Page 111 of Unexpected Redemption

I take some comfort in realizing I helped her through it despite not knowing what caused her episode.

Finally, I’m able to address my partners. “I understand and appreciate you trying to protect me. Above all else, I’m grateful you were there for Lettie.”

I’m not placating them. At this moment, Idoappreciate them looking out for me. It’s good to know they have my back. Like a team.

Or a family.

To ensure they believe I’m not full of shit, I double down on my gratitude. “I mean it. Thank you for looking out for me. I don’t take that lightly.”

“We’ll always look out for you, T,” Klein offers. “I’m sorry if you ever doubted that.”

My sinuses ache with the sting of swelling emotions. I clear my throat and blink them away. “So I assume the email contained something upsetting. Correct?”

“Yes. It did,” Mia answers solemnly. “It’s also helpful to our case, assuming I can prove Viktor was the sender.”

Returning my focus to the mission, I let the angst from this discovery fade away. “I promise not to fly off the handle. You can tell me about it and what you’ve found so far. If whatever he sent upset my girl, let’s at least make it come back to bite him in the ass. I want to make him fucking pay.”

One side of Mia’s face quirks into a partial smirk. “There you go, T. Such a badass.”

After a click of her tongue, she tells me about the email. Everything from how he spoofed Lettie’s email address to make it look as if it came from her, right down to the included screenshot of the text message from whoever carried out the hit on Yev in jail—may he rest in Hell. Mia’s more careful when she mentions thegiftViktor sent by including the photos of Lettie from inside the house.

Bile rises in my throat.

When she’s finished, I carefully craft my response. As much as the rage burns inside me, churning up disgust and hatred for that monster and what he did to Lettie, I aim to keep as steady as possible. I need to focus on the mission. Think rationally.

“So Viktor manipulated me, sending me after Yev. That’s a nice treat.” I flap my lips with a haggard and forceful exhale, irritation replacing some of my blood lust. “Oh well. Don’t care. Yev gave us intel, I got to exact some revenge on him for violating Lettie, and he ended up exactly where he deserved to be. Dead. Not seeing a downside.”

Hmm. Despite my initial sarcasm, I feel lighter. Turns out, I agree wholeheartedly with that sentiment. And why wouldn’t I? It’s true.

Fuck Yev.

And fuck Viktor for thinking I’d regret sending Yev to jail or the grave.

“There’s one thing that’s been bothering me since I found out about this email,” Klein murmurs deep and thoughtful.

“What?” I ask.

Klein taps his fingertips rhythmically on his chair armrests. “If you were Viktor Lenkov, would you be so fucking stupid to send your enemy photographic proof of not only an assault but of ordering a hit on a prison inmate that resulted in murder?”

Mia offers a slight wobble of her head.“Especially when said enemy has tech capabilities like we do.”

Keeping the thought going, I pile on. “And has a deeply personal interest in ensuring you hang for your crimes.”

“How do you rationalize that kind of stupidity?” Klein muses. “I can’t make sense of it. Not any more sense than what’s on that fucking easel with all the Greek mythology bullshit.”

His frustration matches mine.

“Mia, did you find anything to tie the email to Viktor?”

“The photos provided make it very difficult to identify the perp. He was careful to send only certain shots.” She swallows audibly. “I’m making progress on uncovering the real email address. I need a bit more time. However?—”

I finish her sentence. “It won’t tell us much. Probably another generic account, from which he routes emails through a relay service or VPN. We won’t find anything.”

“Yeah. That’s what I’m afraid of.” She twists a few locks of hair near her ear. “Maybehedidn’t send it. Someone else did. But they wanted it to look like it came from Viktor so it could be used as proof.”

Klein and I both sit up straighter, mirror images of each other. Our eyes lock.

He speaks first. “This makes sense. But who could have sent it to us?”

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