Page 100 of Immaculate Corruption (Romanoff Bratva)

I don’t trust him as far as I can throw him. But then again, I’m not here to trust him.

I’m here to destroy him.

Vaughn folds his hands on the desk in front of him and leans forward. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

I give him a curt smile. “A little legal dilemma, I’m afraid.”

“For an upstanding citizen like you, Mr. Romanoff? Color me surprised.” He chuckles casually at his own joke, like we’re old buddies. But I see the fear in his eyes. He’s searching my face, trying to figure out what the hell a man like me is doing coming to see a man like him.

He’ll find out soon. And he won’t like it one bit.

“It happens to the best of us,” I sigh. “And the worst.”

“Right,” Vaughn says, a little uncertain of my tone. “Well, you came to the right place. I’ll absolutely help you out. First, we will want to—”

“Actually, it’s not me who needs helping,” I interrupt. “Not quite.”

Vaughn lays down the pen he just picked up to scribble notes. “Oh. Of course. What did you have in mind…?”

“There was a case not too far from here a few years back. I think you might remember something about it. Does the name ‘D’Onofrio’ jog your memory?”

All at once, the man’s forehead starts to bead up with sweat. He can sense the jaws of the trap I’m laying beginning to close around him.

But it’s too late to escape. It’s been too late since the second he let me set foot in his office.

“Oh—uh, I mean, well, I can’t say I have… Or rather, of course, everyone knows the name, but—”

I hold up a hand and he stops babbling. “It involved a woman named Maria D’Onofrio. Born in Calabria, Italy. Came to the United States as a young woman. Met a charming entrepreneur, got married, had two girls and a boy. The American Dream in a nutshell, isn’t it?”

Vaughn swallows hard. His Adam’s apple bobs in his throat. “Uh, I suppose so…”

I wag my finger in his face. “Wrong. The American fucking Nightmare, Kurt. She fell down a flight of stairs and broke her neck. Tragic ending for the poor woman.”

His desk starts to shake from the force of his bouncing knee. He’s paranoid and nervous and trying hard as hell not to lose his cool. But he’s failing badly. “What does any of this have to do with me, Mr. Romanoff?”

“Oh, Kurt,” I sigh. “It has everything to do with you. Before all this—” I wave my hand around to point out the fancy office we’re sitting in— “pricey bullshit you’ve surrounded yourself with… Before the money, the private, wealthy clients… You were just a Deputy D.A. in Atlantic City, weren’t you? Making shit money and doing shit work. I’m sure you had noble intentions when you started. But those didn’t last long, did they?”

“Mr. Romanoff…”

“Shut the fuck up,” I growl. “Just sit there and listen. I’ll tell you when to fucking talk.”

I lean forward and rest two huge hands on the edge of his desk. Vaughn eyes them like they’re murder weapons. I suppose, in a way, they are.

“Do you know what I heard recently, Mr. Vaughn?” I continue. “I heard that you knew a little something about what actuallyhappened to Mrs. D’Onofrio. And I heard that Mr. D’Onofrio—that would be Giorgio D’Onofrio, the man whose name almost made you shit yourself a minute ago—gave you quite a bit of money to keep some of those details out of the official record.”

Kurt frowns. He’s desperate to salvage the situation. To find some way out.

It’s a waste of effort.

“That’s hearsay, Mr. Romanoff. Gossip. My mother called it the devil’s telephone.”

I shake my head and grin wickedly. “Giorgio shoved his wife down the stairs because she wanted to leave him. You covered it up. You’re as bad as he is, Kurt. You’re going to burn in hell for it when your time comes. And you might burn in this life, too. That all depends on what you choose to do next.”

Vaughn tugs at the collar of his shirt. He’s sweating through it now and fidgeting relentlessly.

“Those are damning accusations you’re making—”

“I know damn well what I’m doing, you piece of shit. Listen to me: I know exactly what kind of man you are. You’re careful. Cunning. And when someone like Giorgio D’Onofrio offers you that kind of money to do that kind of thing, you wouldn’t accept without keeping some kind of safety measure, would you?”

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