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“I can bring her mother in,” I say, watching for his reaction.
Evans stiffens slightly, but he covers it well. “She won’t talk.”
“No, she won’t.” I take another sip of whiskey. “But she’s not as harmless as she looks.”
He lets out a humorless chuckle. “That’s the first true thing you’ve said all night.”
I tilt my head. “How long has it been since you spoke to her?”
His mouth presses into a thin line, his fingers tapping against the table. “Years. We don’t talk.”
A slow smirk pulls at my lips. “Because she hates you?”
Evans barks out a laugh. “Wouldn’t be the first woman to.”
That, I can believe.
“Tell me, Mikhail, do you really think you can find her without me?”
I watch him, expression unreadable.
It’s a bold move—offering himself as an asset.
But it’s also pathetic.
This is the man who sold his daughter into a marriage for power. The man who threw her to the wolves without hesitation. And now? Now, he wants to negotiate?
I let the silence stretch until the smirk begins to slip from his face.
“Do what you can,” I say finally, voice like steel.
His lips twitch. “That’s more like it.”
I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “And if you fail?”
He scoffs. “Then you’ll kill me, I assume.”
I don’t blink. “Yes.”
His amusement falters for a second before he barks out a laugh, shaking his head. “Goddamn. No wonder my daughter ran from you.”
Something cold slithers through my chest, but I keep my face impassive, tapping my fingers against the table.
“I can bring her mother in.” he says. “The woman may seem harmless but her family isn’t.”
I finally look up. “What about her family?”
“She’s an Orlov.”
I pause. I’ve heard that name before.
“When I was a kid, they were the most powerful thing in the city. I grew up in Chicago and that’s where I met their daughter—Lila’s mother. She got tired of the life I gave her, wanted to cut ties, burn bridges. And for what?” He sneers. “For a goddamn dream of an honest life. A life without this.” He gestures vaguely around us. “She was a fool to think she could escape it.”
I don’t correct him.
He’s right.
No one ever truly leaves this world.