Page 98 of Cruel Honor

“She’s come to see me before. About her kidnapping.”

“Did you get anything on Dima?” I ask.

He shoves his hands into his pockets. “Actually, we looked into the house of the pictures you gave us. And there was nothing there.”

“Nothing?” Hope deflates in my chest.

“Nothing,” he repeats. “No prints. No evidence. Nothing. So, we’re back to square one, and you just wasted our efforts.”

“But Dima is your killer.”

He shrugs. “Not as far as we can tell. Now, I’m not at liberty to tell you anything else about the investigation. But I am curious about you.” He sets his eyes onto Dimitri. “The great Dimitri Ivanov. Wonder what you’ve been getting up to.”

“Nothing,” Dimitri snaps. “Now, we were just on our way. So, have a fun freaking day.” He flashes his charming smile at Johnson and gets into the car. His smile does nothing to Johnson, I can tell.

“If you’re in trouble,” he says to me. “You can always tell me.”

He means against Dimitri. But it’s not Dimitri I’m in trouble with. It’s Abram and Dima and even Detective Johnson himself.

Only Dimitri will save me now.

“Have a nice day, detective,” I say as I get into the car.

I hate the look he gives us as we drive away—full of mistrust and even a little disgust.

“Do you have something you want to tell me?” Dimitri asks, gripping the steering wheel so tight his fingers are turning white.

“I told the police about Dima, not you. Clearly, nothing came of it.”

“But now that fucking detective is going to look into me!” His shout is loud in the car. It makes both Katya and me jump.

“Calm down, Dimitri,” Katya says. “Don’t scare poor Evie. She was just doing what she thought was for the best.”

“Including the police in Bratva business is never for the best.”

“You don’t own me,” I tell him. “I went to the police and told themabout Dima. I never told them about you. So, you don’t need to worry. Now, let’s not fight. We just need to get somewhere safe.”

I can tell he wants to fight, but he holds it back.

He drives us to a quiet street and parks the car. “Stay in here. I’ll go get us a new one.” He gets out and hurries down the street to another car.

“Are you ok?” I ask Katya.

“I’ll manage. God, what has our life come to? I just got shot. The house I grew up in has burned to the ground. And now, we’re on the run.”

“Remember how you said you wanted me to live more?” I shoot her a smile.

Katya laughs and shakes her head. “I’m so sorry, Evie. I pulled you into this world. You were just a sweet librarian, and now, you’re technically a murderer.”

“Don’t remind me.”

“Sorry.”

Dimitri comes back to us. “I found us a new car. Come on.”

We follow him down the street to a simple white car. “You’re stealing this?” I ask.

“I am.” He pauses. “Got a problem with that?”

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