“Without a doubt. The men have been standing outside the door for half an hour. Which means, in that time, someone entered the room, killed both men, and left.”
“She could still be here in the building,” Yulian breathes.
I shake my head. “No. No, she left the moment she cut Yaromir’s throat.”
I sniff the air, taking in the faintest whiff of her favorite perfume. Chanel number five. Unforgettable. It still makes my blood run cold.
“Why would she have wanted to?” Lev asks. “She needed his help. Killing him only alienates more of the Ivanov men.”
My eyes narrow as I circle the room. “She knew it was a trap.”
“How could she have known?” Yulian asks. His eyes meet mine, and he says what I’ve suspected now for a while. “Fuck me, she has a mole on the inside.”
“A mole?” Lev growls. “No fucking way. Your men are loyal to you and you alone.”
“Clearly not,” Yulian hisses. “It makes sense. She’s been ahead of us every step of the way.”
“What other explanation is there?” I ask. “She always seems to know when we’re coming. We pick up a trail and the moment we close in, she disappears.”
“Accusing your own men of betrayal without any proof is not gonna go over well, Anton.”
I turn to Lev. “We have to weed out the mole somehow.”
“Leave that to me,” Yulian says. “I’ll smoke the fucker out.”
“I’ll help you,” Lev says.
Yulian looks annoyed. “You don’t trust me to do the job on my own, Lev?”
“I’m just saying you’re going to need all the help you can get.”
Yulian’s eyes narrow. “I don’t need you to hold my hand.”
“Stop it,” I growl. “We don’t have the time for a goddamn pissing contest. I want both of you on the job immediately. Lev, get back to the mansion. I want you to protect Jessa until I get home.”
He doesn’t argue. He just gives me a curt nod and disappears. Yulian stands there awkwardly, waiting for me to hand down his command.
“Yulian, I want you to take the men and do a complete sweep of the house. The Ivanov business ledgers will be in this building. Tear the place apart brick by brick if you have to. Look for anything locked with a combination lock.”
“What makes you think they’re behind combination locks?”
“Because Marina told me that a long time ago. Back when she trusted me.”
“Must have been a magical five minutes.”
I glare at him, not in the mood for jokes at this moment. I stare down at Yaromir’s body. His eyes are still wide, the pupils fully dilated in death. Something tells me that he pleaded for his life in his last few moments. A fool’s request. He knew Marina well enough to know that nothing could move her once she’d set her sights on blood.
“She’s not going to get anywhere near, Jessa, you know,” Yulian says, breaking through my vengeful thoughts. “I’ll make sure of that.”
I look up at Yulian as the rage courses through my veins.
“I’ll protect her, brother,” he continues.
“Why does it sound like you think I can’t?”
Yulian looks taken back by the question. “I don’t think that.”
“No? Then why assure me that you’re going to protect my woman?”
His face hardens. But he doesn’t look pissed. Just determined.
“Because we’re brothers,” he says. “We’re family. And nothing will ever change that. Blood is thicker than water.”
I meet his gaze and nod. “Blood is thicker than water.”