Chapter 21
Naomi
A Few Minutes Earlier
I stared at the gun on the nightstand before glancing at the clock beside it. Gavril had been gone for nearly two hours, and I was starting to grow concerned that he had found some sort of trouble out there.
Had Jon been home when he had gotten there, and now Gavril was lying in a pool of blood?
I didn’t want to think like that at all, but because of what was going on around us, I had to.
After all, Gavril wasn’t going to just walk away from a chance to kill Jon, and I couldn’t blame him.
Sighing, I reached over and picked up the gun, turning it over in my hands. I didn’t really like the feel of the cold steel in my hand. The gun implied violence, violence that I wasn’t sure I had in me to kill someone.
Years ago, when Jon had snuck up on me at a club and scared me, I had attempted to take some gun safety courses in hopes of getting my concealed weapons permit. I had vowed it would be the last time he would have the opportunity and have me not be armed.
Even Ilsa had tried to show me, but in the end, I had decided that I didn’t want to turn into a person who pulled out my gun at every shadow. Mace had become my friend then, and no matter what Ilsa had said, I had stuck to what I was comfortable with.
Now I was back to the gun, even though I hoped that I didn’t have to use it.
With a sigh, I climbed off the bed and walked to the open bedroom door, my bare feet sinking into the plush carpet as I walked out onto the landing. “Vera?” I asked, knowing that the housekeeper was close.
She appeared in the foyer a moment later. “Do you require something, Mrs. Kirilenko?”
I drew in a breath, holding out the gun. “Can you show me how to work this?” I felt like an idiot for asking, but Vera had lived in this world for years and I imagined she knew how to handle a gun.
Vera climbed the stairs to the landing and held out her hand. “Give it to me.”
I wordlessly handed it over to her and she expertly flipped out the clip, checking it for bullets before pulling back the slide and smirking as she heard a click. “It’s ready to fire,” she answered, pointing it to the ground. “It does have a safety that you will have to disengage, however.” I watched as she flipped it on and off a few times, showing me the difference.
“How do you know all this?” I asked, curious.
A rare smile crossed her face. “Master has made certain that anyone in this household can protect it. It was Anatoly that showed me how to properly fire a weapon.”
I felt the ache in my chest at the name, still finding it hard to believe that he was gone. Gavril had lost so many over the last few days, and I could only hope that the bloodshed for his men was over.
There weren’t many left to begin with.
Vera handed the weapon back to me, her face sliding back into the mask I knew so well. “Is that all you require?”
I nodded. “Thank you for showing me.”
She opened her mouth but then just gave me a sharp nod and walked back down the stairs, leaving me to wonder what else she was going to say.
With a sigh, I headed back into the bedroom, placing the gun back on the table and walking to the balcony doors, too afraid to open them right now. I knew what I would see. The guards, or those that were left, were walking the grounds, always present and alert.
There was an unease that had crept over the mansion with Gavril’s departure, and I didn’t like it. What if this was all a setup for Jon’s grand plan?
What if he had baited Gavril to get him out of the mansion so he could kill him?
I couldn’t go down that road right now. I had to believe that Gavril was safe and that he was on his way back.
I needed him to be back here, where he was safe. Gavril had been dealing with danger like this for years, but that was before he had someone like me to worry about him.
Which was exactly what I was doing. I was going to worry myself sick if I didn’t watch it.
Turning away from the doors, I walked into the bathroom and turned on the sink faucet, letting the cold water run into the granite bowl. Things were coming to a head, and I could only hope that we would come out on the other side of this madness. Who would ever have thought I would be married (well, not technically) to a Mafia leader and Ilsa as well? It was hard for me to picture my bestie police officer being enamored by the very man she should want to put behind bars, but never in my wildest dreams did I think I would follow suit.