Page 55 of Cruel Redemption

“I should be the one to tell Rebecca and Kyle,” I offered. “They may not trust me completely, but I can do my best to explain what happened.”

Ciro looked at me quizzically. “I disagree. None of that can happen.”

“We can’t have Katya do it.” I looked at her. She stared into a cup of tea.

“No. We don’t tell them.”

That got her attention. She blinked. “Their son is dead. They have a right to know.”

Luka sloshed his bourbon in the glass. “Ciro’s right. They can’t know. No one can know.”

“What?” Katya practically lunged at her brother. “You’re going to cover it up?”

Luka shook his head. “We aren’t covering it up. But what good does it do any of us? If we go to the parents, they will go to the police. And if the tunnels are uncovered in the investigation, the Feds will be brought in. My charges won’t be kidnapping anymore, they’ll be murder charges.” He exhaled. “And Amara will be under federal scrutiny for every single thing that runs through Amato Global.”

“But someone has to pay,” she croaked. “Someone has to pay for this. My baby…” she drifted off.

“They will pay. I promise they will pay. But the cops aren’t going to be able to help. There are too many bodies. Too much blood spilled. This cannot see daylight.” Luka’s voice was strong and firm. He had brought this to us. I realized it was courtesy out of respect for Katya’s mourning. The decision had been made.

I leaned toward Katya and put my hand on her wrist. “We can’t do this without you. you have a say in the decision.” I spoke softly. It was the hardest question I had ever had to ask someone. “Do we have your permission to move Enzo’s body? He has to go somewhere where he can never be found, Katya.”

She buried her face in her hands. I thought she was waiting for tears that couldn’t possibly be produced. She looked at us. “Don’t ask me to hide him.”

“Please, think about it,” I implored softly.

“There won’t be a funeral? No memorial service? Just act like he vanished and not recognize what his life meant. I don’t see how I can do that.”

I glanced at Luka. “I’ll hold a memorial for him here,” I offered. “Obviously, it will be private, just us. He meant a lot to me Katya. For three years he was by my side every single day. I trusted him, like I trust Ciro.” My eyes started to burn. I wouldn’t cry in front of her, it seemed unfair. “I want to honor him too. We can do that here.”

“You would do that?” she asked.

“Yes. I’ll plan it or you can plan it. Whatever you want,” I offered. “But Luka is right about what has to happen. We must protect each other.”

She took a big inhale of air and looked across the circle at her brother. “I want my freedom. That’s my price for keeping this secret the rest of my life.”

His brow furrowed. “I hardly think this is the time.”

“No. It is,” I agreed. “Give it to her.”

He closed his eyes and nodded. “All right. I’ll work on the Petrovs. It’s done. You have your freedom, and we will make sure that Enzo’s murderers are punished the way the families have always taken care of each other.”

She turned toward the fire and lifted the tea to her lips.

When Luka looked at me, I knew there was one more decision we had to agree on. “I have to go to the investigators tomorrow and tell them about the attack.”

“No.” He shook his head.

“It’s time we go public. You can’t be tied up with a trial.” I almost choked on the words, thinking about Enzo. “And the families need to know about our partnership. It will send the right message to our allies, but more importantly to our enemies. We don’t have time to come up with a better strategy. This has to be our strategy. We tell them all tomorrow.”

Ciro pressed his lips together. Even if something had brought them closer today, he wasn’t going to support this. He tipped back a full shot of whiskey. I held out my glass. He filled it.

The bourbon burned going down, but right now it was better than feeling the pain of losing Enzo.

Thirty

Luka

Neither of us got any sleep that night. I twisted my arm around Amara, holding her close to me under the sheet. I needed her warmth. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Enzo. I opened them and would hear Katya crying.

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