“Gytha, I need to find Anastasia. I have to speak to Malik and see if he has any idea where Mira could have taken her.”
“Trust me, you need to see this first before you talk to Malik. I’m not sure you can trust him.” The worry in her eyes intensifies, gripping me and beckoning me to listen.
“I’ll leave you two to talk.” Dr. O’Brien backs away and leaves the room.
Gytha walks toward her laptop on the coffee table, switches it on, then looks back at me.
“We didn’t know what happened, but when we found Leif and the others dead, it was clear there was an ambush. The surveillance got wracked in the bombing, but I managed to salvage this part of the recording.”
“Show me.”
She presses the button on the keypad, and the image of Zakh comes on the screen. He’s kneeling beside Leif with his hand around the hilt of the knife that’s plunged into Leif’s heart. Leif is still moving, crying out in pain. Then the image cuts.
I’m so shocked my body moves on its own accord and I don’t even realize I’m standing until I am.
Zakh…
Zakh killed Leif?
No, that can’t be right.
“Play it again.” I walk over to the laptop, crouch down so I can get a better look because I think my eyes must be screwing with me.
Gytha plays it again, and I see the same thing.
On the third and fourth go, I press the button, and it’s only after I’ve seen the clip four times that the truth of betrayal sinks in.
Zakh. He was working with his mother and Viktor the entire time. He played me.
He fucking played me.
Even as I think of what logic is telling me and showing me, I can’t believe the truth any more than I can that Leif is dead.
I look at the time on the recording and notice that Zakh must have gotten to the house just after I spoke to Leif.
And he killed him.
But it doesn’t make sense. All this time, he helped me, and he was against Viktor.
Maybe that’s all it was, and Mira welcomed him back into the fold with a price that enticed him enough. Everyone has their fucking price. He murdered our uncle.
And what about Malik?
“Give me a gun.”
Gytha hands me her Glock.
“Now get Malik in here.”
I’m still staring at the screen when she leaves.
A few minutes later, Malik walks through the door.
“Fuck, I’m so glad you’re okay,” he says, sounding genuine. But so did Zakh when he played the part of a brother who wanted to get to know me. “Desmier, Leif is—”
I don’t give him the chance to finish. I stand and point the gun at him.
“Jesus, what the fuck?” He holds up his hands and looks at me as if I’ve lost my mind.