Page 40 of Darkest Deeds

“Right.” I shake my head and turn to walk back toward the car.

“I will need to see my broken device.”

Wait, what?

I don’t take another step. “It’s broken, Sergei. I threw it away when I transferred your files to a new device.”

“Well, retrieve it, Nikolai,” he says, all pleasantries gone from his tone. “After all, how will I know it was truly broken if I cannot see for myself?”

He wants proof. He wants her dead body in his hands. He doesn’t believe I’d give her a pair of concrete shoes and dump her in a river, or better yet, feed her to a woodchipper.

The thing is, as much as I hate him, I can’t blame him. I wouldn’t believe me either.

“Fine,” I growl. “You’ll have to give me a few days. I’ll need to dig through the trash to find the pieces I have left.”

Son of a bitch. Now I’m going to have to kill some unfortunate redhead and deliver her in pieces to satisfy Sergei’s sick need to see his daughter’s corpse.

“Very well. Do what you can. In the meantime, do me a favor, Nikolai.”

“Yeah?”

“Do not ever step foot in my club again.”

He disconnects the call before I can respond, but it’s not like I care. I knew he’d find out I was at Seven while he was on his knees in Texas sucking whatever cartel dick would give him an alibi. Maybe I even counted on it.

Turning my back to the sounds of pounding bass and obnoxious yelling, I head to the parking deck when there’s a light tap on my shoulder. Instinctively, my hand reaches for the holster buried under my jacket when my eyes land on a tiny puff of strawberry blonde hair surrounding a pair of painted red lips.

“You’re Nick, right?”

“What?”

She taps a hand against her chest. “Rose, remember? You took me home.”

Let’s stop right here. Technically, I did not lie to Ava. I never said I killed her roommate. She did. I just didn’t bother to correct her.

“Right. Shouldn’t you be inside?” From the looks of her, she should already be on the pole. Little Rose is once again parading around like a piece of meat, this time in a hot pink rubber costume.

She glances down and blushes. “I’m between sets, but I was wondering if you’ve seen Ava.”

I keep my face expressionless. “Why would you think I’ve seen Ava?”

Shit. Motherfucking shit motherfucker.

“I just assumed that you two…” Her blush deepens and she chews on her lip. “I don’t remember drinking, but I guess I did because I ended up in Ava’s bed. When I woke up, she was gone. I thought maybe she was with you.”

I actually knocked your ass out with a hefty dose of Propofol, Rose, but thanks for taking the blame.

“I went home last night after dropping you off,” I say, cutting her off. Come on, Niko, pull something out of your ass. “You found a bottle of vodka in my car and had a one-woman party. I’m not surprised you don’t remember anything. You were pretty lit.” I raise an eyebrow, and her face heats with embarrassment. “Ava wasn’t there, so I helped you to the bedroom. Sorry, I thought it was yours.”

“Oh, well, thank you.”

I nod, thinking we’re done, but she doesn’t shut up.

“The thing is, she hasn’t come home or shown up for work. I’m worried about her.”

“I’m sure she’s fine.” I pat her head like an obedient puppy and turn to get the hell out of here when she grabs my arm. Reining in my irritation, I let out a sigh. “What is it, Rose?”

“Blade, our security guy, called us girls in for a meeting earlier. The police came by again, but this time it was to ask questions. One of our regulars was murdered a couple nights ago.” Her face pales to a sickly grayish color. “He was stabbed in his…”

---