Page 113 of Sinful Promise

“It wasn’t the entire family. The twins weren’t there.”

Alexei looks at Dimitri. “Is there a point to this? It’s normal for us to do background checks,brat.”

“I fucking know that.”

I glance over at Lev, who is standing, frozen, by the windows. He looks tense as fuck, and a pang of guilt slices through me for snapping at him.

He didn’t deserve it, and I know he’s only trying to help. He wants Igor dead as much as the rest of us.

“I’m sorry, Lev. I shouldn’t have snapped at you like that.”

Lev dips his chin at me, but his lack of verbal response makes me wonder if he’s actually forgiven me.

Dimitri takes a sip of his vodka. “Danil, why don’t you go with Lev tomorrow night to some of Igor’s frequent hideouts. It might be enough to trigger something in your memory, Lev.”

Lev nods, and I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

That’s fresh! Are my brothers really trying to promote me from babysitting Emily to now babysitting Lev?

Hell, no. Not happening. And especially not tomorrow, that’s for sure.

I take a hefty sip of the vodka Dimitri poured me. “I can’t tomorrow.”

Alexie glares at me. “It wasn’t optional, Danil.”

“In case you’ve forgotten, dearbrat, I’ve been tasked with watching out for Emily. And she’s made plans to go out drinking. So, unless you want to leave her life up to fate, I suggest you find someone else to go with Lev.”

The muscle in Alexei’s jaw ticks and for a moment, I’m taken aback by how much he looks like our father. His dark hair is starting to be flecked with a few strands of gray, and the lines around his eyes make him seem so much older and wiser than me.

Alexei eventually nods. “You and I will go, Lev. But make sure to keep your phones on in case we discover anything.”

Dimitri nods back. “I’ll inform Mikhail and Anton.”

“Thank you, Dimitri. Lev, let’s go to my office and start planning.”

I grind my teeth as Alexei turns his back on me and heads for the stairs that lead to his office, with Lev following silently behind him.

Before I have a chance to make things worse, Dimitri places a hand on my shoulder yet again and guides me back to the elevator.

Both of us are silent as we take the elevator down to the parking garage. But when I’m about to climb behind the wheel of my Porsche, my brother puts his hand on the door and slams it shut.

I’ve had it. “Watch it! You can be pissed at me all you like, but don’t take it out on the car.”

“Who’s Emily going out with tomorrow?”

“Her friend Jana. Why?”

“You sure it’s not another…date?”

I shrug, pretending not to know or care.

“Who the hell knows, but what Idoknow, Dimitri, is that it’s none of your damn business.”

I can tell from the way my brother’s eyes darken that I’m grating on his last nerve.

It’s not uncommon for us to butt heads. We’re brothers, after all. But ever since this business with Igor being after Emily, I’ve found myself becoming more and more infuriated by my family’s lack of progress toward taking this fucking man down.

I feel bad that Dimitri is receiving the brunt of my frustration, but it just so happens that he’s the brother I’ve been spending the most time with lately.

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