Drake Donovan had begun to suspect Ulisse was the man behind a large human trafficking ring and that he was in partnership with Lazar Amurov. If Ulisse had tied himself to Lazar, eventually he would be their biggest enemy. Timur needed to find out one way or the other. Fyodor and Mitya would both be threatened if that happened.
Timur had to take the plan to Fyodor for his approval before they could implement it, and he also wanted to know what Evangeline had told her husband. He left the others to go down the hall separating their quarters from the main house. It was huge. Fyodor had been given the estate by Siena Arnotto after her marriage. She’d given him not only the estate, but all of her grandfather’s businesses other than the winery and vineyards, which she ran herself.
The house was an amazing mansion. Timur had seen some beautiful homes, but nothing he’d seen compared with the one deeded to his brother. It was two stories and had so many rooms, Timur thought his brother had better start filling it with children soon or it would start echoing in protest. The main room was enormous with a staircase that wound dramatically up to the second floor. Wood gleamed and banks of windows let in the sun or the starlit night, but also provided spectacular views.
He found Fyodor in his office, waiting. He was sipping scotch and had already poured a small amount into a crystal glass for his brother. “Everything all right? Jeremiah back?” He indicated the chair across from his wide desk.
Timur sank into the leather. “He’s back. He followed the man I told you about, the one who gave me such a bad vibe.” He picked up the glass and swirled the amber-colored liquid gently. “His name is Apostol Delov.”
Fyodor closed his eyes and rested the crystal glass against his forehead for a moment. “So, Lazar finally found us.”
“It appears that way.” Timur took a sip of the scotch and felt the burn all the way down. He needed that. So, apparently, did his leopard. The cat stretched languidly. “You and I both know, no matter how much Evangeline protests, Ashe’s appearance at the same time is damning. Not only that, Fyodor, but the messenger is in a house one street over from Evangeline’s house.”
Fyodor’s eyes sharpened. “Any idea when he rented it?”
Timur hadn’t thought of that. “At least a month ago according to the electric bill Jeremiah brought back with him. That would leave Ashe off the hook.” Unless … “Shit, if the messenger’s job was to locate us and then she was brought in, she could be the assassin. When did she approach Evangeline?”
“Just yesterday.” Fyodor shook his head. “I don’t want this for her. Evangeline doesn’t have the temperament to live like we do. Other women, maybe, but she only sees good in people and I don’t want her to lose that. Damn it, Timur …”
“I’ll do what I can to keep the damage to a minimum, but her safety as well as yours has to come first. You know that.”
Fyodor nodded. “I talked to her about security, and this time I was tough on her. I even pointed out she could get someone killed. She listened and she’s very sorry for putting either of us in this position. She also maintains that Ashe would never be here to hurt either of us.”
“How can she know that?”
Fyodor shrugged. “I’m just relating to you what she told me. She also doesn’t believe Ashe is leopard. She saw no sign of it in their previous relationship, and her cat isn’t moody, so far, around Ashe. I wasn’t near the woman at all, so I’m no help in that department. I walked through to my office and kept the door closed. I didn’t want your attention divided by having to guard us both.”
“Which I am very grateful for,” Timur admitted. “It gave me time to study Ashe. I believe she is leopard. She’s a little bit too fluid, too fast. She moves well, and there wasn’t a single time when the two women were working that they accidentally bumped into each other behind that counter. There was a time, right around four o’clock, when a large crowd came in and both were moving fast to take orders and filling them. Not one bump or spill.”
“It’s possible she is exactly what Evangeline thinks she is,” Fyodor speculated.
Timur knew his brother wanted to protect his wife from what they were. From the things they had to do. From their past. All of it. He wanted the same thing for her. Evangeline was a good woman and he thought of her as a sister. The last thing he wanted to do was kill a friend of hers. Or tell her that friend had come to kill her just because of who she’d married.