Chapter 49
Katerina
It takes three days to organize my plan. Three long, lonely days. Three days in a seedy motel, plotting endlessly.
There’s one last step I need to do before I’m ready to kill Viktor. I need to acquire a weapon.
I could easily go to a store and buy a gun. But I want it to be personal. Because this is personal.
Calling the only man who I know will help me, but keep it a secret, we agree to meet in a nearby park. He doesn’t question why I’m desperate for a blade, nor why I refuse to tell his son.
Damien Montclair meets me on the walking trail with a kind smile. He pulls me in for a quick hug, then releases me.
“Should I ask why you secretly need a karambit knife?” His caring tone encircles my heart and squeezes it. This is how a father should talk to his daughter. With care, tease, and slight worry.
The real reason I asked him for a knife instead of buying one is because I wanted some parental love with me to give me strength.
Having my father-in-law, who loves me like a daughter more than my actual father, having his blade with me would be symbolic.
A father’s love being the weapon that kills a father’s hate.
“It’s better you don’t know.” I can’t risk him telling Dominic. If Damien knew I was risking myself, he’d intervene.
“You’re not going to kill your husband, right? Because you know I can’t let you do that.” He chuckles teasingly.
“It’s not that. This is something I need to do on my own. It’s been a long time coming.” I can’t laugh with him at the image of killing Dominic. It’s too horrific to imagine.
He slows his walking and turns to me. “Do you need to talk about it?”
After a moment, I realize I do. I need someone to know.
“My mother was a wonderful woman. Fierce and bold. Мама protected me with her life. After a while, it all became too much for her. I never blamed her for her choice because I know who’s really responsible.
The promise of avenging her is what pushed me through some of my hardest days.
Now that Viktor has crossed a line, it’s time. I know what I need to do.”
“Be careful, dear. This is a tough fight,” he warns.
“I will be,” I lie. I know there’s no coming out of that mansion alive. “This is something I have to do alone.”
He chuckles and puts an arm around me.
“You’re not alone, dear,” he reassures me.
“I know. You guys support me.” I try not to roll my eyes at the cliché.
“No, I mean we do, but no. I mean you’re literally not alone. You’ve been tailed this entire walk.” He points behind us.
“What?” I whip my head around and, sure enough, see a man I vaguely recognize further back on the trail.
“I see the way my son looks at you during family dinners. He loves you fiercely. He may have let you go, but he’s not going to stop protecting you. I can assure you; he’s known your every move and has had men tailing you the entire time. I wouldn’t be surprised if Bash was helping too.”
I’m stunned silent. His words make sense, but I never even considered it.
“He’s not going to risk you, Katerina. You may have plans to kill your father but know that you’re not doing it alone.
” He squeezes my shoulder. “If you were, I’d never arm you for it.
I’d get you someplace safe. Because we love you.
You are our family. And we won’t let you get hurt. No matter how noble the sacrifice.”
His words shock me. I didn’t realize he knew what I was planning. I didn’t think any of them did.
“He’s trafficking women,” I whisper.
He tenses, then lets out a curse. I’ve never heard him so much as utter a foul word, so it takes me by surprise.
“He’s never been a good man. He always puts profit over morals. There’s no redemption for him. But that doesn’t mean it’s your burden to bear.”
My steps falter, taken aback. I never considered that he knew Viktor. It’s hard to match this cheery man with a crime family leader.
“I have to do this. For my mother,” I plead with him to understand.
“Then give them a signal of when you’re going. Make sure your backup is prepared. Don’t go in recklessly.” His words are firm. He’s not ordering me around as a power trip, he’s trying to protect me.
This goes against everything I planned. The whole reason I left was so no one else would get hurt. If I kill Viktor on my own, then Petya and Dominic never break the rules. Their disloyalty will never see the light.
But if what Damien says is true, then I can’t stop them. But I can at least make it easier for them.
“I’ll let them know.” He nods in approval, and for some reason, it fills me with certainty. “Be careful with this.” He hands me the blade.
“I won’t lose it,” I promise him.
“I don’t care about the knife; I care about my daughter. I want her coming home safely.” He stops walking and turns to me.
I give him a hug, holding on tightly. The feeling of a father’s love is something foreign to me. Something I never thought I’d have. I cherish it.
“Thank you,” I mumble into his jacket.
He pats my back soothingly. After a moment, he releases me and steps back.
“Go on, dear. Do what you need to do. And remember, you’re not alone anymore. You never will be.”