Page 112 of The Payback

“Oh, yes. I saw how he checked with you first. He may be Dimitri’s bodyguard, but he is yours as well. And that cringe you gave when I suggested he marry that horrible girl was one I wasn’t quite expecting, but good for you, my dear.”

“I-I...” I don’t know how to navigate this.

“But it’s not just Nik you have wrapped around your finger. Dimitri, of course...” She pauses. “But discussing pregnancy with my husband and propositioning him to father the child... Elsa, dear, that will only lead to ruination.”

Fear skitters down my spine, and Oksana shows no emotion as she sets up her blackmail perfectly. She’s gently patting her nose, checking her mascara, and pulling lipstick from her purse.

“I didn’t—”

“It doesn’t matter what you did or did not initiate. I was recently informed of your conversation. It seems the waiter was having second thoughts about sharing the information, but now that I have it and have spent the past couple of months getting to know you, I see the snake you are. Or better yet, the one you could be if you were only aligned with the right people. And let me assure you, Dimitri is not the right person to put your faith in.”

She runs a finger under her lip, fixing her lipstick, and continues, “Seeing that I now have witnesses willing to come forward and share your disgusting conversation with Sergei, you are in a precarious position. Your husband would not be happy to hear about your offers in an effort to keep your position.”

I have no words, just a choked sound as she lays out the dominoes and threatens to knock them down.

“So, here’s what is going to happen,” she says. “I have a task for you at the gala. And should you not complete it... Well, it would be a pity for me to tell your husband that you tried to seduce mine to secure your place at his side, passing off a child as his own. Dimitri is not a man to be trifled with, and while he may worship the ground you walk on right now, if he gets even a hint of impropriety—of you using your sexuality to manipulate his bodyguard and his uncle—he will kill you. You wouldn’t be the first lover killed on his behalf.”

“The first? What are you talking about?” I ask, feeling frazzled. Even though Dimitri knows of these supposed threats, the last bit confuses me.

“Why, the reason they fell out in the first place, of course. When he was younger, Dimitri’s girlfriend tried to pull the same tactic. She started with Dimitri and tried to work her way up the chain, sniffing around Danil’s office and making eyes at Sergei. Dimitri’s father ordered her killed. And, well, Dimitri was sentimental. Nik was not. He murdered that girl.”

“Wait, what?” I ask, meeting Oksana’s gaze in the mirror as she stares back at me. This wasn’t in the files, and I haven’t heard it from either Nik or Dimitri. Something this big should have at least been mentioned.

She hums in a poor mimicry of sympathy. “Quite tragic. Dimitri was dating the girl for a couple of months, and after a while, it became clear that it wasn’t him she was interested in despite the boy being head over heels. Dimitri’s father sent the order down, telling him to get rid of her. You see, he’d caught her rifling through things in their home when Dimitri brought her there. He knew better and shouldn’t have, but it was too late then. Dimitri refused to follow through, but Nik stepped up and followed orders like a good little soldier. But now, with you rocking the boat and swaying his allegiance to you, you’ve created quite the conundrum.”

She examines her nails and then turns on the water to wash her hands. “I understand your position, you know. You are not the only one married off as a business transaction. I know that fate far too well, and I’ve worked hard to make it suitable. But you find yourself uniquely positioned to have loyalty around you—however you’ve garnered it. But keeping this secret will cost you.”

Her eyes haven’t left mine since she started speaking about their horrific past, the thing that turned Dimitri and Nik against one another so long ago. There’s been mention of a falling out, but I didn’t know the details, leaving them to work it out amongst themselves.

“We find ourselves at an impasse,” Oksana comments. She dries her hands with one of the folded towels beside the basin and turns towards me. “The question is, do you have what it takes to use that loyalty to your advantage? To keep Nik on your side and play your cards right? There is an opportunity here, Elsa. One that would not be knocking on your door if you had remained with the Emerald Sabres. You have a chance to build a life for yourself you could only dream of, and if you wanted, you could bring Nikita along with you.”

She steps towards the door, and I follow her like a magnet. “The alternative is that I tell Dimitri about your... liaisons with Nik and Sergei. I don’t doubt he would kill you upon hearing the news. After all, it would exchange one dead girlfriend for another. This time, the anguish of blame would fall on Nik’s shoulders.”

“What do you need me to do?” I croak. “I’ll do anything.”

Her smile is unlike any I’ve seen before. It unfurls, stretching her stained lips into a power-hungry slash across her face. With that, she pulls open the door to the restroom and leads me back to the private box; me following her like a puppy across the hall. We take our seats, and when I look at her inquisitively, she pats my folded hands and says, “Tomorrow.”

CHAPTERFORTY-ONE

Nikita

Ellie and Oksanareturn from the bathroom as if nothing is wrong. Meanwhile, my head is spinning. It’s easy to pair a listening device with a camera.

When they started chatting in the bathroom, I nearly dropped the glass of champagne I was holding out for Sergei as his wife manipulated Ellie.

I knew I shouldn’t have looked for her orders when she left the private box. It seems that simple gesture clued in Oksana that Ellie’s mandates were just as important to me as Dimitri’s. Then, the old bitch discussedmypast without knowing all the facts, no doubt colouring Ellie’s opinion of me even further. Jesus, she’ll never let me meet Bella, and I don’t blame her.

We watch the opera silently, and I’m locked in my inner turmoil through every act. I can’t even venture a guess what the performance is about. Finally, at the end, we clap politely, and as a group, we return to the lobby.

Dimitri picks up on the mood and says our goodbyes to Sergei and Oksana, explaining that he has business to attend to. I text Igor to pick us up out front, and we slip away, avoiding the opening night after-party with the performers.

Ellie rounds on us once we’re back in the car with the divider raised between us and Igor.

“Tell me about your old girlfriend,” she demands of Dimitri. Her shoulders are shaking now that we’re finally out of Oksana’s presence, and she can let the façade fall.

He tenses beside her, his gaze dropping to the hands he’s laced together in his lap. “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

“It’srelevantbecause Oksana brought it up in the bathroom in alarming detail. Not to mention, it was nowhere in the files we received at Interpol, so I was flying blind! I shouldneverfly blind! Not when my life and identity are at risk. I can’t afford to slip up, Dimitri. So spill it. That way, maybe, if it comes up again, I won’t stand there gaping like a fish out of water.”

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