Page 70 of Deceptive Vows

The suggestion of missing the encryption on purpose opens another can of worms I’ve considered when I thought of who could be watching us and how. But I placed the thought at the back of my mind until we sorted through everything else. Now it’s resurfaced.

“You don’t have to ask me for forgiveness, Eric, and of course we can keep this between us. To be honest, I think I prefer it that way.” I do. I’m sure my father won’t like to hear I’ve been doing something he told me not to do. That was an order, however, he gave me as my father, not as my Pakhan, so it’s different.

“Good, because often times when shit hits the fan and no one can explain how it got there, the answer is closer to home.”

He’s right, which irks me even more. And if he is right that the files were missed on purpose, that means someone from inside our Bratva was working with Raul and wanted us dead.

“What makes you think it could have been done on purpose?” I need to know. I’m aware that as open as he’s being with me, he’s also respectful.

“I assume the skill set your people have must be close to mine, or the people in my alliance. I don’t fully believe something like that would have been missed. The dead giveaway was everything looking too clean. But that’s just my opinion. Your people were handpicked by your father. I would not disrespect a Pakhan by suggesting the people in his decades old system is flawed.”

“I appreciate you pointing it out to me.”

“I know you do. That’s why I’m going to recheck everything. It’s going to take me some time to go over it all thoroughly, but I’ll get it done.”

“I owe you for this.”

He chuckles. “Next time we go to Vegas, play me a hand of poker, and we’ll call it even.”

I laugh. “I beat you fair and square last time.”

“I don’t like being beaten.”

“Neither do I, but I’ll play you again.”

“Good man.” The smile recedes from his face when the door opens, and he glances over my shoulder. “Tony’s here. Now to see who the Red Fox is.”

I look and watch a well-dressed Mexican guy walk in. Like when I entered, the maître’ d approaches him quickly and gives him the VIP treatment.

They walk to the far corner of the room but stay in our line of sight.

Tony looks like Raul did, like a sophisticated businessman in his Armani suit, but his presence gives off the dark vibe all men from our world carry with them. A moment later, the waiter returns with my food, and Eric and I eat.

I’m more anxious than hungry, but I eat to blend in.

At ten past nine, the door opens again, and who I recognize walk in has me setting down my fork.

The middle-aged man who walks in is called Barabbas Ponteix.

He’s a black-market trader who works for high-level politicians and men with money older than dirt. There’s no question over whether he is Red Fox. That’s the type of code name he’d use to conceal himself.

I glance at Eric, who’s already looking at him the same way I am.

We watch him until he’s ushered toward Tony before we look back at each other.

“Mikhail, whatever happened months ago is definitely still happening,” Eric states. “Whoever hired Barabbas Ponteix is someone big. My guess is they want your company, and you are all still in danger.”

All I can do is look at him, because seeing Barabbas confirms my worries. Someone still wants us dead, and from the look of things, it could be someone right under my nose.

I seethe inwardly when I remember how Raul kept his silence to save his daughter. A man as powerful as him would only worry about a threat if the person he feared was more powerful than him.

Someone he knew who could still get to his daughter even after his death.

Who is it?

Who the fuck is it?

I reach for my gun, getting ready to go down there and to end them. When I think of my mother and sister, I want to kill them.