“How about you tell me the rest of what you know?”
“Everything else was about securing the fortune from the oil field under the vineyard. It was important that Uther got it.”
I glance at Zakh, who looks just as stunned as me.
“What about the Butyrskayas?” Zakh asks.
“Yes, even them.”
“Where did they die?” I cut in.
“In this country, but that’s as much as I know about them. I tracked them to New York, then they fell off my radar. Uther can tell you the rest.”
I knew I was right about Uther’s connection to the Butyrskayas. That motherfucker also knew there was nothing to pin on him. He knew I would have to get that intel from an asshole like this.
“What connection did the Butyrskayas have to the vineyard?”
“It’s about his daughter. She’s worth more to him than an oil company masking as a vineyard. That’s why he’s trying to get her back. The secrets from the past lie with her. Secrets she mustn’t remember, or everything fails. The Mark doesn’t want that to happen.”
Instead of the rage and fury that were fueling me, a shiver of fear grips me. “What happened in the past?”
“She saw things she shouldn’t have seen. I don’t know what they are, only that those secrets must be kept buried deep in the earth.”
Fuck. Fucking Uther.
I truly believe now that Anastasia’s nightmares are memories, and I think I know what she saw. I think she saw what happened to the Butyrskayas. If Uther killed them, that would have been enough for the Knights to kill him and his family, wiping out any plans he had with this Mark person.
Xiou coughs more blood. “I was to watch you and find opportunities to take her back. They want to kill you, and when she is of no use to them, not even Uther will be able to protect her. She knows too much, whether she can remember it or not.”
Damn it to hell. I can’t let that happen. I can’t. I can’t lose her.
“What else do you know?” I grit my teeth as panic takes over my mind.
“Nothing, nothing more. I swear. That’s everything.”
“Then it looks like you’re of no more use to me.” I cock the hammer on my gun again, the sound drawing terror to his eyes.
“More will come to replace me. It won’t end here. They’ll just keep coming until they get your wife.”
“Let. Them. Come.”
I shoot him in the head.
ChapterForty
Anastasia
“Have more tea, dear. It will help.” Ehlga taps the back of my hand.
She gives me a warm smile, but the worry in her eyes gives her away.
She looks just as worried about Desmier as I am and seems to be doing her best to not just calm me down, but herself too.
Across the table between us are the cups of chamomile tea and coffee we’ve had. Only God knows how much we’ve drunk between us since before the sun rose.
We switched out the tea for coffee about an hour ago.
I was already in the kitchen, sitting here at the breakfast table when she came downstairs. I couldn’t sleep after Desmier left.