Page 23 of Hunt Me (Dmitriyev Bratva #1)

“Okay. Okay. I don’t know what to make of the video and was hoping you had some idea.”

“Fine, but I won’t make any promises. Let me see what you’re talking about.”

He cued it up while I studied Sergio’s office.

The room had been untouched so apparently whoever had killed him wasn’t worried about being seen on camera or hadn’t taken the time to search the rest of the house.

While threats were typical of our operation, recently there’d been nothing overt.

I studied the massive computer system he had.

They’d been locked down, but that didn’t mean there hadn’t been a hack.

Although Jax Shane’s timing inside the casino had been far too coincidental. Perhaps I should have handled a full interrogation of the man.

With the Irish breathing down our necks, I couldn’t put anything past them.

But to do so in such a flagrant way could mean the start of another war.

Were they ready for that? Was Sergio’s murder in response to the warning I’d sent with Jax?

One thing was certain. They’d been chomping at the bit for twenty-two fucking years.

If there was anything I knew about Tristen O’Shaughnessy, it was that he was very careful in who he attacked and how.

This just didn’t have his personal signature on it. Would he use a woman? Possibly.

Plus, the fact the clan was even more active in Los Angeles seeking new business ventures should mean they’d stalled plans on attempting to invade Vegas. What a perfect ploy to keep us looking in another direction.

The video started and it was dark, too dark to make out much of anything. While there was a definite scuffle, the killer hadn’t allowed his voice to be recorded. What I did hear was an excessively loud television.

“This doesn’t show me shit.”

“Just wait for it, Mikhail,” Jack cautioned.

I shoved my hands into my pockets and stared at the screen. The door had been left open a crack. That much I could tell by the slender string of moonlight. Suddenly, there was another sound. I craned my neck, quickly glancing at Jack who placed his finger over his mouth.

Someone knocked. In doing so, the front door was pushed open by a few more inches, but the person remained outside. Sergio had a hidden camera projected directly at the front door.

“Hello?” A female voice.

Was it the same one who’d called in the murder?

“Mr. Pavel?” She knew his name.

There was a slight hesitation before the visitor walked in. From the angle of the camera, the person who’d arrived couldn’t be seen. But Sergio, being as security conscious as he was, had used a night vision camera. The video became clearer.

A few seconds later, she took another step inside.

“Mr. Pavel. I have your pizza.”

Another hesitation. Her voice suddenly became softer.

A slight tic appeared in the corner of my mouth as my pulse increased. Was it possible I recognized the voice?

“Mr. Pavel?”

Almost immediately she tripped. The angle of the camera was still off, but it appeared she’d had something in her hands. It was possible she’d used a pizza box as a prop, tossing it against the wall.

Seconds later, she was down. There was no yelp as if she’d tripped. But she was leaning over the body and her hand was wrapped around the handle of the knife.

There was no scream. If she was innocent of the crime, her shock should have allowed a sound of alarm if nothing else.

No. She wasn’t the person responsible. The nervous tic turned into a warm buzz flowing throughout my body.

Seconds later, Sergio grabbed her arm, pulling her down. I leaned further forward, able to tell he’d whispered something to her. If she was the killer, there was no sign he was attempting to protect himself.

She was shocked, her response too muffled to understand.

“Maybe it was a female killer,” Jack said. “I heard what you said about the angle of the knife, but she tripped.”

“That doesn’t make her the goddamn murderer.” I had no doubts given the angle of the blade and how much force was used I was right. From my initial glance, it would appear the killer was as tall if not slightly taller than Sergio. And my lieutenant hadn’t been a short man.

“Keep watching. Maybe you can identify her.”

I was already antsy, my patience at its limit. From what I could tell she had long, dark hair pulled into a ponytail and was wearing dark clothes.

My entire body was tense, a knowing settling in that I didn’t want to believe.

Something drew her attention and she jerked her head to the left toward the entrance to Sergio’s living room. I crowded closer to the screen, never blinking.

Suddenly, she lifted her head and looked directly into the camera.

Fuck me.

Images flashed in my mind, one rolling after the other in a torrent of liquid passion.

Her face.

Her smile.

The way she held her head when she laughed.

Her long, luxurious hair.

And her incredible body.

Exhaling, I rubbed my jaw, unblinking as I studied the video. There was no doubt who I was looking at.

I stood back, uncertain I was even breathing.

There was my perfect angel, the woman I’d spent an incredible evening with. Was it possible she’d killed my lieutenant? Was it plausible she’d been playing me two nights before? If so, why?

No. I fucking refused to believe she was capable of such a heinous deed, but she was party to the murder either way. I needed to know what Sergio had said to her.

Jack tipped his head, narrowing his eyes.

“Do you recognize her?”

As I slowly turned my head toward Jack, his eyebrows shot up.

“You do.”

“Maybe,” I admitted. “What else did you find? What about the outside cameras?”

“They’d been disabled. There’s also no sign of forced entry. It was like someone knew where to look.”

Except for the camera in the foyer, which was carefully located behind a picture. A recent add. It was a nugget of information I’d keep in the back of my mind.

“Was anything taken?” I returned my full attention to the screen, memorizing her face.

Jack sighed. “Not that I can tell from a basic sweep of the house, but maybe you’ll know better than I would.

And don’t go charging in there. This is still an active crime scene.

You’re going to need to come back so you can make a report.

One thing I did notice were two glasses in the kitchen, both with whiskey. ”

“Sergio had a guest,” I hissed.

“That’s what I was thinking.”

I shifted my gaze toward the frozen screen. “Not the woman in question.”

“Likely not. That is the face of someone who is terrified. The voice of the person who called it in was petrified. She was also driving. I think she heard a noise and was spooked after she discovered his body. If you look at the rest of the video, she shifts into the shadows for a full two minutes before rushing from the house. That girl is fucking terrified.”

I didn’t give a shit if she was, the woman would be found. The fact she’d been at the wedding and in my bed only two days prior to Sergio being found murdered was too much of a coincidence for me to tolerate.

“Don’t believe everything you see, my friend. I want the video sent to my email address and you need to sit on it. Not a single person will see the video.” The last thing I wanted at this point was for him to know anything about where I’d met her and the circumstances under how.

“That’s going to be tough. This is an active murder scene.” Jack eyed me carefully.

I moved closer to him, allowing him to understand I wasn’t making a request. “So you keep telling me. You will do as I ask, Jack. I’d hate for our relationship to develop a rocky patch.”

“Fine. Okay. I’ll do that. But you’re going to need to share with me what you know. I can’t just shove this under a rug.”

“When necessary. There’s something else you need to be aware of. Drugs are coming into Vegas. There’ve been a couple overdoses. You should concentrate some efforts on discovering the main source.”

“I’m not in narcotics, Mikhail. You know that.”

“You can get the word out. If I had to guess, I’d say they were lethal. Bodies could be dropping.”

He narrowed his eyes, a slow grin crossing his face. “You think someone is out to frame you.”

“Just heed what I said. Now, I need to make a phone call.”

He knew what I was telling him was to get out of Sergio’s office. I waited until he followed my orders before dialing Kazimir.

“I heard about Sergio. Any idea who did this? Irish?”

“No confirmation yet, but we have another potential problem. I need you to go through the list of Lilia’s bridesmaids. I want them all identified, including where they live. Their phone numbers. Whatever you can find. I need it now.”

“What’s going on?”

“Let’s just say we either have a female killer or a witness to the murder. Either way, I will hunt her down.”

“Whoa. Is this about the girl from the night of the wedding?”

My thoughts drifted. To the night from years before.

To everything Sergio had taught me. The pride I’d seen on his face while watching my fingers being tatted.

I held my hand up, staring at the figures.

Maybe I’d taken them for granted over the years.

Maybe I needed to become what I’d tried so hard to put behind us.

“I need to find her, Kazimir. That’s all you need to know. Also have some of our men start putting their ear to the ground. This was a hit. I can feel it in my bones.”

My brother whistled. “Already mentioned it to my men. We’ll cover the city. I’ll track down the information now and let you know. However, with Lilia out of the country, that might be tough.”

“I trust you’ll find a way. The more time that goes by, the less likely it will be that she’s found. Don’t let this get out just yet. I need some time for damage control.”

“Just so you know, Alessandro asked what the hell was going on after the meeting. He’s fucking tenacious as hell.”

If the Costa family thought they could pick at how I handled my operations so soon after signing the agreement, they could go fuck themselves.

Huffing, I scrubbed my jaw, trying to pick through why Sergio was targeted and I had no doubt his death was a warning.

“I couldn’t give a shit. Just because we’re in bed with the Costa assholes doesn’t mean we’re going to be friends.

” Although if we had any issues with finding the information Sergio had kept, his skills could come in handy.

“I thought that’s what you’d say. What about what Sergio was keeping?”

“Remains to be seen, but we’ll need to double check. Make sure I’m the first to hear any information you learn from our men.”

“Yes, Pakhan. You know this could mean the start of a war.”

“Don’t get me started, brother, because I’m itching to spill some blood.”