Page 79 of Sinful Betrayal

No wonder she was being so standoffish. She had wanted to talk last night, and I had stupidly taken that call from Rosa that led me to spiral so deep into my own thoughts that I had completely disregarded how Nina might be feeling. I was too wrapped up in my own shit to realize that Nina might require some comforting or just some level of connection from me after what I had shared with her, and I did the complete opposite.

I’m such an asshole.

It’s a miracle she even came back to the house at all.

“You better hope that this is some magic chicken parmesan,” I mutter under my breath as I prepare the chicken.

I always forget what temperature to set the oven on, so I pull my phone out to check the recipe to find it still turned off.

I hold down the side buttons until it springs to life, the screen flooding with notifications from Alexei and Mikhail.

As always, if it’s important enough, they will call, so I set my phone down and get to work prepping the sauce.

It seems my cousins have the ability to read minds as no sooner have I poured in the can of tomatoes does my screen light up with an incoming call from Alexei.

I figure whatever it is must be important, so I slide my thumb across the screen and put the call on speaker.

“What is it, Alexei?”

“Did you turn your phone off? I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”

“Yeah, I needed some peace and quiet.”

“Don’t we all,” Alexei mutters.

“What do you need?”

“I had a meeting with Frederik today.”

“Your PI?”

“Yeah. He’s been looking into Lev for me, and one of his informants came through with some interesting information.”

I pause stirring the sauce as I glance over my shoulder to check that none of my staff, or Nina for that matter, are around. “Go on.”

“He assures me that he can provide proof that Lev is the one who killed our parents. For a price, of course.”

“Fuck,” I hiss. “What kind of price?”

“If he speaks out against Igor, he wants protection and money.”

“They always do. Why are you telling me this?” While I appreciate that Alexei always keeps me in the loop on family business, I’m curious as to why he’s coming to me with this rather than one of his brothers considering this information concerns his parents, not mine.

“I want you and Mikhail to go and speak with the informant and see if his intel is worth anything to us.”

“I appreciate you trusting me with this.”

“They were practically your parents too,” Alexei says before hanging up the phone.

While I had a great relationship with my own mother and father growing up, my aunt and uncle always felt like bonus parents to me. Our family was incredibly close, which is why my cousins have always felt more like brothers to me.

My phone rings again, and I roll my eyes as I answer without glancing at the name, knowing it’s likely Alexei having forgotten to tell me something.

“Anton?”

The spoon in my hand falls to the ground with a clatter, splattering tomato sauce all over the white tiled floor as my brother's voice comes through the speakers.

“Anton?”

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