Page 83 of Black Ledger

“If we believe this ghost is a woman, do you think it’s very smart to invite a woman you barely know to be part of this?” Nika muttered, glaring over her shoulder at me. I examined my nails and pretended not to listen.

“She was already involved the moment the ghost attacked at our engagement party,” Severin whispered back.

“That doesn’t mean you have to invite her into this.”

“I think you’re being a bit paranoid. Keira is an Irish mafia princess who lives in London. She hasn’t been hunting our men for the last however many years.”

“I don’t trust her, Severin,” Nika half-whispered, half-hissed. “There is something off about her.”

Nika wasn’t wrong. They had invited the wolf into the henhouse, and I loved eating chicken.

Not really, actually; I much preferred a steak. But semantics.

I leaned against the brick wall of Severin’s tortured den, eating an apple.

Everyone else was front and center, about to ask all the boring questions. Now the real show was going to be in how he chose to answer.

Severin pulled off Mirko’s hood, and when he didn’t notice me, I let out my breath.

“Hello, Mirko,” Severin said. “Do you know why you’re here?”

“No, sir,” he said, his voice already shaking.

Mirko had always been a very pathetic man even when he raped me.

Nika laughed harshly. “Doubtful.”

“Truly. Sir, I have no idea.” Mirko’s teeth chattered.

“Why don’t you start by telling me why your logs are missing information and why you leave your post certain Thursdays of the month?”

Mirko’s eyes widened. He might have thought he was here for a different reason. He was a very shady man with many endeavors the Pakhan would not approve of. But Mirko didn’t answer. His lips fell into a hard line, and he clenched his jaw so tightly that I could hear the grinding of his teeth from where I stood.

“Why don’t you tell me about the threatening notes?”

Mirko’s eyes widened even further, and Severin let out an audible acknowledgment that he had finally caught one. He’d used the same line on all the previous men, and none of them seemed to know what he was talking about.

“I’m waiting, Mirko.” Severin’s voice was hard and filled with disgust. “We can do this the easy way, or I can start taking your fingers.”

If it were possible, Mirko’s eyes grew even larger. “Fine, I’ll tell you. What do you want to know?”

“Tell us about the notes.”

“It’s not just notes.” Mirko’s voice trembled. “It’s her.”

Severin hummed. “Her?”

“The spirit. She appears in front of me and gives me her notes… and body parts. She always brings body parts. I had one tested once, and it came from one of the dock workers who had gone missing.” His words were fast and blurred together. “He also received notes before she got him. I know she’s going to take me, too, one day.”

Fear was branded into his voice, and he looked as if he might pee his pants.

A smile climbed on my lips. I loved watching their fear.

“Why is she after you?” Severin asked softly, as if coaxing out a scared deer.

“Because we destroyed her.”

“How?” Ilya asked as Nika asked, “Who is we?”