Page 66 of Vow Of Fire

Nico stared at me. “What? Who?”

I shrugged. “Went to her apartment to pick up some stuff and the door had been forced. Nothing was taken.”

He frowned. “You sure?”

“Positive. Whoever broke in wasn’t looking to rob the place. They were looking for her.”

There was a moment’s silence. An eagle cried out overhead. One of the guards, who were keeping a discreet distance, crunched across the gravel.

Eventually, Nico said, “Why?”

“Because maybe whoever ambushed our shipment was using her gallery to launder their money. Maybe that’s how they found out about the paintings and our product.”

Nico’s eyes sharpened. “You think that weasel Alberto told them?”

“Could be.” I glanced back at the cabin. “How well did you vet the assistant, Chloe?”

“Pretty thoroughly. Couldn’t find any connection to Malakov, or any other organized crime group.”

“What about Central America?” I asked.

He grunted. “I’ll take another look.”

“And speak to Vincent. See what he has to say about her.”

“Will do. Think he’s meeting Valentina today anyway, so I’ll ask him when I see him.”

I nodded. My mother and Vincent were old friends, going back to the days when my father had been alive. But for as long as I could remember, he’d been her chief fixer and money man.

“You going to tell her about Evelyn?” I asked, knowing he wouldn’t be able to keep it a secret. She’d see right through him in a heartbeat. I was a slightly better liar, but even I could only fool her for so long. The woman was a human lie detector.

He shrugged as if that was obvious. “You can’t hide this from her.”

I gave a gruff nod. “Okay, then.”

A corner of his mouth twitched. “You prepared for the shitstorm?”

I squared my shoulders. “I’ll be ready.”

19

AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE

Evelyn

The late afternoon sky had cleared of clouds after Nico left and was now a deep Prussian blue, which I took to be a good sign. The sun had come out, but it lacked warmth. Still, it had brightened everything up.

“Let’s go for a walk,” I said to Dante suddenly.

He looked at me as if I was crazy. “I’m busy.”

He’d been working on his laptop, which I guessed he’d hot-spotted to his phone for an internet connection, while I’d gone back to my book.

“Come on. It’s just a stroll. I’ve been stuck in this cabin all weekend.” Well, apart from the self-defense lessons this morning, which had left me stiff and achy. A walk would help iron out the kinks.

“I said no.” He looked back at the screen.

I put my hands on my hips. “You worried I’ll run away?”