Page 24 of Corrupted Guilt

When they leave, I call up Viktor and try to control myself while I talk to him.

“Yuri? So good to hear from you, how is my Katya?” Viktor asked. His voice was full of love as if nothing happened. As if he hadn’t hit her last time, he saw her. As if he hadn’t sic’edthis Petya monster on her – promised to give her to him as a bride.

“None the worse for wear,” I lie to him. “Petya showed up here and tried to get her away.”

“Petya? You don’t say? Well, a guy must try, right? She’s got a good head on her shoulders, but her taste for independence might lead her astray. Do whatever is necessary to keep her safe.”

“Of course. And you? How’s your protection there without me?”

“Nobody is chasing after me – well only the usuals. Katya needs to be your only concern,” Viktor said in a low voice.

“I can do two things at once,” I told him. “While your daughter is in class and studying, I’ll need something to keep me busy.”

“Always need to be in control,” Viktor chuckled. “All right. I’ll make sure my men get in touch with you.”

I hung up and remembered the scene 4 years ago.

Viktor towered over me with a look of rage in his eyes. “Dmitry is dead.”

My heart dropped and my hands shook. “Dead? How?”

Viktor stared intently at me, and for a moment, I was taken aback. Dmitry was Viktor’s son. His only son. His oldest child. He was Victor’s pride and joy, but there was more rage and anger on his face than sorrow and grief. What had happened?

“Car crash,” Viktor said evenly. “He died in a car crash.”

A car crash? I searched beyond the words. A mere accident wouldn’t make Viktor angry. “Deliberate?” I asked in a soft tone. If someone had failed to protect Dmitry, there would be hell to pay.

Viktor watched me closely, and then he suddenly straightened. His eyes softened, and the tears slowly trickled from his eyes. Suddenly, he wasn’t full of anger and wrath. Hewas a broken man who had lost his son. “No,” Viktor whispered. “Not deliberate. All that money I put into protecting those I love, and it simply wasn’t enough.”

“Sir,” I started, but my own hands were trembling. Dmitry was my friend. My boss. And now he was dead. The whole world was starting to darken.

But something was missing. Something I couldn’t quite put my finger on. Something I was afraid to admit to myself.

I walk back to the elevator and take it up to my penthouse apartment.

I’m actually glad to be going back inside. It feels like more than just a place to sleep, it’s a place I want to be. With Katya there it feels like home.

She looks like she belongs here.

And there might be a little spring in my step because I know I must punish her for trying to escape.

Most of the time I didn’t think about it, but every once in a while, I realized she was important to me.

She had a nesting instinct, which was part of what made her a woman. I’m not the type to be domesticated, though. She’d have better luck trying to domesticate a tiger. I won’t go quietly but I might go.

“Hey,” I greet her as she’s sitting on the couch, working.

She jumps. She’s miles away. But when she sees me, her face lights up.

“You’re back. I thought you might be working all day,” she says.

“What are you working on?” I ask.

“A paper for one of my classes. It’s not very good.”

“You shouldn’t waste your time on it then.”

She frowns at me. “It’s required. This and midterms coming up too — should I not waste my time on them either?”

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