Her eyes met Andre’s. “Do I let them in?” she asked, her pulse beating so hard in her throat she almost couldn’t get the words out. If Andre was going to kill Niko, there was no way she was going to open the door and let another witness enter the room, but... Please, God, she pleaded in her mind. Please don’t let him do this.
Niko was still whimpering, begging for his life, and Andre spared him one contemptuous glance before turning his attention back to Juliana and nodding. “Let them in, little one. I will not kill him...since you ask it. I can deny you nothing.”
Chapter 19
They weren’t able to leave Zakhar that night, after all. Niko’s arrest meant both Andre and Juliana had to stay until they had given statements to the police, until Niko had been safely incarcerated and interrogated, and until his coconspirators had been disclosed and arrested.
Niko had talked. The threat of a trial for high treason with its gruesome punishment made him spill his guts in an effort to reach a plea agreement that would at least keep him alive. Prince Xavier, traditionalist that he was, had argued vociferously against leniency when he learned of the attempts his own brother had made on Andre’s life, not to mention Juliana’s. “High treason,” he stated flatly to his cousin, “should only have one outcome—even for my brother.”
But Andre, with Juliana’s voice pleading with him to spare Niko’s life ringing in his ears, agreed to leniency, providing his cousin confess everything and name the men involved.
The conspiracy had been small, according to Niko. Two of the men were already dead—the supposedly “politically motivated” assassination attempts had resulted in the deaths of the would-be assassins. Which left five men, all told, including him. And none of the conspirators were in it for anything other than money. No rebellion against Andre’s rule or the policy changes he was implementing. No political agenda. Just money.
As Lukas had suspected, one of the five—the only American—was a lighting technician on the King’s Ransom crew who’d been seduced into attempted murder by the money that had been waved under his nose. He confessed the minute he was arrested.
One of the conspirators was a member of the Zakharian National Forces with military clearance and access to the royal helicopter, lured into treason by his own greed. He, too, confessed when he was arrested and threw himself on the king’s mercy.
The other two conspirators, one of whom was the driver of the Mercedes-Benz that had tried to run Juliana down, were Russians with lengthy criminal records and were members of the Russian Mafia, according to Interpol. Their participation in the conspiracy was no surprise given Niko’s ability to pay handsomely. Andre’s only question had been how his cousin had known these members of the underworld, but that had been explained with one word—drugs. The Bratva had been supplying Niko with drugs for years.
* * *
It was very late by the time Andre returned to the palace from the Drago prison where Niko had been taken to give his confession. There was still a massive amount of work to be accomplished nailing down what would eventually be a mountain of evidence, but all four of Niko’s still-living coconspirators had been rounded up and were now safely incarcerated in the same prison. Andre had left only after Zax assured him there was nothing more either of them could do at that point.
The two cousins sat silently in the back of the limousine for the first part of the ride, with Damon, the king’s bodyguard, sitting in front with the driver. Andre fought off a desire to close his eyes in exhaustion and instead murmured to Zax, “I am not quite convinced Niko was completely forthcoming in his confession.”
Zax shot him a sharp look. “You felt that, too? I did not want to say it in front of the others, but there was a moment—just a moment—when I thought Niko was about to reveal another name. Then he changed his mind. And knowing my brother—coward that he is—I do not think anything short of torture will be successful in wringing further information from him at this point. Especially if he thinks you are satisfied with what he has already revealed.”
Andre’s lips tightened. “There are times when I could wish...”
“Yes, but you cannot. You would not be the man you are if you could. Let me deal with my brother—it is the least I can do for you. I will work on his fears—make him more afraid of me than he is of whoever he might be shielding. That might yield results.”
Both men fell silent. Then Zax added quietly, for Andre’s ears alone, “My resignation will be on your desk in the morning.”