I believe him, of course. Not a chance Andrei would leave such things up to chance.
“It could all be coincidence,” I offer. “She just so happens to have a brother working in CPD intelligence.”
“That could very well be the case,” Andrei replies. “The question is, do you want to take that chance?”
I think of Amalie’s face when she laughs, the sight of her wearing Sasha’s clay necklace. The idea of it all being an act, a ploy to get access to information she could feed her brother doesn’t sit right. Doesn’t make sense.
Or maybe I’m being blind.
“Thoughts?” Andrei asks. It’s clear he’s ready to act, one way or another.
The options line up, chess pieces waiting to be moved. Ending it would be the cleanest, the safest, the most immediate way to dispose of any potential threat. The best choice for the IPO. But the effect it would have on Sasha…
I imagine him retreating even further back than he’d been before. And why wouldn’t he? Someone came into his life that he bonded with, only to be snatched away with the same suddenness as when he’d lost his mother. It could prove to be one trauma too many.
I could confront her. Force the truth, whatever it may be, out into the open. If the truth is manageable, I could keep her close, bring her into my circle. Protect her. Monitor her. She’d be another variable to keep an eye on, but it could work. Assuming her brother isn’t looking into me, using my connection to his sister to get what he wants.
Another option appears. I could flip it around and useher. I can use her connection to an officer who could be looking into me, to look intohim. See what he knows, find out if the CPD is indeed building a case.
The thought barely finishes forming before I kill it. I’m not going to turn her into leverage, into a tool.
I lift my eyes to see Andrei waiting patiently for his order. “Do nothing.”
Andrei’s brow lifts in mild surprise.
“Keep watching her. Let me know if there’s anything new to report.”
“So, no dismissal?”
“No dismissal. But she’s not quite in the circle. This connection to a cop brother is troubling but not enough to make any grand decisions.”
“Very well.”
“And thank you, Andrei, for looking into this.”
He nods. I reply with a nod of my own and send him off.
I check my watch and see that it’s early afternoon. I pour myself something stiff and neat at the bar, then stand at the window looking out over the grounds, sipping slowly. Out of the corner of my eye I spot the file laying on my desk. I force myself to look forward.
Outside, snow dusts the trees, catching the slanted afternoon light in pale flashes. I find myself thinking of her again, about the day she and Sasha had been painting outside. I remember the way she’d lifted his small, gloved hand, guiding it gently. Teaching. Encouraging. Never harsh. Never distant in the way I can too often be with him.
Man plans, God laughs.
I have planned my life with ruthless precision. I’ve survived things that would have broken lesser men. I’ve carved an empire from chaos. And now I’m on the verge of creating legitimacy from a world soaked in blood.
Yet here I am, undone by the thought of a young woman painting with my son in the snow.
She could cost me everything.
But letting her go could do the same.
CHAPTER 21
AMALIE
Iwake up from my nap, feeling refreshed and still a little sore. I lay there with my eyes closed, cataloging sensations. The faint ache between my thighs, the pleasant soreness in my hips. There’s a warmth lingering in my belly, like a fire that hasn’t quite gone out.
Last night wasn’t a dream.
