Page 125 of Sinful Scars

I force my eyes open to find Alexei red-faced as he tries to control his temper. A thick vein is throbbing in his temple, and I know I’m one wrong move away from having my throat cut.

I hold my hands up and slowly turn so I can look at Anton.

“I’m assuming Nina told you everything? About the blackouts?”

Anton glances warily at Alexei, but then nods.

“She mentioned them, yes.”

“Blackouts?” Danil looks between Anton and me. “What’s he talking about?”

I shrug. “Igor doesn’t take being disobeyed lightly. When I decided to run into the fire to save Elle, he beat me within an inch of my life, which included a significant blow to the head. He never took me to a hospital, so the extent of the neurological damage was never confirmed, but I’ve suffered with blackouts ever since. I could be out for minutes or hours and when I come around, I have no memory at all of what I’ve done.”

Mikhail scoffs. “A well-rehearsed story, I must say.”

“You wanted the truth?—”

Alexei grabs me by the neck and pulls me backwards.

I barely have a chance to even trip over my own feetbefore he slams me against the wall with such force that it knocks the breath from me.

“I’m all out of fucks to give, Lev.” He tightens his grip around my neck. “Time’s up.”

My eyes start to water as I fight for air. None of the Koslovs makes a move to stop Alexei.

They know he has the final say here.

I know he was the one to find his parents lying in pools of their own blood. If anyone gets to kill me, it’s him.

“Just do it.” My hands wrap around his wrists, though I make no attempt to try and fight him off.

Alexei’s eyes almost unfocus as he tightens his hands around my neck, as if he’s in a trance. As the last of the air leaves my lungs, the pounding in my head intensifies.

In a matter of seconds, I’m either going to die at the hands of Alexei, or I’m going to blackout and wake up in a pool of blood with a bullet lodged in my chest.

Either way, I’m a dead man.

“Give me one fucking good reason why I shouldn’t just end you right now.”

Alexei’s head snaps in the direction of the door which has just opened to reveal Dimitri. “I’ll give you one.”

“Where thehellhave you been?”

His grip on my neck has loosened just enough that I can choke down a breathful of air, but not enough to relieve the ache in my lungs.

“I found something that might be of interest to both of you.” He glances at me. “Lev.” He dips his chin at me like we’re old friends.

Alexei narrows his eyes at him. “Dimitri.”

“I have a police report from the night our parents were killed.” He reaches into the inside pocket of his jacket, pulling out a folded piece of paper. “It says that Lev was incustody that night in a precinct in Brooklyn after being found passed out on the side of the road. He was then hospitalized when he wouldn’t wake and was kept in for observation until the following day.”

“A police report can be forged. How can you be sure that the report is real?”

“I had Zara’s father look into it for me. He’s the one who sent me over the report along with the CCTV footage from the precinct as well as the hospital. The evidence is all there to confirm it, Alexei.”

My eyes sting. “What are you saying?”

Dimitri looks right into my eyes. “I’m saying that there’s no way you could have killed our parents.”

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