Page 81 of Scarlet Angel

“You thought this bit would upset me? I’m an Ivanov, too, you know?”

She’s right. And hell, I’m going to blink, and she’ll be thirty. It’s about time I stop treating her like a kid.

“Is this to do with Scarlet?”

Her question hits like a dagger to the heart. I dig two fingers into my temple over the raw pain.

“No.” I force a casual smile. “Scarlet’s going away.”

“Is she coming back?”

“I’m leaning toward no.” I meet my sister’s gaze, and it’s a bloody delight to find her focused and intent. “It’ll be safest if she goes off the grid.”

Safest for her, safest for Lina.

“But once this blows over, you’ll bring her home, right?”

“Won’t be wise.” Knocking out one mafia family is one thing. But this is about to blow. The syndicate won’t approve. There’s a good chance I’ve already got an enemy within the group. If the syndicate turns against me, I’ll be going up against some of the most influential men in the world. If they don’t come after me with guns, they’ll unearth skeletons, paint me as a monster, frame me for crimes.

If I come clean about the message, about Leo and the so-called Prophet, they might back me. That’s what I should do. But other than a lone message, I’ve got no proof.

And if I call a meeting, make my case, they’ll want me to hand over Scarlet. The Interpol investigation won’t incriminate any of them, but the reverberations will be felt by their connections. It’s an incestuous fucking world. And I won’t give them Scarlet.

“Nick?”

I meet my sister’s gaze.

“You deserve happiness.”

I rub the back of my neck, taking my little sister in. “Well, get clean.”

“When I do, it’ll be for me. Not you. You’ve got to do you, boo.”

“Look at you being smart.”

She rubs the inside of her arm. It might itch.

“You can’t trust Amir.”

“Curious thing to say. Why?”

“I overheard him on the phone.”

“If he spoke in front of you, he meant for you to hear whatever he said.”

“I don’t think so. He thought I was high.”

Bloody bastard.

“And I was. But I remember.”

“What did he say?”

“He said Ivanov won’t be an issue.”

“That’s all he said?” That doesn’t mean squat.

“After the call ended, he saw I was awake and told me to unzip his pants and suck him off.”

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