Page 55 of In Her Blood
“What?” Evelina didn’t know him at all, and couldn’t see his face, but there was something else in Dante’s voice this time. Something underneath the intimidating top layer.
She kept her own gentled. “I just want to meet my aunt,” she confessed. “Even if only long enough to deliver Mamma’s message. And since my family had kept the fact that I hadmorefamily a secret from me, I didn’t ask anyone for help.” Not that she’d had much of an opportunity, but thank fuck she hadn’t. Pyotr would have heard and would surely be using it against her.
With her luck, he somehow knew and was working on a strategy to do exactly that, anyway.
Dante was silent for several long, agonizing seconds before he finally spoke again. Whatever vulnerability she thought she’d heard before had disappeared from his voice. “You understand that if you’re trying to play me, I will burn you and everyone you’ve dragged into your game to ash.”
Holy crap.It wasn’t that his threat was the most original thing she’d ever heard. It was the way in which he delivered the words, even over the phone. Sometimes, especially in the world she’d grown up in, survival hinged on recognizing the difference between arrogant boasting and threats spoken with such absolute certainty they carried some type of cosmic authority. The medium which delivered those words didn’t matter.
She’d thought her father had a corner-market on that sensation, him and his stupid cane. But even face-to-face, even emphasized by the strike of his cane, Evelina had never felt sucha bone-deep chill in response to mere words of warning. Part of her immediately wished she could have seen the two men share a room, just to see which of them walked out with his pride intact and which was left on his knees.
She tried to push the thought from her head, to focus on the present. “Do whatever research you need,” she said. “I have plenty of reasons to hide or lie to a lot of people, but for this—to you—I’m an open book.”
“I’ll be in touch. In the meantime, no more PIs.” The line clicked as soon as the words had left his mouth.
Evelina gasped, as if the call had both infused her with energy and drained her soul simultaneously. “Bozhe moy.” She dropped her phone onto the desk.
“Lina?” Otto squeezed her hand.
“So”—she let her head fall back against the chair—“turns out the De Salvos have connections in freakingIndiana.” She ought to have been upset at the notion that Campo had forwarded her information, but regardless of his motives, he’d done her a huge favor.
Artem shifted forward in his seat across from her. “De Salvos?”
If she’d had the energy, she’d have smacked herself. She’d completely forgotten they weren’t alone.So much for that staying private.But it wasn’t like she’d scheduled the call. Evelina straightened and Otto gently released her hand, pushing back to his full height. “Yeah,” she said to Artem. “A few days before Mamma passed, I learned she has an older sister who was married into a family out in New Jersey by the name DeSalvo. I’ve been trying to find a way to get in touch with them, at least enough to pass along Mamma’s apology.”
Artem was silent for several seconds, a frown on his face. “I’ve heard that name before,” he said carefully.
Evelina perked up. “You have?”
“I don’t know much,” he said, “but a couple of years before I made brigadier, I heard talk of a man named De Salvo in the area. Viktor was already brigadier by then, he would probably know more.”
“Here?” She couldn’t believe it. Someone from her mother’s lost side of the family had been so close. Not only in the city, but for some reason making waves that caught the bratva’s attention.If only Mamma had known.But it was good motivation for hauling herself down to have a chat with Viktor, so Evelina pushed to her feet. “In that case—”
The door to the office swung open before she could finish.
Otto had a gun leveled on Pavel before Evelina could process the sight of her father’s former guardsman.
Across from her, Artem had also shoved to his feet and spun toward the door, his own pistol drawn.
Pavel faltered, eyes widening, as he looked between the three of them. He cleared his throat. “I … apologies, Ms. Nikolaev.”
Artem didn’t falter. “Knock before you enter the pakhan’s office, you disrespectfulsvoloch.”
Once she had everything properly under her control, she was giving that man a raise.
Pavel gathered himself, squared his shoulders, and said, “The clan does not currently have a pakhan, Chaykovsky. I would have expected a brigadier to see that.”
“Pavel,” Evelina said before the situation could escalate, “I do recall offering you time to decide your loyalties, but this office has never once had an open-door policy. Keep that in mind, hm?”
A moment passed before the older man dipped his chin. “I meant no disrespect,” he said. “I merely wanted to forewarn you that Pyotr is on his way home, and from the way his men are gathering, they look as if they expect … trouble.”
Well, shit.Evelina lifted her phone from the desk and allowed herself a moment to think. Pavel made it sound like Pyotr was bringing a war. She wanted to write that off as absurd, but given everything else he’d done, she had to accept that it might not be.
Then there was Pavel himself. How much could she trust his information?
She pursed her lips and studied him once more. The man stood with his gaze cast down, arms at his sides and fists clenched. He didn’t look especially comfortable, but he didn’t appear to be sweating bullets or preparing to draw a weapon, either. “Pavel.”
He lifted his head enough to meet her gaze.
