Page 53 of Pretty Evil

I hand him the glass and he clutches his chest and wails, “The pain, oh God, the pain. Please help me.” He takes a deep, rasping breath. “I think I’m having a heart attack.”

Nobody moves. Not one of us bothers to go to his assistance and merely watch the scene unfold with interest rather than concern.

He glances around the room and as the realization dawns in his eyes, I whisper, “Say hi to the devil for me.”

He clutches his chest and takes his last breath before falling forward, headfirst on the table, bashing his face as he falls before slipping to the ground.

As he lies there, Gleb makes the sign of the cross and whispers, “May God have mercy on his soul.”

Serena stares in disbelief and then, as her eyes meet mine, she smiles. A beautiful smile that makes my heart beat faster as she whispers, “I doubt God will be involved, Gleb. I expect his soul is heading straight to hell.”

CHAPTER27

SERENA

As I stare at the body on the floor, it’s with an inner peace I wasn’t expecting. I don’t know what just happened, but I’m glad it did.

I don’t have time to react because mom returns and stares at the scene with a stunned expression.

“Joe.” She gasps as she races to his side and as she crouches down beside him, she feels for a pulse before raising her eyes and saying in a hushed whisper, “He’s dead.”

I push back from my seat and go to her side, grasping her hand and saying softly, “I’m sorry, mom.”

She shakes her head. “I can’t believe it. Is this really happening?”

I nod, a little surprised by her reaction but sad for her at the same time.

“It appears he suffered a heart attack, Mrs. Stoner. Please accept my condolences.”

Alexei says respectfully and mom shakes her head and whispers, “He really is dead.”

Alexei catches my eye and appears as confused as I am and I say gently, “You’re in shock. I’ll fetch you a drink.”

“No!” Mom says firmly and then stands, fixing Stoner with an unreadable expression.

“What happens now?” She says almost to herself, and Alexei says gently, “The ambulance will take charge of his body. They will call the cops if they think it’s necessary.”

“The cops?”

Mom’s eyes widen and I say quickly, “It’s standard procedure, mom. I doubt they will discover anything other than it was a heart attack. Knowing his lifestyle, he was probably a ticking bomb, anyway.”

“I suppose.” Mom stares at me with an expression that makes me think she knows more about this than I thought. She says with an air of dignity, “Please. We should respect my husband. I’ll fetch something to cover him with.”

I stare down at the lifeless body at our feet, his face purple due to the blood pouring from his broken nose and his eyes wide open in fear. It wasn’t the most dignified of passings, and I stare at him with a growing sense of derision. I feel nothing but relief that he’s dead. Mom is free and he can’t hurt her anymore.

As I glance at Alexei, his eyes flash and something tells me he knows a little about what happened here today and rather than being afraid about that, it only makes me like him more. His warning about the drinks reveals his murder weapon, and I’m impressed how well it was executed.

* * *

Three hourslater and the storm subsides. The paramedics arrived and declared Stoner dead. They took his body away and I guess there will be an autopsy. Mom was shocked into silence, and it didn’t take much to persuade her to take a bath and try to deal with the shock. Alexei and Gleb remained through it all and dealt with the paramedics on mom’s behalf. I’m so grateful they were, providing the calm voice of authority that we really needed.

As mom heads off for her bath, Gleb disappears, leaving me alone with Alexei and as soon as the door closes, I fall into his outstretched arms.

As they fold around me, it’s as if I’m home and he buries his face in my hair and whispers, “I came for you, tiger. We have unfinished business.”

I pull back and grin. “You made quite the entrance, Mr. Romanov. Do you always murder your business partners after the deal is struck? Is that the Russian way?”

His eyes flash as he whispers huskily, “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

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