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The Devil She Knows 77
AlessioI walk into the warehouse and find the back office.Leo and Kill are standing by the large metal door.Leo is nearly as tall as the door and looks like the typical Bratva man with tattoos covering his arms and neck. Kill is tall, too, but is more built and has elbow-length black hair with shaved sides. He reminds me of a Viking warrior, especially with the runes for death, war, protection, and justice tattooed on his neck and arms."We're back here," Leo says, motioning through the door."Is our new friend still functional?" They were still trying to interrogate the guy while I was on my way."He is, and still not talking."No surprise there.They lead me inside, where I find Zakh and Malik standing together with their guns at their sides. Both acknowledge me when I walk in. I do the same then I take in the bald-headed Chinese guy sitting in front of them. He's covered in blood and tattoos from head to toe. He has so many tattoos, I can't tell the blood and ink apart. I also c
The Devil She Knows 78
AlessioXiou doesn't look fazed by my threat. I didn't think he would, and I already know he's not going to talk for me. If he didn't for anyone else, I won't be the exception."Who are you working for?" That's the best place to start and, like I guessed, I'm met with his silence. "Why do you have those pictures? Did you follow all of us? Me? My wife? My mother? The Butyrskayas?"My question garners no response from Xiou. He's little more than a stone statue with a heartbeat. Pretty soon, he won't even have that. It's time to up the game."Not gonna take that chance?" I try to clarify.When he doesn't answer, I cock the hammer on my gun and shoot him right in the top of his left leg. That gets a response from him.He howls with pain and shakes against the chair. Blood spurts from his thigh and flows onto the floor, joining the blood already there."Have you changed your mind?"Still no answer, so he gets another bullet in the same leg, then I shoot him again in his other leg.Now he's
The Devil She Knows 79
Camille"Have more tea, dear. It will help." Ehlga taps the back of my hand.She gives me a warm smile, but the worry in her eyes gives her away.She looks just as worried about Alessio as I am and seems to be doing her best to not just calm me down, but herself too.Across the table between us are the cups of chamomile tea and coffee we've had. Only God knows how much we've drunk between us since before the sun rose.We switched out the tea for coffee about an hour ago.I was already in the kitchen, sitting here at the breakfast table when she came downstairs. I couldn't sleep after Alessio left.I assumed he must have contacted Ehlga at some point because she knew he'd left the house on business before I told her."I think I'll pass, Ehlga."Her shoulders slump. "Then I should make you something to eat. It's breakfast time now.""No, I'm not hungry. I'm just worried." I've never seen Alessio leave the house with a gun.I'd only seen the gun once before, when he pulled it on Richard.
The Devil She Knows 80
CamilleAlessio takes my hand and leads me to the hallway near his office. The one with the ghosts and the crest.I'm surprised when we reach the crest and stop in front of it."What are we doing here, Alessio?""You'll see. This is the purpose of the crest."He touches the crest, pressing his hand to the wolf's nose, and I gasp when the whole face sinks in and the wall slides open, revealing a passageway."Oh my God.""It's a doorway." He turns and holds my gaze. "So is the crest on the cliff.""Secret passageways?"I think back to what Lorelai said about Pavel Butyrskaya being a member of the secret squad, and this makes sense."Yes. This was a safe house. The crest was used both to identify the Butyrskaya's safe houses and link to secret passages."A chill races over me. "So, I was at another safe house in the past?"When he nods, I realize why he was so secretive about it before, and why he said the crest was special.And... why I shouldn't have been there."What was I doing there
The Devil She Knows 81
AlessioI walk into the sunroom with a glass of water and take note of how Camille looks sitting on the chair.She's slumped against the side and looks like she's had the life drained out of her.We've been in here for about an hour now with the doors open. We both need the fresh air. She still looks ghostly pale, and my head is still spinning.We've been trying to figure things out and decipher where she was in her dream. She's told me her dream multiple times. Each time she's recounted it, I've tried to pick up on everything she's saying.All I can think when I see her is that she's been here in this house before, and somehow, her past is entwined with the first people I considered family.I can't wrap my head around it. Nothing makes sense to me, and I thought it was best not to tell her what I learned from Xiou because I don't want to freak her out any more than she is.Right now, I have Leif on his way over, Zakh going through the Butyrskayas' records to see where Camille could h
The Devil She Knows 82
CamilleThe cool night air wraps around my body, soothing my mind like ice against fire.It's the only thing that can balance me and calm the myriad of thoughts clashing in my head like the rough waves against jagged rock in a tempestuous storm.And yet, my chest still hurts, my lungs still feel tight, and my heart is still fragile, like it might shatter if I think too much.I've been here for hours, sitting on the balcony outside the bedroom. It was just after midnight when last I checked. Usually when I get like this, the pool would have seen me by now.But the cacophony of emotions tearing me apart feels different to anything else I've ever experienced. I'm scared that if I move, I'll fade away and become nothing, not even a memory. Like Mischa Butyrskaya.Is that really who I am?If that's me, what happened? How did I get to be here, living the life of Camille Galitze?And what happened to the real Camille?Mischa Butyrskaya.I've tried on the name several times in my mind and on
The Devil She Knows 83
CamilleLeif drives down the country road at a medium pace, keeping his gaze ahead but still looking around the woodland area.Alessio and I are in the back seat of the car. He's holding my hand in his lap the way he has been since we left Boston yesterday afternoon.We stayed at a beautiful hotel in L.A. last night I would have loved to enjoy. But the ominous feeling in my heart forbade me.We're on Highway 74. The route that will lead us to the lake house. One of the holiday homes owned by the Butyrskayas, and the first on Leif's list to visit. We drove onto this road about half an hour ago, and I think we're close to our destination. We're meeting Lucca Dyshekov there. He owns the property now, and Leif says he still uses the grounds to train his falcons.My stomach is in knots of anxiety and fear. Alessio's touch is the only thing anchoring me to this world, keeping me sane."We're nearly there." Leif looks back at us and returns his gaze to the road. "We're probably about five mi
The Devil She Knows 84
Camille.The house is beautifully decorated with a look of an old world meeting the modern, but nothing is coming to me. We head upstairs and look around the rooms before then we go back downstairs doing the same thing.Other than feeling like I should kick my shoes off, light up the fireplace, and relax in front of it with a steaming mug of something hot, I feel nothing more than that sensation of familiarity.Alessio opens the back door, and we go outside, heading toward the lake.When I look toward the wood, something catches my attention and I stop. It's two twisted-looking oak trees standing opposite each other. Thick vines wrap around the branches, which grow high and wide like they're reaching for the sky.I turn, and so does Alessio."What is it?" he asks."There." I point. "There's something about those trees."I'm walking toward them before he answers. He follows, falling in step with me.The closer I get, the stranger I feel. No longer feeling that sense of familiarity, but
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