didn’t work out between you two,” I say evenly. I’m treating him like I used to treat Dad when he come home especially messed-up. Don’t anger him, don’t upset him, don’t move too quick. Nice and smooth and slow.
“As am I. But it’s more than that. Things didn’t just not work out. She cut me from her life entirely, like I didn’t exist anymore. She pretended our love was nothing, and I couldn’t understand it. That is, until I saw her belly months later. She was pregnant, that much was obvious. What no one knew was that it was my child.”
My heart stops.
He’s not saying …
“Yes,” Rogers says, smiling sadly. “She was pregnant with my child, and to avoid the wrath of her powerful, mafia-connected boyfriend, she kept it a secret from him. From the world. Nobody but the two of us knew the truth. I tried convincing her to come with me. We could run away from this shitty place. We could disappear and make a life somewhere else. I called her every day, sent her letters, everything I could think of to get in contact with her. But she was afraid. She was too afraid to leave Dmitry because he was a violent man.”
I swallow hard again and keep my eyes on him.
“Dmitry brainwashed the woman I loved,” he says, bitterness in his angry voice. “He made her do things she never would, like send me messages telling me she never wanted to see me again. He must have, because the Brianne I loved would have never turned on me like that. But that’s how all of these men operate. You must know that, Victoria. These men—these criminals—don’t ever get in trouble for what they do. They can hurt and steal and threaten as much as they like, and no one ever makes them pay. Not until I came around.”
“You’re the vigilante,” I say quietly. “You’re the Justice Killer.”
A sick smile spreads across Rogers’s face. “Well done.” He sets the gun down on the entry table. I wonder if I’m fast enough to lunge forward and grab it before he can.
“Why?” I ask. “Why not let the police take care of this?”
“The police?” he laughs incredulously. “Victoria, please be rational. The police in this city are in the Morozovs’ pockets. How do you think they’ve been able to build their empire so easily? Every level of justice in this city is corrupt, and I couldn’t let them get away with it. The police were no help. The justice system is a joke. So, I decided to do things myself.”
I want to tell him how wrong he is, but I know he’s speaking the truth. The corruption in this city runs deeper than anyone could ever imagine, which is exactly why Dad didn’t want me speaking to the cops.
Rogers continues. “I thought that getting rid of Dmitry would be enough, but that’s when Matvei stepped in. That’s when he shot me.” He lifts the leg of his pants and reveals a bullet-sized wound.
He really was the one that killed Matvei’s brother.
“Matvei Morozov, more manipulative and dangerous than his kid brother, took my child. That’s why I’ve come here, Victoria. To put a bullet in that motherfucker’s head.”
My heart races, and I glance across the foyer towards the kitchen, at the knives sitting in the block. I could grab two faster than he could get around the counter. But he has his gun. I’d be dead before I even got close enough to use the blades.
Rogers is here to kill Matvei.
He’s here to take another family member away from Nikolas, and without a moment of hesitation, I know with every fiber in my body that I can’t let that happen. Not after Matvei has gotten so close to the boy. I’ve seen how they’ve bonded. I’m witness to just how much the man has changed.
And now Rogers wants to undo it all.
“Take me instead,” I blurt out.
“What?”
“Matvei loves me. Hurting me is a worse punishment than killing him.”
He narrows his eyes. “That’s a bold claim.”
“You know I’m right. If you come for him, that’s just business. He’ll understand. But coming for me… that’s so much worse.”
He looks at me skeptically, as if considering it. Then he reaches for his gun. A flash of panic hits me hard, and I imagine him simply pointing the gun at me and pulling the trigger.
Instead, he slips the gun under his jacket and says, “That’s a fair point and a good idea. Let’s go