Page 20 of To Keep

“Okay, fine. With what we just learned, Victoria screwed Viko.”

“Which is so crazy because that man is scary. He’s a complete monster. I mean, did she have to close her eyes to have sex with him?” Skye looked toward Galen. “Right, carry on.”

“So, Seth, intent on seeking revenge, went to Petrov in order to bring down Viko.”

“And makes absolutely no sense. The best way would have been to totally prank him, make him look like a fool, sleep with a woman hedidlike.”

Even though he hated to admit the idea of pranking Viko sounded like fun, it was completely idiotic. Viko was a cold, hard, killing machine. He didn’t accept any kind of nonsense. And there was no one he cared about to use against him. Seth not only betrayed Viko, but the entire organization of the Circle of Monsters. Seth had put them all at extreme risk, himself included.

“I’m hungry,” he said, pulling into the first drive-thru and ordering burgers and fries. He waited to pay, and afterward, drove back to his place.

Skye followed him out of the car, and they went straight to his kitchen. He needed a cold stiff drink, but first, he needed to figure out the shit that was going on.

Sitting at his table, he took a bite of his burger. Skye sat opposite him, picking up her burger and taking a small bite.

“Was Seth’s main goal to completely wipe out your boss and his organization?” Skye asked.

He looked at her. Talking to her about this was completely foolish. For all he knew Viko had already figured out the missing links, and right now, he was pissing him off for not following a direct order right away. No one ever questioned Viko. Never.

There was no reason not to discuss all of this with her.

“It’s the only solution I can come up with. Nothing else makes sense.”

“Wouldn’t that mean in bringing down your group, you’d be in the firing line as well?”

Taking down the Circle of Monsters would do that.

“Is Petrov that powerful?” Skye asked, continuing. “I know he’s a crook and a despicable human being, rich as well, but does he even have the resources to do any of this?”

Galen finished taking another bite of his burger.

“No, he doesn’t.”

Skye frowned. “Okay, so what if, like, what Seth had done to Viko, happened with Petrov?” She growled. “Sorry, I don’t know if that made sense. A woman was killed, and Petrov was really mad about it. What if he wasn’t mad so much as jealous, and Seth had slept with a woman Petrov liked, and he saw red and went all murdery, which we know he did. You know, I kind of saw it and now my life is on the line.”

Galen paused as he thought about it. “Petrov then tried to cover it up.”

“Yes, exactly. I saw it, and then he hired you guys to kill me, not expecting it to be discovered about Seth, and he planned on killing you and me, and I don’t know, maybe striking a deal with Viko. Maybe?” She winced. “It sounds stupid, doesn’t it?”

“No, it doesn’t sound stupid at all.”

“Are you sure, because it kind of does.” She tucked some loose hairs behind her ear. “We’re talking about a criminal here, and there’s no way he would do something that stupid, would he?”

“Men do stupid things.” As was shown with Seth over Victoria.

“So, perhaps there’s no real confusion at all. Petrov attempted to wipe out the issue he caused in a moment of passion, deal with me, and possibly with you, strike a deal with Viko, and everything would be swept under the table as some silly mistake.”

“Only that hasn’t happened, and we don’t know for certain who the woman is. We’re assuming it’s a mistress.”

“She was dressed pretty sexy, does that help? I think I might have seen her around his home a few times.”

“Are you making this up?”

“I don’t lie. I’m trying to figure it out. In all honesty, I don’t know because I took my job as a nanny very seriously, so I didn’t pay attention to everything going on around me, unless it was something that would entertain kids.” She shrugged. “I wish I could be more helpful.”

He stared at her for a long time.

“I don’t like that look on your face,” she said.

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