Page 276 of Sexting His Assistant

Meredith looks at me then. Her face says she knows he will.

And I know it, too. I feel sick.

Kirill steps closer. “Once Luka is gone, the rest of his structure starts cracking. His partners move. His men choose sides. Roman Karpov loses his strongest rival and his best shield.”

I blink. “Roman?”

Oleg’s mouth flattens. “Roman has become inconvenient.”

Kirill scoffs. “Roman thinks he can sit in the middle and profit while everyone bleeds. He has taken men, routes, money, influence. He thinks because he is patient, he is smarter than everyone else.”

“So, you plan to take him down too,” I say.

“Yes,” Oleg says. “After Luka. Or during, if he is foolish enough to interfere.”

Misha shifts in the chair. “He won’t help you.”

Oleg looks at him. “No one asked him to help.”

Misha lifts his head a little more. His swollen eyes try to find me.

“Nina,” he says.

“I’m here,” I say quickly. “I’m here.”

“I’m sorry,” he says.

“No,” I say immediately. “Don’t. Don’t say that.”

He tries to breathe in, and the sound is wrong. Wet. Painful.

Panic rises hard in my chest.

“Oleg,” I say. “Please. He needs a doctor.”

Oleg looks at me without emotion. “He needed one several hours ago.”

I stare at him.

My voice goes quiet. “Why are you doing this?”

Kirill laughs again, but this time it is bitter. “You people always ask that.”

“You people?”

“The ones close to Kazan,” Kirill says. “You all act shocked when the rest of us stop bowing.”

I look at him. “What are you talking about?”

Kirill steps closer, face hard. “Your precious Luka built his empire by deciding who was useful and who could be discarded. Men like us kept doors open. We handled the ugly parts. We moved money, people, shipments, information. We took the risks while he sat above it all like he was better than the rest of us.”

Oleg says, “Kirill.”

“No,” Kirill snaps. “She asked.”

I look between them.

Kirill continues, “When the business went legitimate, men like us became embarrassing. Too rough for boardrooms. Too dangerous for donors. Too inconvenient when he wanted something in return.”