Page 127 of Vow Of Fire

“He’s Sergei’s nephew,” I explained with a little smile. “He said he might stop by. Pity I wasn’t here.”

“Speaking of gorgeous…” she breathed, her eyes sparkling.

My heart sank.

“Oh no. Chlo, trust me. The Malakovs are as bad as the Marcellis.”

“I know. It’s such a shame.” She laid her hand on her chest. “Those cheekbones!”

I shook my head. “Don’t even think about it.”

She arched an eyebrow. “This from the woman currently living with a Marcelli?”

“That’s different. It’s for my own protection.”

“Hm-hmm. Sure it is.”

I rolled my eyes at her.

A customer came in, vetted by Dante’s security guards, so she went to see to them. I went to my office and was about to log onto my computer when there was a knock on the door. I looked up.

Vincent stood there, waiting for me to nod him in.

I didn’t. I was still mad at him.

“I just wanted to apologize for the subterfuge,” he said, not for the first time. “I hope this doesn’t taint our relationship, Evelyn. I really am quite fond of you.”

Was he serious? How could it not?

But I knew he’d been doing the Marcelli’s bidding. He was on their payroll and I was sure they paid him a lot more than I did.

Grimacing, I tried to suppress my annoyance. “It is what it is,” I muttered, and turned back to my screen.

“Have you met the family yet?” he asked, stepping into my office.

I glanced up, surprised. He couldn’t have known about the family sit-down last night, could he? Dante had said he wasn’t involved in the revenge scheme, even though it was his job to organize the money laundering and shipments.

According to Valentina, the fewer people who knew about it the better—and I had to agree.

“I have actually.” I kept my voice even. “They’re an interesting lot.”

He smirked. “What about Leo?”

“I did get to meet him,” I acknowledged. “In fact, he invited me around for tea tomorrow. Can you believe that?”

He chortled. “Actually, I can. When I first met Filippo, Il Lupo was Don. He was a formidable figure then. Ruled with an iron fist.”

“Seems strange to think of him like that.” I remembered the old man who’d taken my arm as we’d walked to the elevator last night. I could sense his power, and saw the way the others respected him, but he didn’t seem nearly as frightening now as he would have been back then.

“He’s still got a lot of sway,” Vincent warned me. “A little advice: stay on his good side.”

“I plan to,” I said coldly, just as Chloe poked her head around the door.

“Mikhail is here to see you,” she said.

We’d taken to keeping the gallery locked during business hours now, at least until things returned to normal. All visitors had to have an appointment. Dante’s orders. After the attack yesterday, I hadn’t argued.

I’d barely slept a wink last night after the shooting. Every time I drifted off, I found myself back in that underground garage with bullets ricocheting off concrete around us.