Page 5 of Sinner's Sacrifice

“If I hire you, are you going to quit in six months or a year because you can’t find any dirt on me?” Yvgeny asked.

“You’re not doing anything illegal?” Brian asked in a tone that shouted he didn’t believe it.

Yvgeny smiled, flashing his filed canines for a second. “You heard my accent and thought Russian crime boss, right?” Yvgeny shook his head. “I hate stereotyping. I was born in Slovenia, not Russia. As for being a crime boss...when I moved to this country, I quickly realized that the kind of corruption rampant in Eastern Europe no longer exists here. Oh, there’s still corruption, but it isn’t as systemic.”

“So, you decided to go legit because the culture here is different?”

“No, I decided to go legit because I’d had enough of the bullshit and wanted to see if I could, in fact, become successful by playing within the rules. Which is harder because...well...rules.” He shrugged. “Are you going to answer my question?”

“Sorry,” Brian said, sitting up from the confused slouch he’d allowed himself to fall into. “What was it again?”

“Are you going to quit in six months to a year if I hire you and you find nothing illegal?”

The boy swallowed hard. “Well, sir,” Brian began, his gaze going unfocused for a moment before sharpening again. “I guess that depends on the employment contract I sign with you.”

Not a dull answer.

Finally.

Brian cleared his throat. “My boss isn’t going to believe you’re not involved in organized crime just because you know more about me than you should.”

Yvgeny shrugged. “I don’t care what your boss believes as long as he doesn’t try to manufacture something that isn’t there.”

Brian digested that for a moment. “Can I ask a personal question, sir?”

“You can ask.”

“Where did you get the seed money for your businesses?”

“That’s not personal, that’s company business,” Yvgeny told him. “I expect you to ask questions like that. I suppose that’s the forensic accounting task the FBI wants you to do first?” Yvgeny asked.

“I...well...”

Yvgeny waved at the kid to stop sputtering. “You’ll see soon enough, anyway. My family comes from old, old money. I made a request along with my business plan.”

“Of a bank?”

“No, an investment company in Slovenia.” Yvgeny smiled without humor. “But don’t let the fact that it’s not a bank fool you. The investors require me to make a profit and regular payments.”

“I see,” Brian said slowly.

Yup, the gears in his head were grinding hard.

Brian cleared his throat. “About my brother...”

Yvgeny pulled a piece of paper out of a pocket and handed it to his new employee.

Brian took it, unfolded it, and stared at the name and contact information for the loan shark. “Shit,” he whispered.

“What are you going to do?” Yvgeny asked, working hard to keep his morbid curiosity to himself. Brian’s decisions and actions regarding his brother’s stupidity would be an even better gauge of who he was and what he was capable of than this silly interview.

Brian’s gaze met his, and no trace of the nervous young man remained. The FBI agent was looking at him now, confident and cool. “How did you find out about this?”

The implication that Yvgeny was involved somehow was clear in his tone.

“It came up in your background check. Company standard. We want to be sure our employees have no...unexpected weaknesses that could be exploited.”

The kid stared at him. “Exploited?”