to tell Viktor.
But why not tell him? Viktor would have been happy to know she was a Bratva woman. He was obsessed with marrying one. Until he threw that all away to be with Inessa.
“Do you know that your daughter is currently married to Viktor Smirnov?”
Gleb’s eyes widen. “What? You’re joking.”
“I’m not joking. She’s been working as his maid for the past couple of months now. And then she married him. Why would she take a job with Viktor Smirnov and not tell him who she really is? Why lie?”
Gleb looks anywhere but at me.
I shove him harder into the wall. “Do you know something?”
“No,” he squeaks out.
“You do. Did something happen between you and Viktor?”
His gulp is visible. “No.”
“No? You’re lying. Tell me.”
“Ok, ok. Fine. But you have to understand that I needed the money. I just needed money.”
I dig my arm into his neck, making him wince. “Tell me.”
“I… tried to steal from Viktor. From one of his nightclubs.”
I narrow my eyes. “There’s more. Tell me.”
“Ok, ok. I… I got caught. So I tried to… kill Viktor. And then he tried to kill me but I escaped. I’ve been hiding out here ever since.”
So that’s the reason. Inessa was trying to protect her father’s life.
But then why get a job as Viktor’s maid in the first place?
Unless…
“Are you trying to steal from Viktor again?”
“No. I’ve put that behind me.”
“So, you didn’t send your daughter undercover to get close to Viktor, marry him, then kill him, and take him for all of his money’s worth?”
Gleb goes cold. “I didn’t even know my daughter was married until earlier today. I didn’t even know who she was married to.” The way Gleg talks sounds sincere. I fucking believe him.
But that sill leaves the question of Inessa. Just because her dad didn’t know, doesn’t mean Inessa wasn’t planning this all along.
She’s trying to take Viktor for all that he’s worth. I know it in my gut, just like I know how to breathe.
That little bitch. Impressive, really, that she managed to get him to fall in love with her and actually marry her.
But I’m going to expose what she’s been doing. I’m going to hurt her for her lie. And Viktor will do the same.
Then Viktor and I can go back to killing to our heart’s content. We don’t need pesky women getting in the way of our true goal.
I pat Gleb on the cheek. “I’m going to need to tie you up. Can’t have you going anywhere.”
Viktor
Finn storms into my home office. “We have a problem.”
“I didn’t invite you in.”
“Your housekeeper did. We’re partners, Viktor. Aren’t I allowed in your house?”
I sit back in my chair. It’s been two days since I married Inessa and already I miss her. We just fucked last night but I need her again. She’s all I can think about so I don’t appreciate Finn coming into my home and saying ‘we have a problem.’
“What’s the problem?” I ask.
“Inessa isn’t who she says she is.”
I stare at Finn for a moment, then laugh. “What are you saying? Inessa is my wife. So I’d be careful what you say to me right now.”
“She’s fooled you, Viktor. Her real name is Inessa Petrov.”
I shrug. “Never heard of her. My wife is Inessa Roberts.”
“You never looked into her? Never thought it was weird that you couldn’t find anything on Inessa Roberts?”
“Not everyone has a social media or public presence online.”
Finn scoffs. “Inessa’s real last name is Petrov. She is the daughter of Gleb Petrov.”
“I don’t know the name.”
“But you’d recognize the man.” He sets his hands on my desk and leans towards me. “Gleb Petrov tried to steal from you a few months back. He also tried to kill you. He managed to escape. Ring any bells?”
The memory hits me hard.
I do remember a stringy, scared looking man who came into my club and tried to shoot me. I remember chasing after him and I remember the fucker getting away.
And soon after that, Inessa came into my office, looking for a job.
I never bothered hunting the man down. It just didn’t concern me enough. He didn’t manage to actually steal anything and I wasn’t hurt.
But if that man is Inessa’s father and she never told me…
“Maybe Inessa doesn’t even know,” I say.
“That her father tried to kill you?”
“She might not know. You’re coming into my house, throwing accusations around. It’s clear you’ve had it out for Inessa for weeks but I’m not going to humiliate my wife until I know for sure your claims are accurate.”
“Then look into it. By all means. Go to the motel where Inessa pays for her father to live. You’ve never met him. Once you see him, you’ll know that she kept secrets from you.”
“She might not know,” I say again through tight lips. “Just because her father tried to attack me, doesn’t mean Inessa is trying to do the same thing. She had months to try and do something to me and she hasn’t. She could be innocent in this.”
“Fine. But there’s something else you should know. I saw Inessa leaving Aiden’s apartment building.”
I go still. “So?”
“So… why would she visit the building of a known hitman and his Bratva wife? Unless she knew them.”
“Unless she was visiting someone else.” But the words sound hollow even to my own ears.
“Could be. But are you willing to take a chance on a coincidence? There are too many coincidences stacked up against Inessa.”
“I will talk to my wife and get answers.”
Finn shrugs. “Fine. But what if she denies all of this? Then you’ll know she’s been lying to you.”
I stare at Finn with hard eyes. I know it’s a look that has scared many people before but Finn looks completely unfazed. “What do you think Inessa is up to? You clearly have your mind made up.”
“I think she got close to you. Acted all innocent so you’d marry her and then when you’ve dropped your guard, she would swoop in. Have you killed. Take all your money. That’s what I would do if I were her.”
“But you’re not her. Inessa doesn’t want me dead.” At least… I don’t think so. She’s seemed too honest with her feelings for me. I mean, she gave me her virginity for fuck’s sake.
But she was desperate for money. I could sense her desperation early on.
And people are willing to do crazy things for money.
Even if Inessa doesn’t want me dead, did she only marry me for my money? If she did, that would hurt. I’m not going to pretend otherwise.
I was deceived by Erik for so long. I was betrayed by Nadia and Elena when they fell in love with different men.
And now, if Inessa is truly lying to me… I will have been made a fool again. That is something I do not take kindly to.
“I will talk to my wife first. Do not do anything. Stay here.”
“Fine. I think she’s a liar, Viktor. I think she’s trying to fuck you over somehow. Be on your guard with her.”
“Natasha almost killed Inessa because she worked for me. I can’t believe Inessa would risk getting killed just to fuck me over.”
“I don’t trust people. And I especially don’t trust women.”
“That’s because you’re a sexist asshole, Finn. Now stay here.”
I find Inessa in the living room, reading a book. She looks so innocent. She looks so content.
She’s given me all of herself. She’s trusted me to care for her.
Was that all a lie?
“Inessa,” I say more sharply than I mean.
She flinches a little and sets the book down. “Viktor?”
“There’s something I need to ask you and I need you to be honest with me.” I’m going to give her this one chance to tell me the truth and if she can’t…
“What is it?”
“Is your real name Inessa Petrov?”
She goes perfectly still. “I…”
“And is your father Gleb Petrov?”
She bows her head for a long moment before she says… “No.”
“So your father didn’t try to kil me? And you didn’t know anything about that?”
She meets my eyes head on. “Viktor… I...”
“Don’t lie to me,” I growl. She gasps. Seeing the fear in her eyes – fear for me – stings.
But she’s the one who lied.
“Ok,” she whispers. “Yes. My real name is Inessa Petrov and Gleb Petrov is my father.”
“So why did you lie right now when I asked?”
“Because… because I don’t want you to kill my father. And… I don’t want you to kill me.”
I take a step back. My chest feels like it’s going to cave in. “So… you knew your father tried to kill me.” It’s not a question.
“Yes,” she says, her shoulders slumping.
“Is that why you married me? To somehow get all my money? Are you working with your dad to try and kill me again?”
“What? Viktor, no!”
“I don’t believe you!” I shout, making her flinch again. “You lied to me. You lied to me about who you really are. Do you belong to the Bratva? Do you know Aiden Murphy and his wife, Elena?”
“Elena is my best friend,” she whispers, dipping her chin to her chest.
I suck in a breath. “So… you’ve known about the Bratva? Before you met me?”
“Yes. My father used to do business for… the Bratva. I met Elena in high school. I was there at her birthday party. The day Finn and Aiden kidnapped her.”
“So, Finn was right in that he saw you that day.”
“Yes.”
“But you lied about it.”
“Yes.” It comes out as a sob. I will not let myself feel bad for her even though everything inside of me wants to comfort her. She is not innocent. Natasha and Finn were right.
Inessa has lied and deceived me like everyone else has.
“Why?” I hiss.
She looks up at me with tears in her eyes. Steady , I tell myself. Don’t give in to her.
“Because I needed a job. And you offered me the position. It was too good to pass up. And I was so scared, Viktor.”
“Of me?”
“Yes. I was scared you’d kill me if you knew the truth. I was scared you’d kill my dad.”
I scoff, running my hand down my face. “I can’t believe this. I can’t fucking believe this! You lied to me. This entire time. You knew who I truly was this entire time?”
“Yes. Because of Elena. She told me about you.”
“So, you thought you could get a job with me and… what? Take all my money?”
“I went to you to beg you to spare my dad’s life. But then you gave me the job and I saw an opportunity and I…”
“Took it,” I say flatly. “You’ve been lying to me this whole time. When I told you I worked for the Bratva, you already knew. Yet, you pretended you didn’t.”
“Viktor, I never meant to fall in love with you but I have.” She scrambles off the couch and tries touching me but I jerk away from her. “I never meant to marry you but it happened.”
“How can I even believe a word you say? You married me, Inessa. And you still never thought to tell me the truth.”
“Viktor,” she sobs.
“Spare me your tears. I don’t know what’s real and what’s fake. You could have told me who you were. That’s the sad part. I would have helped you.”
“Would you?” she asks as anger flares in her eyes. “You didn’t know me back then. Would you really have spared my dad’s life if I had asked that first day we met in your office?”
I can’t give her an answer… because she has a point. I probably would have laughed in her face and found her father just to kill out of spite.
“I was just trying to survive,” she says. “You have to believe me on that. I really did just need a job. I never meant to fall in love with you but I did.”
“In all this time, you never thought to tell me? Not even once?”
“I thought of it every day! I wanted to tell you so bad but I was afraid.”
I huff. “So you married a man you were terrified of. How does that make me feel any better?” I point at her. “You should have told me, Inessa. You should have fucking told me. I pride myself on honesty after everything I’ve been through. You knew that. You should have told me.”
“I was scared you’d kill my dad.”
“And you think I won’t now?”
All the color drains from her face. “Viktor… no.”
I turn away from her. “Your tears mean nothing to me.” I storm towards the front door with Inessa running after me.
Finn exists my office and smirks at Inessa. “Got caught, did you?”
She stumbles to a halt. “ You .”
“Yes. Me. I figured it out.”
With a shriek, she smacks Finn across the face. And Finn smacks her right back.
“Stop,” I growl.
“Me or her?” Finn asks innocently as Inessa clutches her face.
“You,” I say to Finn. “You will not hit her.”
“But you just found out she’s been lying to you. We should kill her.”
“We are not doing that. But we are going to find her father and be done with him. I’m getting the justice owed to me.”
“Viktor, please,” Inessa sobs, still holding her red cheek. I try not to let the sight of her pain bother me.
I steel myself and storm out to my car. Both Finn and Inessa follow.
“What is going on?” Mrs. Green asks, running outside. “I keep hearing screaming.”
“Stay inside,” I bark at her as I get into my car. Inessa dives into the passenger seat while Finn gets into the back.
“I have to see this,” Finn says gleefully.
“Inessa, get back inside,” I tell her.
“No. If you’re going to kill my father, I’m going to be there when it happens.”
I stare at her for a long hard moment before I turn the car on. “Fine. This is your punishment for lying to me.”
I can feel her visibly recoil from me and I don’t care. She lied to me. She deserves this.
Finn is practically bouncing in the back seat as I drive to the motel. Fucker loves violence. It makes me hesitate for just a second if I’m doing the right thing.
But when I look at Inessa, I tell myself I am. I have been betrayed. She did this to me. She knew how I felt and still, for months, she never told me the truth.
How can I believe anything she says anymore?
How can I believe she isn’t just using me to gain money?
We reach the motel and I barely stop the car before I’m out of it and running towards the building.
“Room ten,” Finn tells me.
“Viktor, wait!” Inessa cries as I find the room and kick down the door.
What I find next surprises me. Gleb Petrov is tied to a chair. I remember his stringy, greasy hair. I remember the panic in his eyes when he failed to kill me. When I chased him down.
“Fucker,” I growl. This is Inessa’s father. It’s shocking to me how a man like him could have made Inessa.
None of that matters, I tell myself. What matters is that I’m here to kill him.