Page 151 of Dance of Deception

Kir leans forward slightly. His voice drops.

“I might run a criminal organization, Carmine. But we all have a line we don’t cross.” He taps the stem of his glass.“Mine happens to be kidnapping and locking teenage girls in a basement to rape, torture and kill them.” His tone is detached. Almost bored. But there’s danger behind it.

I watch him, cataloging every shift in his expression. For the first time since sitting down, I'm wondering if we have more in common than I care to admit.

“You should know something else about him, though,” Kir adds, looking into his wine, his brow furrowing like he’s dredging deep for something.

“Which is?” I ask, leaning forward.

“I’ve read all about his crimes: interviews he gave in prison, psych analysis, all of it. The Bratva world, me included, knew Arkadi as bruiser and enforcer—a tough guy who could get things done.” He shakes his head. “But it’s clear now that he wasmuchmore than that.”

His eyes lift to mine, dark and steady.

“His intelligence scores were off the charts. It’s all in his psych evaluation from prison. Genius-level IQ, highly adept at solving complex problems, and if you read between the lines, you can tell the psychiatrist speaking with him was more than slightly afraid of him.”

Kir frowns, shaking his head again. Then he exhales sharply.

“People like to tell themselves that Arkadi was just another violent man, a foot soldier who cracked one day, decided he enjoyed hurting people, and then made a hobby out of it.” His lips press to a thin line. “That’s comforting, isn’t it? To think that monsters are made, not born?”

He pauses and takes a sip of wine.

“But Arkadi wasn’t some dumb enforcer who lost his way.” Kir’s voice is flat now, his words stripped of their amusement. “That was just his cover. That’s what hewantedus to think.”

My fingers tighten around my glass. “What are you saying?”

Kir looks straight into my eyes. “I’m saying that everything Arkadi did—the tough guy act, the reckless brutality, the brawler reputation—was all an elaborate fucking mask. The real Arkadi was the man beneath it that no one ever saw. The cold, calculating monster who was always two steps ahead of everyone else.”

Something heavy settles in my chest, a weight I can’t shift.

“Arkadinevermade mistakes,” Kir continues. “Every move he made was deliberate. Every crime, every kill—all perfectly orchestrated.” He leans back in his chair, swirling his glass again. “Except for one slipup.”

My jaw clenches. “The open basement door.”

Kir nods slowly. “Just a crack. Just enough for a curious girl to wander inside.”

I stare at him, something cold crawling down my spine.

“You’re suggesting that wasn’t an accident.”

After a moment, Kir tilts his head slightly, studying me. “Arkadi was meticulously careful. He never gave the wrong people the wrong information. Never left a single trace. Until that one time.”

The silence hangs heavy between us. I can feel the weight of what he isn’t saying pressing on my ribs, almost suffocating me.

Kir exhales slowly, swirling his glass again, the deep red wine catching the dim light. “His mistake wasn’t leaving the door open.” His voice is lower now, almost grim. “His mistake was thinking she’d see what was inside and choose to walk the same path as him.”

I don’t move, don’t blink.

Kir leans forward slightly, elbows resting on the table. “Maybe, in some twisted part of his mind, Arkadi hoped Lyra would see what he was and accept it. Maybe he thought she was just like him.” He tilts his head. “Maybe he thought she’dstay.”

The words hit like a slow-moving bullet. A father expecting his daughter to follow him willingly into the darkness of the abyss.

“But she didn’t.” Kir’s lips curl slightly, bitterness in his expression. “She ran.”

I flex my fingers against the table, my jaw tightening.

“At the trial,” Kir goes on, “he never looked at her. Never spoke to her. Never tried to explain himself or apologize.Nothing.” His eyes darken. “Because he knew.” He sets his glass down carefully, deliberately. “For the first time in his life, Arkadi wasn’t the one holding the power. She was. And I don’t think for a minute he ever,everlet that go.”

I exhale slowly, forcing the tension from my shoulders. “Well, he’s in the ground now, where he belongs.”

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