Page 6 of Sinner's Sacrifice

“The holder of that loan,” Yvgeny said looking at the paper in Brian’s hand. “Might ask for more than just monetary repayment.”

For a moment, the kid’s gaze was filled with a violence Yvgeny was all too familiar with. Then he tucked it all back inside, resuming his too young to have common sense act. “Stupid, idiot relatives,” he muttered.

Oh, yes, he was definitely hiring the kid. Yvgeny laughed. “I have a few of those. One in particular, my cousin Bazyli, is especially stupid.”

Brian pasted an expression of innocent interest on his face. “What did he do?”

Yvgeny smiled wide enough to ensure the kid saw his sharp canines. “He started dating a cop.”

“Why is that a problem?”

“She isn’t what you could call accommodating. She’s all, follow the law, Yvgeny or I’ll throw your ass in jail. Or, don’t kill that annoying asshole, Yvgeny or I’ll make sure you never see the light of day again.” He threw his hands up in the air. “As if I don’t know what will happen if I do something bad.”

Brian nodded a little too enthusiastically. “Riiiiight.”

“So,” Yvgeny said. “Can you start tomorrow?”

The young man hesitated only a moment before nodding. “Yes, sir.”

“Excellent. Present yourself to the security desk on the first floor of this building at eight o’clock in the morning. My chief of security will begin your on-boarding process.” He leaned forward with a suddenness that made the other man jerk back. And caught a whiff of something beneath the man’s cologne. Something unexpected, but familiar.

“I have two rules I require all of my employees to follow. One, do your job to the best of your ability. And two, don’t lie or hide information from me. If you can follow those rules...” He sat back with a magnanimous smile. “You’ll be rewarded with monetary bonuses every quarter.”

“Yes, sir,” Brian said as he got to his feet, the frown still etched between his eyebrows. He hesitated before extending his hand. “I can’t decide if you’re crazy or a genius, but it’ll be interesting to find out.”

Yvgeny laughed. “I certainly hope so. I hate to be bored.” He shook his new employee’s hand and took in another lungful of air through his nose. Well, well, he hadn’t imagined it. Brian Stettler possessed both the potential and the right genetic markers to become a vampire. And now he was in a place where Yvgeny could keep an eye on him.

Brian Stettler studied him with all the serenity of a drug addict who’d misplaced his next hit. Nodded with an uneven bob and dip, then left the small conference room.

Things were looking up.

Tomorrow should be anything but dull.

Yvgeny pulled out his cell phone and called his chief of security and second cousin, Mason Breznik, to explain what was going on with his new hire.

“I told him I know he’s an FBI agent, and he still accepted the job offer, so this should be fun,” Yvgeny said with more glee than was necessary.

Mason was always so formal. If he didn’t have the unfortunate tendency to kill people, he thought were abusing women or children, he’d be a great public face for the family. As it was, they’d had to cover up a number of deaths in Europe in the last year. He’d stuck to war-torn areas, so his murders were easier to hide, but their aunt had decided he and his twin brother Magnus needed a change of location and a minder. So, she sent them to Yvgeny with instructions to keep them out of trouble.

He accomplished it by making it look like they were keeping him out of trouble.

Mason sighed heavily. “Why do you do this, Yvgeny?”

“What? I’m tired of the bullshit.” So, fucking tired.

“Our aunt will have you killed if you allow the FBI anywhere near the family business.”

“He’s not going to have access to that, only our New York business interests. Block anything outside the United States from him. But in case our aunt asks, you can tell her Mr. Stettler has potential.”

“Understood,” Mason said, his deep voice dripping with distaste. “There’s a situation at the hotel.”

“Oh?”

“I wouldn’t mention it, but it involves the paramedic.”

Of course, it did.

Whenever he got bored, all he needed to do was have a conversation with his on-site paramedic, Samantha Dubets. Maybe he should add a couple of job titles to her responsibilities—Chief Arguer or Head of the Sarcasm Department.