Page 82 of Savage Vows

“I told you, I’m not stupid,” he insists. “I didn’t even see her that night. This is bad for everyone, especially me.”

I take a slow breath, forcing myself to think. The police won’t care about the truth. They’ll take the simplest story and run with it.

I take out my phone, already dialing a number I hoped I wouldn’t need. “We’re going to find who did this, and we’regoing to make them pay. No one uses my name to clean up their mess. Not even you, Remik.”

He exhales, relief and terror in the same breath. “What now?”

“Now you keep your head down and your ears open. And if you hear anything—even a whisper—you bring it to me. Understand?”

He nods, eager to please.

As he disappears into the dark, I linger for a moment, looking out over the water. I’m not here to save the world, but I’ll be damned if I let innocent girls disappear while men like Remik hide behind my name.

One way or another, whoever did this will pay. And I’ll be the one to make sure of it.

23

ADRIANA

“Anya is dead.”

I say it before I really mean to. The words land in the space between us and Bella’s eyes widen, her hands frozen around her coffee cup.

“How do you know?” she asks, her voice low, every bit of her suddenly alert.

I keep my gaze on the swirl of cream in my mug. “An old colleague of mine was quietly tracking her disappearance. He just sent me a message this morning—he got it from a contact at the docks.”

Bella leans forward. “And how did he find out?”

I hesitate, biting my lip, then decide not to lie. “I can’t do this alone, not from up here in Dante’s apartment. I leaked the story to him. He’s the one who got the details out of the police.”

She raises her brow, lips pressed thin. “That’s dangerous, Adriana. Does he know who you’re married to?”

I duck my head, brushing a strand of hair behind my ear. “I left that part out. I figured being the Bratva wife wouldn’t exactly get me a warm welcome, even from an old friend. I just told him I was worried, that I wanted answers for Anya’s mother.”

Bella lets out a breath, studying me. “You’re playing a risky game, you know that? Once the story’s out, there’s no taking it back. The Volkovs…Dante…they don’t like journalists digging, even less so when it’s this close to home.”

I nod, feeling a tremor in my hands. “I know. But if I don’t do something, who will? That girl’s family deserves the truth. Someone does.”

“Oh my god, I still can’t believe it,” Bella says, her voice trembling. She presses her hands to her face. “And here I was, hoping they would be found. Both of them.”

“I feel terrible,” I say quietly. Guilt twists in my stomach. If I’d moved faster, pushed harder, maybe it would have changed something. Maybe not.

“Does Jules know…?” Bella asks.

I shake my head, the ache behind my eyes building. “No. She reached out to me a few days ago. She’s worried sick. But I haven’t told her. I want to see my sister so badly, but—if I do, I might put her in danger. If anyone is watching me, or if Dante finds out…” I trail off, unable to finish the thought.

Bella nods, her face soft with understanding. “She’s better off staying away for now. You both are, until things calm down.”

I sigh, staring into my coffee. “Yeah. I thought if I could get Dante on my side, at least for a little while, things would be safer.That was the plan. But now…” I shake my head again. “Now it feels like he’s hiding something from me.”

Bella leans in, her eyes sharp. “What? What is he hiding?”

I lower my voice, even though there’s no one around to overhear. “I asked him about Portello—Maksim’s club, where Anya and Samie were last seen. Maksim told me Dante knew all about it, that he even introduced him to Remik, his business partner. But when I brought it up with Dante, he said he’d never been there.”

Bella’s brow furrows. “Why would he lie about something like that?”

“That’s what scares me,” I admit. “If it was nothing, he’d just brush it off. But he looked right at me and said he’s never set foot in the place. I could tell he didn’t want to talk about it.”