Page 47 of Blood Vows

“Yes,” Dante said.

“Good, I need to ask her something.”

Dante’s jaw tightened. “She can hear you.” Elena almost rolled her eyes. Apparently, being under Dante’s protection also meant having a very aggressive receptionist.

Marco continued. “Elena, do you recognize the name Crimson Holdings?”

Her coffee cup slipped from her hand, but Dante caught it before it hit the counter. Hot liquid splashed across his hand. “Shit.” He ignored it, and his eyes locked onto her. “You know it.”

Elena’s heart hammered. “I’ve heard of it.”

“Where?” Marco asked.

She looked at Dante. His entire focus had narrowed onto her. “My father.”

“When?” Dante asked.

“I don’t remember,” she said.

“Elena.” Dante was warning her by just saying her name.

She glared at him. “I was a kid.”

That shut him up for about two seconds. “How young?”

“Maybe twelve, or thirteen.”

Marco spoke. “What do you remember?” Elena closed her eyes, trying to remember her father’s office with its dark wood, cigar smoke, and men speaking quietly behind a closed door. She was supposed to be asleep, but she’d wanted water. She remembered standing in the hallway, and her father’s voice was angry as another man talked to him. Then she heard those two words—Crimson Holdings.

“I heard my father arguing with someone.”

“Who was it?” Dante asked.

“I don’t know,” she admitted.

“What did they say?” Marco asked.

She searched her memory, only remembering fragments of the conversation. That was all she had until she remembered something. Her eyes opened. “My father said he wanted his name left out of it.”

Dante leaned forward. “Out of Crimson Holdings?”

“I think so,” she breathed.

“What else do you remember?” he asked.

She swallowed. “He said—” She hesitated.

“What?” Dante pressed.

“He said the Romanos had already paid enough.” Silence filled the room, and Dante’s expression turned cold.

Marco cleared his throat. “That’s a problem.”

“No shit,” Dante muttered.

“What is Crimson Holdings?” Elena asked. Neither man answered, and her patience snapped. “Stop doing that.”

Dante looked at her. “Doing what?”