Page 30 of Vow Of Fire

I greeted one of the other men standing beside the front door. Kyle and I had been to hell and back together in Afghanistan, back in Ghost Company, and were pretty tight.

“Any problems?” I asked.

He shook his head. “Quiet as a mouse.”

I nodded, unlocked the door, and went inside.

Evelyn was sitting on the couch, reading a book. She looked younger, smaller, and more vulnerable than I remembered. There was a faraway expression on her face, but that changed the second I entered the room.

The book fell to the side as she jumped to her feet. Her wavy hair was now piled high on her head in some kind of messy updo, and when she saw me, her cheeks flushed with anger.

“How long do you intend to keep me here?” she demanded.

I wasn’t interested in placating her.

Striding up to her, I gripped her by the upper arms. “You lied to me. Again. Nobody lies to me twice and gets away with it.”

Her eyes widened. “I don’t know what you mean. I didn’t lie to you. Not even once.”

I exhaled. Incredible.

“You talked to Malakov,” I hissed. “A week before the ambush, you had an actual conversation with him. We checked.”

She stared at me. “What conversation? I told you, I don’t deal with Malakov, I deal with Mikhail.”

For fuck’s sake. “Do you think we’re stupid? I warned you we were looking into your phone records. You told Malakov when the shipment was arriving, he paid you for the intel. Then he killed my guys and stole my family’s merchandise.”

She was mouthing like a guppy, at a loss for words.

I had her backed up against the couch. “It’s all there in the phone records.”

A long moment passed, and I thought I’d finally broken her. That she’d crumple and admit the truth. Admit she’d sold us out. Instead, she put her hands on my chest and tried to push me away.

Me? I didn’t budge, just gripped her harder.

“Answer me,” I growled.

Unable to move, she stomped her foot. The woman actually stomped her foot in front of me.

“For God’s sake, you insufferable oaf. I haven’t spoken to Malakov in months.” Heat stole into her cheeks until they were bright red. Her eyes blazed and I could feel the tension in her body.

It did something to me. I felt myself start to respond, and that pissed me off even more.

Normally, I’d have a traitor in a headlock right now, begging for mercy. I’d been far too lenient with her. She didn’t have the right to talk to me this way when she was the reason I’d buried six of my guys.

I pushed her and she fell back onto the couch. Without waiting for her to catch her breath, I reared over and placed my hands either side of her, caging her in.

“How do you explain it then?”

I could see her thinking. Trying to formulate a plan.

“I can’t,” she said eventually.

That gave me pause.

“What? No more lies?” I sneered.

She gave a helpless shrug. “I don’t know what to tell you. I mean, Chloe, Vincent, and Alberto all had access to the phone at the gallery. Any one of them could have called Malakov. Although I can’t imagine why they would.”