Page 52 of Bound By Revenge

After a moment, she asks, “And you think Patrick McGuire is behind the murder?”

“I know he is,” I reply, my voice steely.

Her brows furrow. “I hate to ask this, but… how did Maxim die?”

I hesitate. The memory alone makes my stomach churn.

“He was most likely strangled,” I say at last. “A garrote, I’d guess.”

She nods, her expression solemn. But then, she frowns. “What do you mean, ‘most likely’?”

I sigh. Of course she’d catch that.

“Maxim’s body… it’s missing.”

Chapter 22

Nik

Kat’s eyes widen.“He’s missing? But you saw him. His body, I mean.”

“I did,” I say, my throat tightening. “Vlad took me straight to him. I saw his body on the museum floor. So did a dozen of my men.”

“Then how the hell is he missing? How does that even happen?”

I grind my teeth.Good fucking question.

“That’s what I’d like to know. We delivered his body to the funeral home. I was debating whether to order an autopsy when they called to tell me it was gone.”

“Well, where could it be?”

“If I knew that, Kat, it wouldn’t be fucking missing.”

She blinks at me, silent. Guilt tugs at me for snapping at her. It’s not her fault Maxim’s gone. At least, I hope not.

With a sigh, I soften my tone. “I’m sorry. It’s been…a long week. I’m sure McGuire’s behind the body disappearing, too. The bastard wouldn’t pass up the chance to mess with me.”

“Why would he take the body?”

“To hide the evidence of his crime? To desecrate the remains? To fuck with me? Take your pick.”

Kat falls quiet, processing everything I’ve thrown at her. Finally, she asks, “What makes you think Maxim was strangled with a garrote?”

“He had ligature marks around his neck. Skin was bluish.”

“I see. But you were still considering an autopsy.”

“Yes. Even though the cause of death seemed obvious, I wanted confirmation. People in my line of business can be…creative. I needed to be sure. I told the funeral home to hold off until morning so I could decide. A few hours later, he was gone.”

She frowns. “Why hesitate? When you put it like that, an autopsy seems like the obvious choice.”

“I…” I clear my throat before continuing. “Like I said, his cause of death was pretty clear. I didn’t want to delay putting him to rest if it wasn’t absolutely necessary—or violate him further.”

Her expression softens. “Sorry. I didn’t think about that.”

I nod, glancing at the screen, suddenly feeling exposed. But her next words pull me back.

“This whole thing is insane. A guy with mafia ties gets murdered at The Met during a party with the mayor in attendance, and then his body just disappears? How is this not all over the news?”

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