Page 75 of Mile High Daddy

“I can bring her mother in,” I say, watching for his reaction.

Evans stiffens slightly, but he covers it well. “She won’t talk.”

“No, she won’t.” I take another sip of whiskey. “But she’s not as harmless as she looks.”

He lets out a humorless chuckle. “That’s the first true thing you’ve said all night.”

I tilt my head. “How long has it been since you spoke to her?”

His mouth presses into a thin line, his fingers tapping against the table. “Years. We don’t talk.”

A slow smirk pulls at my lips. “Because she hates you?”

Evans barks out a laugh. “Wouldn’t be the first woman to.”

That, I can believe.

“Tell me, Mikhail, do you really think you can find her without me?”

I watch him, expression unreadable.

It’s a bold move—offering himself as an asset.

But it’s also pathetic.

This is the man who sold his daughter into a marriage for power. The man who threw her to the wolves without hesitation. And now? Now, he wants to negotiate?

I let the silence stretch until the smirk begins to slip from his face.

“Do what you can,” I say finally, voice like steel.

His lips twitch. “That’s more like it.”

I lean forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “And if you fail?”

He scoffs. “Then you’ll kill me, I assume.”

I don’t blink. “Yes.”

His amusement falters for a second before he barks out a laugh, shaking his head. “Goddamn. No wonder my daughter ran from you.”

Something cold slithers through my chest, but I keep my face impassive, tapping my fingers against the table.

“I can bring her mother in.” he says. “The woman may seem harmless but her family isn’t.”

I finally look up. “What about her family?”

“She’s an Orlov.”

I pause. I’ve heard that name before.

“When I was a kid, they were the most powerful thing in the city. I grew up in Chicago and that’s where I met their daughter—Lila’s mother. She got tired of the life I gave her, wanted to cut ties, burn bridges. And for what?” He sneers. “For a goddamn dream of an honest life. A life without this.” He gestures vaguely around us. “She was a fool to think she could escape it.”

I don’t correct him.

He’s right.

No one ever truly leaves this world.

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