Page 51 of Shadow Of Sin

The place is plunged into the kind of silence you can choke on. Gavin’s pen stops spinning. Lochlan’s eyebrows lift slightly.

“The asset has opinions,” Ronan says.

“The asset has a name. It’s Eva,” I say.

Something flickers across his face. Not amusement. Not respect. Something in between that he kills before it fully forms.

“Eva.” He tests the word. “You’ve been inside both our family’s systems and the DiMichelis’ for three months. You’ve pulled financial records, property data, client lists, and a calendar that belongs to an employee of my sister-in-law. I want to hear from you…not my brother…exactly what you’ve been doing and who you’ve been doing it for.”

I glance at Wolfe. He gives me the smallest nod.

“I’ve been working for Dmitri Kozlov,” I say. “He found me about two weeks after I got out of prison. He knew about my brother’s debts. He knew about my hacking skills. He showed up with a folder and a smile and made it very clear that saying no wasn’t an option.”

“How does he contact you?” Lochlan asks.

“In person, mostly. Different locations every time. Cafés, parking garages, parks. He texts a time and place. I show up. He gives me the job, and I deliver.”

“And you never asked what the data was for?” Ronan says.

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because the last time I got curious about what someone was using my work for, I ended up in a federal prison cell for fourteen months.” I hold his gaze. “I learned my lesson.”

Gavin lets out a low whistle. “Damn.”

“Gavin,” Ronan says without looking at him.

“What? She’s got a point.”

“Shut up.”

“I’m just saying⁠—”

“He said shut up,” Cillian says. Gavin throws his hands up and goes back to twirling the pen.

Ronan leans forward, his hands folded in front of him. “How do we know you’re not still working for Dmitri as a spy? How do we know this isn’t a set up…you walk in, feed us what we want to hear, then report back to him?”

“You don’t,” I say. “You have zero reason to trust me. I’m a convicted felon who’s been inside your systems. The smart move is to assume I’m lying.”

Even Gavin’s head snaps up at that.

“But here’s the thing,” I continue. “If I were still working for Dmitri, I wouldn’t be standing in your house. I’d be feeding him your security layouts and your financial records and the fact that your operations guy keeps a calendar your entire family should be worried about. I wouldn’t show up here and put my face in front of the men who want to...eliminate me as a threat.”

I point at Ronan. “Starting with you.”

“I don’t want to eliminate you,” Ronan says.

“Your face says otherwise.”

Gavin coughs. Cillian’s mouth twitches.

“I’m here because Dmitri is going to do something bad with the data I gave him, and the only way to stop it is to work with people who have the resources I don’t,” I say. “That’s it. I’m not loyal to you. I’m not loyal to Dmitri. I’m loyal to my brother. And right now, working with you is the only way to keep him safe.”

“She’s direct,” Gavin says. “I like her.”

“Nobody asked you,” Ronan says.