Page 58 of Bound Vows
I park two blocks away and approach on foot, favoring my good ankle while scanning for additional security or surveillance. The building shows no external activity, but that doesn’t mean Katarina is alone or unprepared.
I pause at the front entrance to let my eyes adjust to the darkness inside. Faint illumination from overhead windows reveals a cavernous space filled with abandoned machinery and the kind of shadows that could hide an army.
“Punctual as always,” Katarina’s voice echoes from within the depths of the warehouse. “Though I notice you’re limping. Still recovering from your dramatic escape attempt?”
“Still recovering from underestimating how crazy you are,” I reply while moving deeper into the building with the Glock held ready but not threatening. “Where is he?”
“Andrei is where he needs to be for this conversation. I’m afraid he’s not in the best condition to participate. It turns out that even the most dangerous men become quite manageable when the right chemicals are involved.”
I follow her voice through a maze of industrial equipment and storage containers, and my ankle protests every uneven step. The warehouse feels like a tomb designed for the burial of inconvenient wives, and I wonder if this is how Elena felt in the moments before her death.
“You drugged him.”
“Just a little something in his morning coffee that ensures compliance and cooperation.” Katarina’s voice grows closer, though I still haven’t spotted her in the labyrinth of machinery. “Andrei took a higher dose than necessary. He was ratheruncooperative about leaving his precious wife alone and defenseless.”
“How thoughtful of you to be concerned about my safety.”
“Oh, I’m very concerned about your safety, Maya. Your safety is the reason we’re having this conversation.” She finally steps into view from behind a massive shelving unit, and I note the gun in her hand before registering Andrei’s motionless body chained to a support beam behind her.
He’s alive. I can see his chest rising and falling, but his head is hanging forward, and his chin is resting on his neck. Blood darkens his shirt in several places, and his face shows signs of recent violence that make my trigger finger itch with the desire for retaliation.
“Let him go, Katarina. He doesn’t deserve to pay for whatever issues you have with me.”
“Doesn’t he? He married you knowing it would destroy me. He brought you into my safe house, my sanctuary, and expected me to smile and pretend everything was fine. He chose you over eight years of loyalty, devotion, and love.”
“He chose me over eight years of obsession and manipulation.”
“I understand what he needs to survive in this world, and you’re just a pretty distraction that will get him killed.” Katarina moves closer, keeping the gun trained on Andrei. “Just like Elena.”
“Elena died because of your enemies, not because she was a distraction.”
“Elena died because she was weak and naive and unprepared for the realities of loving a man like Andrei. I suppose you couldsay she died because I finally got tired of watching her waste his potential.”
Katarina has moved far beyond simple jealousy into something approaching psychological collapse.
“You killed her.”
“I arranged for her removal from an equation that damaged everyone involved. Elena was never going to be strong enough for this life, and her presence made Andrei soft. I did what needed to be done to protect the man I love.”
“You murdered your sister.”
“I eliminated a liability that threatened Andrei’s worth and survival. That she happened to be my sister is irrelevant.” She raises the gun until it’s pointed at my chest. “Just like eliminating you is irrelevant to anything except clearing the path for our future.”
“What future? You think killing me will make Andrei fall in love with you?” I keep my weapon lowered but ready as I calculate distances and angles. “You think he’ll forgive you for murdering two wives?”
“He’ll realize that some women are worth protecting and others are elaborate traps designed to exploit his weaknesses. When you’re dead and he’s alone again, he’ll understand that I’ve been the only person who truly cared about his welfare.”
I sputter my lips and snort. “He will hunt you to the ends of the earth and make your death last for weeks.”
Katarina drops her voice. “If I can’t have him, no one can. It’s as simple as that.”
The break from reality in her tone churns my stomach. This isn’t just about eliminating competition or removing obstacles to her imagined romance. Katarina has decided that destroying us is preferable to seeing us happy, and that level of obsession doesn’t respond to logic or negotiation.
“You’re going to kill him, too.”
“If necessary, yes. I’ll put him out of his misery after he watches what happens to women who steal what belongs to me. He’ll understand, in those final moments, that choosing you was the mistake that destroyed everything he cared about. Quite poetic, don’t you think?”
“I think you’re insane, and I think you’ve underestimated how difficult it will be to kill both of us.” I move my weight toward my good foot, preparing to dive for cover behind the nearest piece of machinery. “Andrei won’t be unconscious forever, and I won’t stand here while you monologue about your twisted version of love.”
