Page 38 of Vow Of Fire

Although, there was still the burner phone matter. A four-minute phone call to a Bratva number, according to Nico’s last message. I wasn’t ready to believe Evelyn was innocent just yet.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t be of use to me.

It was clear she knew the industry well, and that meant she could help me figure out who the other money launderer was.

If it was Malakov, like I suspected, maybe he had a hidden agenda that we needed to know about. If it wasn’t, then I wanted to find out who the hell else was edging in on our turf.

“Did Orlov broker the deal?” I asked Evelyn, reappearing suddenly in her doorway.

She was reclining against the pillows, her hair framing her face, but she bolted upright when she spotted me. Her eyes narrowed with hostility.

“I don’t know who it was.”

“Can you find out?”

She tilted her head. “Why do you care who else uses my gallery?”

I stepped into the room but stopped a foot from the bed. “Because, my tragic Ophelia, I want to know who is trespassing on my territory.”

“Your territory?” she spluttered, an indignant flush creeping into those pearly white cheeks. “Don’t you mean my business?”

I scowled at her. “I don’t like to share.”

She caught her breath. Something in the air shifted. I saw her gaze drop to my mouth and linger there.

Interesting. It seemed Ophelia liked my possessive side.

“The Agora is not some toy that you get to fight over,” she declared, but there was no edge to her words. No venom. “I built that business up from nothing.”

“With our help,” I reminded her.

She didn’t reply, but her gaze remained on my face.

“You’re going to help me find out who the other money launderers are,” I announced.

She squared her shoulders. “You know, this would be so much easier if you just let me go home. I could check my laptop and⁠—”

“No,” I said, cutting her off abruptly.

She tossed her hair in annoyance. “Why not? You know I didn’t do this.”

“I know no such thing,” I told her calmly, watching her small hands ball into fists. “Besides, you’re still a threat to us.”

“Why am I a threat?” She thrust her breasts out angrily. An unconscious gesture, of course, but it made me want to do things to her. Bad things.

I set my jaw, hoping to mask my desire. “You could go to the cops and tell them everything. You could inform Malakov that we suspect he ordered the hit. I don’t know where your alliances lie yet.”

“My alliances lie with my business and my gallery,” she retorted, cheeks flushing. I liked it when she got angry. It lit something within me, something that had been dark for a very long time.

“Don’t you think I know that if I went to the police, the first person they’d arrest is me? You’ve implicated me whether you like it or not. Not that you care.” She tossed her hair angrily over her shoulder. “Plus, if Malakov is using my gallery to launder his money, there’s no way I’m going to talk to him.”

I was glad to hear it. “Then we understand each other.”

She jumped off the bed. “So I can come with you?”

I put a hand out to stop her. My fingers splayed over her chest and I felt her heart pounding.

“I said no.”