Dirty Passions An Interracial Russian Mafia Romance (The Lion and The Mouse #5) - Kenya Wright Page 0,124

yanking his arm up and slicing under it. Zahkar screamed in pain.

I grabbed his tie, quickly wrapped it around his neck, choking and yanking him to the ground myself. “What the fuck did I say? Get on the ground!”

He struggled, groaning and wagging his arms.

I put the blade against his cheek. “Tell me about the picture!”

Choking, he strained against the tie.

I loosened it.

“Kazimir! Get her. What the—”

“I’m talking to you.” I dug the knife into his cheek.

“Ah!”

Blood spilled out from the tip and streamed down his face.

I moved the knife away, but kept it a half an inch from the corner of his. “Relax or I’ll cut your eyeball out.”

He went still.

Part of me wanted to look over my shoulder and check Kaz’s reaction. I was sure he was losing his mind, but I hoped he wouldn’t step in. Even more, Mr. Blue Cross probably had something to say about the matter too. But I had to focus.

I kept a tight hold of the tie around Zahkar’s neck and made sure the knife’s tip stayed close to the corner of his eye. “The picture. Tell me about it. Or should I just cut out the eye now to make sure you answer me this time.”

“N-no.”

“It might speed things up.”

“The picture.” He trembled. “I. . .I didn’t see it until a few weeks ago. Right after those monkey heads were put in your bedroom. The picture just showed up in the back seat of my limo. I picked up and then slung it outside the car. That night, it was in my house, right on the desk of my office. I put it in the trash. The next day, it was on my pillow. I couldn’t get rid of the damn thing.”

I let go of the tie, moved the knife away, and stepped back. “Someone just kept on putting it there?”

Pissed, he stayed on the floor, but touched his neck. “Yes. No matter how many times I got rid of it. The photo returned. I assumed it was copies. Once I burned it. The next day, it was in my jacket pocket.”

“Who do you think put it there?”

“Due to the symbol on the back of the photo, I would say some very powerful people.”

“The Knights of Babylon?”

“You said it. I didn’t.”

“I sure did say it.” I raised my voice just in case some of those bitch asses were in there. “I’m not afraid of men who hide in the darkness under cloaks.”

Zahkar touched his cheek, dabbing at the wound I’d created. “You cut me?”

“I’ll cut you again.” I pointed the knife at his other eye. “What happened next?”

“I gave up on getting rid of the photo and put it in my drawer of my other bedroom.”

“At Kaz’s house?”

“Yes. This was during the investigation and I didn’t want my wife to see that photo.”

“What happened next?”

“One day, Yuri snuck around and decided to go through everyone’s bedrooms, looking for something that could possibly give a clue to the monkey heads.” Zahkar looked at the blood on his fingers. “My men caught Yuri leaving my bedroom. He lied and said he was looking for me. They let him go. Later, when I went into my room, I checked my drawer and noticed the picture was gone.”

“And then you killed Yuri?”

Zahkar remained silent.

Fast, I jabbed the knife into his shoulder and yanked out.

He screamed in agony.

“Hello! Answer me. And then you killed Yuri?”

Blood spurt from his shoulder.

“Should I do it again?”

“No. Please—”

“And then you killed him over a fucking photo?”

“Yes!” He held his shoulder. Blood continued to spill from his fingers. “I did. He wouldn’t give me the picture back. He wanted you to see it first. I knew that Kazimir would realize that it was my father and think that I had something to do with the monkey heads!”

“Did you have something to do with it?”

“No.” His body shook. He placed his bloody hands into a praying position. “I killed Yuri, but I had nothing to do with that.”

I studied him. “But that’s not it?”

“What?”

“You sent your men over to Yuri’s mother to get the picture.”

He nodded. “She didn’t know anything about it, but I wasn’t sure so. . .”

“She had to die.”

“I. . .I just wanted to make sure that I didn’t lose Kazimir’s trust—”

“So, your man killed her and ransacked the apartment?”

“Y-yes.”

I swung my knife at my side. “Back to the Knights of Babylon.”

Zahkar shook his head over and over. “I-I don’t know a-anything about them. I think they delivered the