Page 18 of In Her Blood
Crawford’s attention flicked between them and he tugged at the top button of his shirt. “I’m sure you were notified, Ms. Nikolaev.”
Evelina stared him down. “Oh? So I’m forgetful, is that it?” She let her voice sharpen again. “Or are you calling me a liar?”
Crawford swallowed hard.
The women shuffled behind her, and an older, weaker voice spoke cautiously into the silence. “I think we’d be more comfortable taking our business elsewhere, Mr. Crawford. You understand. We’ll see ourselves out.”
Crawford’s focus slipped to them again and his mouth opened like he might try to call them back.
Evelina watched silently. Waiting. Unmoving. The anger she felt when Pyotr had first dropped the news of the coming meeting had risen to the surface inside her once more and felt like it was vibrating just beneath her skin. It was so much worse that the prick hadn’t been lying.
Seconds passed before Crawford took a large step back from his desk, his leg bumping his chair out of the way in the process. “Ms. Nikolaev,” he finally said, “there’s no need for hostilities. I can’t say I’m thrilled that you just cost me a client, but I’m willing to overlook that if you’ll just take this down a notch so we can have a civil conversation.”
She gave him her best ‘you have got to be kidding me’ look. “Gee, I feel so bad for saving one of those women the secondary heartache of having their loved one’s estate lawyer fuck them over while the grief is still fresh. Let me just run right out and rectify that for you.”
His nostrils flared. “I am not in the business of—”
“Crime?” Her lips twitched. “Theft? Collusion? Fraud?” She straightened and cocked a hip. “What would you call it, then, Anwar? I’m very curious.”
He stomped forward and smacked his own palm onto the desk, outrage burning in his eyes. “We both know who the real criminal is here!”
Her smile broadened. “Funny. I’m starting to think it’syou.” She tipped herself forward again, just at the shoulders, and lowered her voice. “You’re being very presumptuous aboutme, don’t you think? Just because of my name. You know, my father tossed me out of his house when I was still a teenager.”
He huffed. “Yet here you are, demanding his legacy.”
Her faux amusement evaporated and her arm fell back to her side. “I’m demanding what’smine,” she snapped. “And you”—she shoved a finger into his chest—“are supposed to be checking in with me. That is what we agreed on. That is what you promised. That is the goddamn point.”
Crawford smacked her hand away. “I never worked for you, you spoiled brat. I worked for your father, and I work for his successor. Now get out of my office.”
Evelina reared back and folded her arms across her chest. “So, you admit you’re betraying my father’s Will.”
“I will read his Will to the letter,” Crawford said through gritted teeth. He pointed sharply to the side, toward his door, even as she registered the sound of heavy steps. “Nowleave, before security hauls you out by the armpits and dumps you on the street.”
She narrowed her eyes back at him. “The next man who lays a finger on me is a dead man.” Granted, her gun was tucked into her purse, so extracting it and keeping her promise would probably cause more of a scene. But hell, she wasn’t of a mood to care at this point.
“Entitled bitch.” He jerked his chin at her, the caution he’d shown earlier entirely gone. “Throw her out. Ms. Nikolaev is no longer welcome here. She’s just going to have to miss the reading of her daddy’s will.”
That does it.Evelina shrugged her purse down to her elbow, well aware she was going to have to get a little messy as the firstlumbering shadow fell over her. Had there been two security guys, or three?
A meaty hand clamped over her bicep, squeezing too tight. “Don’t try anything stupid, sweetheart.” The words were barely past his lips before a brief, high-pitched whistle cut through the air and the hand on her arm went slack, then fell away altogether.
Even as Evelina turned her head, she noted the color drain from Crawford’s face. She knew what she’d see. One muscle-bound male in a too-tight, black tee emblazoned with generic lettering identifying him as security, dead on the floor. Blood still oozing from a hole in his head.
Another whistle preceded another heavythudjust behind her.
“You should’ve listened,” Otto said, a dangerous rumble in his voice. “Now your men are dead.”
Her heart leaped and Evelina turned the rest of the way around, unsurprised to find Otto kicking aside the nearer dead man’s corpse in order to position himself at her side. He still held his gun drawn, but he’d adjusted the sight to Crawford.
It was unhealthy how relieved she felt to see him. She actually had to fight her smile.
“You”—Crawford’s voice choked—“you fuckingkilledthem!”
“She warned you.”
Evelina faced the bastard lawyer again, her confidence boosted as inappropriate warmth bloomed in her chest. “Please pay attention, Anwar,” she said, keeping her tone calm and unaffected. “All I want from you is my father’s Will. I don’teven care if you tell my repulsive cousin I came asking for it after I leave.” In fact, she very much hoped he did. It was the entire reason she was going to leave him alive. “I want a full copy, in writing, so there’s no disputing the facts. That’s not so disagreeable, is it?”
Crawford seemed unable to look away from the barrel of the gun still trained on him for longer than a second. “I could call the police.”
