are you after Colin? What did he do exactly?”
His features harden. Oh, shit. But I’m here to find the truth, so he better talk, or I’m handing him over to the mafia. He looks away, and his jaw tightens. His eyes narrow. Then he turns to look at me, and I don’t like a bit what I see in his eyes. There is so much hatred, so much pain… and even though I know Colin’s story, I start to wonder.
“Tell me,” I insist. “I must know.”
TWELVE
“There is one pain I often feel, which you will never know. It is caused by the absence of you.”
Anonymous
Svetlana and her goon are in the crowd directly behind Razor’s back, about fifteen feet away. Not too close to raise any suspicion, but not too far for them to react quickly if the need arises.
I look at Razor’s tightened fists. There are letters and symbols on each knuckle, and I fleetingly wonder if there is any specific meaning to them, or if he got inked kind of randomly like some people do—without any deeper thought behind the design.
“Faith was my niece. Her father and I were brothers. He killed himself shortly after she died… got drunk one night and hung himself in the stable.” Razor’s bushy brows come together, a deep groove forming in his forehead between them. His lips are pressed together into a thin line, and his fists clench and unclench.
He’s looking into the distance, and my eyes dart over his head to Svetlana. I nod to her a tiny bit, and she nods back, taking a sip from her glass.
I remember Colin mentioning Faith’s uncle. Was it Razor?
“So you and Faith’s father were brothers.” I rehash. “Any other siblings?”
“No, just the two of us. He was four years older than me.”
Okay, so it is the same man. Colin told me that Faith once mentioned to him her uncle. That he did weird things to her, but she wouldn’t exactly say what. Colin didn’t think it was of a sexual nature. Faith was a virgin when they first met. So what was so strange that this guy, who’s now sitting across from me, hell bent on hurting Colin, did to his beloved niece? What was it that she cringed upon mentioning and never even wanted to elaborate upon?
“Tell me about Faith,” I say.
He looks up sharply at me, and then rubs his chin with his hand. The two-day stubble on his face is almost completely gray. He’s quiet for a long time, and I’m waiting. I want to kick him hard under the table and scream, what the fuck was so horrible that you did to that girl? What was it that she wouldn’t ever want to tell anyone?”
Razor arranges his fingers in a steeple and looks at me from under his drawn-together brows. “I loved her like my own daughter. My brother didn’t have time or patience for the kid. He kept her at home, wouldn’t let her go anywhere. I would buy her ice cream and Coke. She loved Coke. We lived in a small village. There was one grocery store, and I would drive her there sometimes.”
I slowly shake my head. “So, what was so bad about it?”
“Bad? Nothing was bad! Nothing, do you understand?” He’s angry. He pounds his fist on the table, and I jump. Whoa, what just happened?
He closes his eyes and breathes deeply. A moment later he says, “I’m sorry. Did I upset you?”
Fuck yes! “It’s okay. Tell me more about Faith.”
Razor buries his face in his hands. The guy is definitely odd, but I’m not going to point this out now. I’m waiting for him to continue. I see Svetlana and Oleg discretely watching us.
“Faith was unhappy. Her mother was a fucking drunk. Never cared about that kid. She was drinking and smoking even when she was pregnant with Faith. The booze killed her finally, and that was a good thing.” He spits on the floor. “I told Faith that we could run away together. I would be her daddy and take care of her, and we would never see my brother again.”
Huh? That’s so out of left field. “What did she say about that?”
“She wanted
His features harden. Oh, shit. But I’m here to find the truth, so he better talk, or I’m handing him over to the mafia. He looks away, and his jaw tightens. His eyes narrow. Then he turns to look at me, and I don’t like a bit what I see in his eyes. There is so much hatred, so much pain… and even though I know Colin’s story, I start to wonder.
“Tell me,” I insist. “I must know.”
TWELVE
“There is one pain I often feel, which you will never know. It is caused by the absence of you.”
Anonymous
Svetlana and her goon are in the crowd directly behind Razor’s back, about fifteen feet away. Not too close to raise any suspicion, but not too far for them to react quickly if the need arises.
I look at Razor’s tightened fists. There are letters and symbols on each knuckle, and I fleetingly wonder if there is any specific meaning to them, or if he got inked kind of randomly like some people do—without any deeper thought behind the design.
“Faith was my niece. Her father and I were brothers. He killed himself shortly after she died… got drunk one night and hung himself in the stable.” Razor’s bushy brows come together, a deep groove forming in his forehead between them. His lips are pressed together into a thin line, and his fists clench and unclench.
He’s looking into the distance, and my eyes dart over his head to Svetlana. I nod to her a tiny bit, and she nods back, taking a sip from her glass.
I remember Colin mentioning Faith’s uncle. Was it Razor?
“So you and Faith’s father were brothers.” I rehash. “Any other siblings?”
“No, just the two of us. He was four years older than me.”
Okay, so it is the same man. Colin told me that Faith once mentioned to him her uncle. That he did weird things to her, but she wouldn’t exactly say what. Colin didn’t think it was of a sexual nature. Faith was a virgin when they first met. So what was so strange that this guy, who’s now sitting across from me, hell bent on hurting Colin, did to his beloved niece? What was it that she cringed upon mentioning and never even wanted to elaborate upon?
“Tell me about Faith,” I say.
He looks up sharply at me, and then rubs his chin with his hand. The two-day stubble on his face is almost completely gray. He’s quiet for a long time, and I’m waiting. I want to kick him hard under the table and scream, what the fuck was so horrible that you did to that girl? What was it that she wouldn’t ever want to tell anyone?”
Razor arranges his fingers in a steeple and looks at me from under his drawn-together brows. “I loved her like my own daughter. My brother didn’t have time or patience for the kid. He kept her at home, wouldn’t let her go anywhere. I would buy her ice cream and Coke. She loved Coke. We lived in a small village. There was one grocery store, and I would drive her there sometimes.”
I slowly shake my head. “So, what was so bad about it?”
“Bad? Nothing was bad! Nothing, do you understand?” He’s angry. He pounds his fist on the table, and I jump. Whoa, what just happened?
He closes his eyes and breathes deeply. A moment later he says, “I’m sorry. Did I upset you?”
Fuck yes! “It’s okay. Tell me more about Faith.”
Razor buries his face in his hands. The guy is definitely odd, but I’m not going to point this out now. I’m waiting for him to continue. I see Svetlana and Oleg discretely watching us.
“Faith was unhappy. Her mother was a fucking drunk. Never cared about that kid. She was drinking and smoking even when she was pregnant with Faith. The booze killed her finally, and that was a good thing.” He spits on the floor. “I told Faith that we could run away together. I would be her daddy and take care of her, and we would never see my brother again.”
Huh? That’s so out of left field. “What did she say about that?”
“She wanted
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