Page 55 of Cruel Honor

“And this was a few days ago?”

“Yes.”

“Why not come in sooner?”

“Because …”Because the man who saved me made into his wife, and I don’t want to tell you about him.I shouldn’t protect Dimitri from the police. I’m sure he’s done some terrible things in the past, but I don’t have proof. All I’ve seen of Dimitri is him saving me. He doesn’t need to go to prison for that. But as a Bratva man, I’m sure the police would be interested in him. It’s why he didn’t want me going to the police in the first place.

“Because she was scared,” Juno cuts in. “But she’s here now, and you should listen to her statement. She can point you to your killer. That’s good news.”

“It is good news. But you see, Evelyn?—”

“Evie,” I insist.

“Evie. I’m having trouble believing your story. Some man just happens to save you from the deranged killer we’ve been searching for for months now. Granted, you fit the type our killer likes, but yourstory is so far-fetched. I don’t believe it. You’re omitting information. I can tell. What aren’t you telling me, Evie?”

My heart is beating fast, and my palms are sweaty and my panic rises. For once, I actually kind of want Dimitri to spank me again. It helped focus my mind last time. Even though I found it uncouth and inappropriate.

“A man named Dimitri Ivanov saved her,” Juno says.

I gasp and give her a sharp look.

Juno shrugs. “What? We should tell the police everything. They should know about him, Evelyn.”

But I didn’t want to bring Dimitri into this. I just want Dima caught.

Detective Johnson looks at me harder. “Dimitri Ivanov? You know Dimitri Ivanov?”

“They’re married.”

“Juno,” I hiss.

“He should have all the information, Evelyn.”

“You’re married,” Johnson states in a tone that indicates he doesn’t believe me one bit.

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is I know who the serial killer is who’s been killing woman who look like me for the past year. I can take you to the house he took me to.”

“Just give me the address, and I’ll look into it.”

“Um … I don’t remember the exact address, but I remember what the house looked like. I remember where it is. I can take you to it.”

“That won’t be necessary, Evie. Now, is there anything you can tell me about Dimitri Ivanov?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, is there anything you can tell me. His whereabouts. Any suspicious activity. We’ve been trying to catch him for a while, but nothing ever sticks. Having something on him would make it possible to bring him in.”

“He kidnapped her,” Juno offers. “If Evelyn pressed charges, would that be enough?”

“It would be a start. We could use that to get a warrant on him. Do you want to press charges?”

“Of course, she does,” Juno says, not even letting me speak. “He kidnapped her.”

They both turn to me, and I realize I have nothing to say. This detective clearly doesn’t believe me about Dima. How he can completely dismiss my experience without any proof is ridiculous. But it’s obvious I’m not going to get anywhere with him.

All he’s interested in is bringing Dimitri down.

And I don’t want that.

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