“Let me take a wild guess here,” Vadim says, tapping his fingers lazily on the table. “This witness of yours, the one who’s pointing the finger at Dmitri, he wouldn’t happen to be a member of the Irish club, would he?”
Belov ignores the question. “Dmitri, can anyone vouch for your presence in your apartment between ten and midnight on Saturday night?”
“My client doesn’t need to answer that. The burden of proof is on you, Belov, and so far you’re doing a piss-poor job of proving anything.”
The room grows silent when a woman’s voice echoes through the hallway outside our room right before the door is roughly thrown open.
“Let me in! I need to talk to my dad!”
All three of our heads turn to Gina, and I don’t know who’s more shocked to see her, me or her dad. It’s only been a couple of days since I’ve seen her, and I’m surprised by how relieved I am to have her so close.
“What the hell are you doing, Gina?” her dad hollers at her before giving the officer at the door a scathing look.
The officer looks embarrassed and holds his hands up in apology. “Sorry, Chief. She insisted. Said it was an emergency.”
For a brief second, I see fear flash across Belov’s face. “Are you okay?”
I don’t like Belov, but I’m pleased to see he’s not so blinded by hate for me that he ignores his daughter’s flushed face and breathlessness. I certainly can’t ignore her. She looks exactly like I imagine her looking after we’ve fucked. Her dark hair is tousled from running, her skin has a beautiful rosy flush to it, and she’s winded. The only thing keeping my cock in check are her eyes. They’re not half-lidded with lust or glazed over from exhaustion and from being totally spent. They’re fearful and hesitant, and she refuses to meet my eyes.
When she still hasn’t answered, Belov stands and goes to her. “Are you okay? Your mom and brother?”
“Everyone is fine, Dad, that’s not why I’m here.”
“Then why are you here?” He gives me and Vadim a quick look. “You shouldn’t be in here. I’m working.”
“He didn’t do it,” she says, and her voice is so low I’m convinced I’ve heard her wrong.
“What?” Belov asks, voicing what we’re all thinking.
“Dmitri,” she says, and my cock can’t help but give a jump at hearing my name on her lips. “He didn’t kill Jimmy.”
Belov takes a step back and rests his hands on his hips. “You better start talking, Gina. Fast.”
She chances a quick glance at me, and I watch her face turn an even deeper shade of red. I keep my face calm, but inside I’m dying to know what in the hell is going on.
“Talk,” Belov says, and I see Gina wince at his harsh tone.
“I was kind of watching him Saturday night,” she says, staring down at her pink-and-grey running shoes.
Belov’s eyes widen in disbelief. “You were watching him?”
“Yes,” Gina says in barely more than a whisper.
We all stare at Gina, wondering what in the hell is going on. Her dad looks furious. Vadim is more curious, and I couldn’t be more shocked. She was watching me?
When Belov speaks, I watch Gina cringe at the barely controlled rage we can all hear.
“Why in the hell were you watching him? How do you even know him?”
It’s almost painful to watch the way she shuffles her weight from foot to foot, but I can’t deny it’s also turning me on to see her so flustered.
She gives her slender shoulders a shrug. “I guess I just wanted to see him. I don’t know what I was thinking. I know it was stupid, but it’s done. I did it, and I know he didn’t kill Jimmy.”
“How can you be sure? Just because you spied on him doesn’t mean shit. He could have easily left and done it afterwards.”
“Well, it was a little more than that.”
I lean forward, unable to stop myself, and the movement makes her eyes jump to mine. She quickly looks away, but not before I catch a glimpse of raw embarrassment and guilt.