Page 109 of Dark Truths

“Have you chosen your second yet?” If he hasn’t, I have a few ideas I could share.

“I’m thinking of Romanov.”

I nod, contemplating the man. “Yeah, he’s loyal and smart. Good head on his shoulders.”

“I thought the same thing.”

Talking about an organization I planned on bringing down once has me feeling odd and leaving the tension between us a little awkward.

“Hey, I want you to know that I’m sorry.”

Alexei shrugs and looks off into the distance. Just as before, I let him sort through his raging thoughts.

“Sorry for what?” he asks, turning back to face me. “Sorry for missing my wedding or sorry about lying to me for years?” There’s no animosity in his voice or anger on his face. Just pensive curiosity.

“Both,” I answer right away.

Alexei hums low, glancing at his hands. I wait. He's the one leading this conversation. Not me. "Did you think I was the one who betrayed you to Sergei?"

I meet his questioning eyes and shake my head. "No. I mean, it did cross my mind but then I thought about how our friendship was the one real thing I had in the Bratva and believed you deserved a conversation before jumping to conclusions.”

“Was?”

Leave it to Alexei to catch the smallest detail. “I mean, are we still friends? Can we still be friends?”

Alexei puffs out his chest and leans back in his chair. “Well, I don’t know. You missed my wedding.”

I smirk. “It might have been a little weird, since you know I’m dead and all.”

“Yeah, that’s true, and you know Sophia would have hated to have her thunder stolen on her big day.”

I can only imagine the Bridezilla she would have become.

“I want to thank you for rescuing Ana by the way.”

With a solemn nod, I ask, “How is she?”

“She’s recovering and has a very nice lump sum of cash to do just that for life if she’d like.”

Alexei’s first order of business as Pakhan was to purge the house of everyone involved in the human trafficking operation that Sergei had orchestrated. When I heard the number, I was surprised at how little men he used from the Bratva. Apparently, he contracted out for most of it. Smart man, but I’m willing to bet that idea came from Ford. Fucking Ford. I wish I’d been the one to kill him, but it does seems a little poetic that his partner put him down.

“So what now?” Alexei asks.

He’s not the first to ask, and he’s not the first to hear me say, “I don’t know.”

“I’d offer you to come back, but that bridge sort of burned when Sergei outed you and all,” Alexei says.

“No, it’s your time now," I tell him honestly. "I have a different future ahead now."

“Oh yeah, the babies." Alexei tosses me a smirk. "Nice job snagging Gabriella, by the way. But hey, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“When did things change for you? When did you decide to be okay with crime?”

I chuckle softly under my breath. “Let me be clear. I’m notokaywith crime. I never will be, but I came to understand that crime is necessary. There are some things that the law can not give justice to. Officers and soldiers have their hands tied by bureaucracy, leaving victims helpless and unfulfilled. The underworld follows a different set of rules. The punishment must fit the crime. A life for a life. Eye for an Eye. That sort of thing. But to answer your question, I don’t know when it changed. I guess when I met Gabriella and got to know the girl behind the name, did I realize both sides are needed. Just like you can’t have light without darkness, you also can’t have law and order without crime and chaos.”

Alexei contemplates my words. “I guess that makes sense.”He shuffles his feet and I wait his nervousness out. "What would happened if you'd never met Gabriella?

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