Episode 106

Naomi

I ran my fingers over the ivory keys, keeping my touch light so I wouldn’t press them down. Had it really been just yesterday that Gavril had sat here, playing his songs for me?

It seemed like a lifetime ago, and now I wasn’t even sure I would ever hear him play again.

A shudder sliced through me and I rose from the stool, unable to sit still for a long period of time. The basement was the safest place for me, Oleg had stated. After all, bodies littered the mansion and its grounds, now being cleared away by the Bratva that was left.

It was a pitiful crew, no more than ten or twelve men, but they had come running the moment Oleg had let them know that their Pakhan was on death’s door. Even from my vantage point, I could hear them moving things upstairs and didn’t want to think about what would be left.

Vera was gone. I wouldn’t see her pinched face anymore or have her give me strength when it was least expected. I thought about our last conversation and how she had begged me not