Page 57 of Sinner's Sacrifice

Just as he had always supported his cousin, even if his cousin had no idea he was doing it.

“I have begun a discreet investigation of my employees,” Yvgeny said, drawing everyone’s attention. “And contacts. My surveillance team is also auditing camera footage from all of my properties in the city for the last three months.”

Nika studied him for several seconds. “What do you have them looking for?”

“Patterns of behavior.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?” She sat down next to Baz, and they both turned to look at him. Nika’s gaze was curious. Baz looked...tired. Not old, but worn-out. He knew. He knew exactly what Yvgeny was looking for.

Davis and Williams, who had both been watching the conversation like a couple of gawkers at a tennis match, started taking notes. Davis on his phone. Williams in a paper notebook.

Yvgeny looked down at his hands for a moment. Did he truly want to tell these people, some of whom might still end up becoming an enemy, something this integral to who he was?

“Whatever you’re doing, tell them, Yvgeny,” Baz said. “To build trust, someone must take the first step.” There was a note to Bazyli’s voice Yvgeny hadn’t heard for a very long time. It wasn’t a suggestion. It was a command.

Nika gave Baz a sharp look. She noticed too.

Samantha pulled the chair out next to him and sat. Confusion had brought eyebrows low over her eyes. Confusion and impatience. An expression he’d seen on her face so many times, it was normal.

“Do you still think I’m a big, scary, crime boss?” he asked her.

She sucked in a breath, opened her mouth...and hesitated. “No,” she said a moment later. “I think you’re eccentric and controlling and weird, but...you believed me.” The impatience left her face entirely. “And you’re helping me.” Her next words all but ran into each other on their way out of her mouth. “Why are you helping me? It doesn’t make any sense. There’s no reason for a rich dude like you to—”

Yvgeny put a finger against her mouth. “Patterns of behavior,” he said, speaking only to her. “Human beings are predictable most of the time. Live and let live, is how most operate, but we also have a lot of vices that can be exploited.”

Her lips were so very soft.

He pulled his hand away. “You already know this.”

“Yes,” she whispered.

“When Baz told me about the human trafficking, I realized that I hadn’t been doing my job very well for the last few years. I’d gotten complacent.”

“What’s your job, Yvgeny?” Sam asked.

“I watch for crime, violence, murder, and for the missing.”

“Why would you do that?” Sam asked.

Yvgeny shrugged. “All of those things are bad for business.”

“Why?” Davis asked.

Yvgeny finally looked away from Sam’s face to see the two junior members of Nika’s team staring at him with open disbelief on their faces.

“We just had this conversation, gentlemen. How much more money do I make by ensuring my staff are properly paid and supported?” He didn’t wait for an answer. “I make nothing if I allow others to terrorize them.”

He looked at Nika. “Patterns of behavior are inevitable. People develop habits for all kinds of reasons. If we recognize the habit, we can...”

“Predict when and where the behavior will reoccur,” Nika finished for him.

“And because we’re looking for people going missing, we should be able to determine who isn’t around anymore. We might even discover we have footage of their capture and removal.”

Nika nodded. “Three months?”

“Yes.”

“Have you found anything interesting yet?”