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We share a chuckle. Pavel makes a perfect second-in-command for me not only because he gets every job done three times over, but also because he’s got a wry sense of humor that comes in handy when I’d least expect it. For instance, when I’m about to go and do something stupid, like wake up Clara Everett and carry her into my bed.
Fuck.She’s back.Dammit.
“And while our guy was in, I had him dig up dirt on that cop. Patterson.”
That catches my attention. “Anything good?”
Pavel’s eyebrows nearly reach his hairline. “Dude definitely has friends in high places; otherwise, he would have been fired years ago. Every case he’s ever caught has a perfect arrest record, but over half of them have formal complaints filed against him.”
“Evidence tampering?”
“That. And assault. Mostly assault. Victims claiming he beat them into confession, threw them around a bit before slapping the cuffs on, stuff like that. One was a woman who said he forced her to suck him off in exchange for leniency and then he arrested her anyway. But he didn’t take her to the precinct until after he was done with her.”
Bile creeps up my throat. “And he’sstillon the force?”
“A police detective’s word against a strung-out prostitute from the wrong side of the Strip?” Pavel looks as disgusted as I feel. “You know how this goes, man. Who would believe her?”
Something strikes a solid chord in my chest. It’s familiar and yet I can’t quite put my finger on it.
Who would believe me?
Did Clara say that? Or did I imagine it? Either way, it’s something that’s been bothering me for a while now—how could anyone mistreat a woman like that, let alone her kid, and get away with it?
I give myself a little shake and force myself to focus back on Pavel’s investigation. “So the big question is, who’s paying him off? Who’s pulling the strings? Is there a rival organization we need to watch out for?”
Pavel scrunches his nose. “It’s unclear right now as to why he’s doing what he’s doing. Or how he keeps doing it. We couldn’t find any connections to another Bratva or mafia or motorcycle club or even the damn IRA, and believe me, we looked everywhere.”
I do believe him. He never cuts corners and he’s not about to start now. Not when everything and everyone we’ve been hunting for over a decade is finally in our hands.
Which is the other thing that bothers me enough to keep me awake at night. Everything is finally falling into place, but I’m left with more questions and unsolved riddles than actual answers and closure.
At this rate, I’ll get closure when I’m dead.
“Detective Everett.” I pick up the water bottle and turn it in my hand, half-tempted to throw it across the room just to watch something explode. “He’s been quiet lately. Too fucking quiet. Should we be worried?”
Pavel’s scrunched face instantly shifts. I know that look. It’s the set jaw, tongue-over-teeth that he always does right whensomeone says something to piss him off. And I know I’m not the one pissing him off right now, so I lean forward.
“Pav?”
“There’s no record of him ever visiting Clara in the hospital.”
I shrug. “So?”
“Ever.” He focuses his gaze on me. “And I mean,ever.”
I still. The first thing that comes to my mind isn’t of Clara the other day, sick as a dog and struggling to maintain her sanity. It isn’t of her injured ankle, or the look of pure terror in her eyes when Bambi told us Martin was here.
It’s the image of a little girl, trembling with fear in the witness stand. Quiet, sniffling, covered in cuts and bruises.
Everyone automatically assumed those injuries were from my brother when he tried to kidnap her and murdered the other cop who came to rescue her. No one could prove any motive for the kidnapping, so those charges were dropped. But it didn’t stop people from coming to their own conclusions about Tolya—or Clara.
“He was there when they took her to the hospital. After they found her.”
Pavel slowly shakes his head. “He filed a report. But there’s no record of him signing in and we can’t find anyone who remembers seeing him visit her.”
I frown. Something sick and heavy forms inside my gut. “What about when she had a baby?”
Again, Pavel shakes his head.
