Page 125 of Scarlet Vows

Then thereisinformation. Somewhere.

“I’ve looked into it, but I haven’t found any evidence so far. Look further into it for me.” I take a sip. “Dig up what you can on Santo and get it back to me.”

Melor finishes his vodka and stands. “I’ll get right on it. You can count on me.”

He leaves. I take another sip as his footsteps recede, and then the door downstairs closes.

I throw the fucking glass. “Fuck!”

I kick a hole in the wall, letting the savagery out. I keep slamming my foot into the mess I’ve made, making the hole bigger, until Alina speaks.

“Ilya?”

I stop. “What?”

“I just wanted to check that everything’s okay, but you’re redecorating without me.”

She crosses toward me and puts a hand on my arm, and calm spreads through me, cutting through my rage.

I shake my head. “I don’t think I’m fucking cut out for this. I’m useless, nothing more than a second. I’m not Demyan. Fuck, I’m not even my asshole grandfather.”

“Ilya…” Alina lays her cheek against my arm. “No, you’re not either one of them. And never compare yourself to the hateful old man again. Of course you’re not him. You’re better. You can’t think Demyan trusts you to run things if he thought you couldn’t, because you don’t know my brother if you do. You’ve made the hard decisions for years for my brother.

“And you’re more than capable of leading his bratva. And you can lead this one. You just need to believe that for yourself.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I mutter.

“I’m always right.” She hesitates. “Are you sure Santo did this?”

Thing is, I followed him and looked into him, and nothing turned up. Nothing, that is, apart from Melor’s word.

“I don’t know.”

She rises up on her tiptoes and kisses my cheek. “Then be sure. Whatever you need to do. Be sure before you act. I’m going to the shelter, but I’ll be back in a few hours. Gus is downstairs.”

She leaves, and I frown.

Maybe Alina has a point. I need to be sure. And I need someone outside all of this.

I come back to the private investigator.

One of the reasons I sometimes hire him is I trust him. I don’t use him all the time, just for jobs where I need abipartisan job. Where I need the facts. He has no skin in the game for any side or person. A job is a job, and he’s both insanely expensive and insanely good.

Every job I’ve had him do for Demyan has turned up results.

So I call him, give him the rundown and what I need.

Evidence or proof of a connection. At first, I almost ask him to follow Santo. But then I change my mind.

It makes more sense to go to the source.

I tell him to see who Simonov meets, and right before I hang up, I change my mind again.

“Can you add someone else to my list?”

“It’s a short list. And it’s your money,” he says.

“I’ll send you the info.”