Page 44 of Lies (Wicked Empire 1)

“What? Going to the docks?”

“Yes. That was the dumbest fucking thing, Amethyst,” I said, my voice low, angry, giving away more emotion than I wanted to.

“You don’t hear me disagreeing,” she said.

I shrugged, her answer taking away some of my anger.

For reasons I didn’t dare consider, the thought of her being so reckless with herself didn’t sit well.

“As I was saying, contrary to what you might think and what others might say, harming people is not something that I, or my family, take lightly.”

“So as long as I’m on my best behavior, you won’t…” She trailed off, but I didn’t need her to finish the sentence.

“I won’t,” I assured her.

She studied me, seeming to try to assess me.

“I guess I have no choice but to believe you,” she said.

“You don’t. Now tell me what you found about Davit Petrosyan.”

“You are Davit Petrosyan, so shouldn’t you know everything about him?”

“I’m interested in what you know, Amethyst,” I said.

“Well, I’ve compiled a dossier…”

She stood and walked deeper into the house, to what I presumed was her office, and came back holding a folder.

“A dossier? I guess I should be impressed,” I said.

“Hardly. I doubt this is the first dossier compiled on you or your family,” she said.

“True. So what’s in it?”

“Well,” she said, sitting on the couch and tucking one leg under her, “as best as I can tell, Davit Petrosyan is the second son of Edgar Petrosyan, leader of the Petrosyan crime syndicate.”

“Go ahead,” I said after she paused.

“Edgar is currently serving a fifteen-year sentence in an Albanian prison. The oldest son, Elias, is in charge of the family while Edgar is away. I couldn’t find any real information about what the second son, Davit, is up to. But I think I can fill in those gaps,” she responded, lifting a brow at me sarcastically.

“I guess you can.”

She put the folder down then looked at me, her eyes serious.

“I have a question for you, D-Davit,” she said.

She said the name tentatively, but there was also something like hope in her voice.

“Okay,” I responded, my answer not at all reflecting the sudden emotion I felt.

Amethyst was strong, was holding it together, but I could see that this next question mattered to her.

“I read about your family. I know a little bit about what you do, I think,” she said.

“And what’s that?”

“Smuggling. Some money laundering. Perhaps kidnapping for hire, protection rackets.”

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