Page 44 of Scarlet Secrets

Without a word, I go into my sister’s room and she’s curled on the bed.

I set down the glass and bottle and ease out the quilt, pulling it up around her.

The posters of her favorite movie stars and bands are onthe walls, old dolls and favorite bears still lined on the pale-pink vanity.

She hasn’t lived with me in a long time, not since she moved in with Max. And even during her college years, her time here was sporadic. But I left it as is, a time capsule of a girl growing into a woman, just in case she needed it, a familiar and safe place.

I’m glad I did.

I just hate it’s under these circumstances.

“Will you have some cognac?”

She doesn’t answer.

“I can run a bath. You still have clothes here.”

Still she doesn’t speak and I sigh, then I get up on her canopied queen-sized bed and wrap myself around her, holding her close, willing my body heat into her, so she’s not a lump of ice, and I kiss her forehead.

“Angel,” I say in Russian, switching to the language we grew up with. “Please talk to me. Anything at all. You can scream and cry. Even hate me, just talk and let me know you’re okay. Please.”

She still doesn’t answer, and a lump grows in my throat as my chest tightens. It hurts. All of it. I bury my face in her hair, willing her to be okay.

Finally, she stirs a little and turns. Her face is something I’ll never forget. The utter devastation there.

“I’m not okay,” she whispers. “I might never be okay again.”

“You have me, Angel.” I kiss her forehead, brushing her hair back. “I’ll stay if you need me to.”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Whoever did this killed Max, Demyan. He didn’t do a thing and he tried to stop them from taking me. Go find Erin.”

“What do you mean?” I go still. Erin’s on my agenda and that’s my plan, but…

“You need to find her before these monsters do. She tried to help so they might think she’s important. I remember her.” Alina’s words slur. “I met her a few weeks ago. Once. She’s nice. And she’s the one with the little boy.”

I frown, a shiver running over me. Her need to get away, her panic, both at seeing me and when I took her. I understand it to a point, but hers was off the charts and…

“Alina, how old’s the boy?”

But my sister just shrugs and rolls over, her shoulders shaking as she starts to sob again.

I set a box of tissues next to her, then lean down and kiss her head. “Get some rest, Angel. There’ll be a guard outside if you need anything. And one word from you and I’ll come back.”

“Where…”

“I’m going to find this Erin.” A pulse of adrenaline and fury flashes through me. “To keep her safe, like you asked.”

She cries louder, and heartbreakingly, I leave.

Downstairs, Vitor is waiting, but he’s lucky I don’t have time for punishment. I look at him. “Do your fucking job and keep my sister safe. And if anything happens to her, you’ll be paying with your life. Slowly, in agony.”

I grab my weapons and leave. Once in my car, I set up my phone and take off. When I hit the road, I call Ilya.

“Find out everything you can about this, Erin. Name, address. Friends. Make and model of her car. I want a list of every man she’s spoken to in the past three years. All her jobs. Family members. I want it all.”

“Boss?”

Irritation cuts through me at the word. “What?”

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