“What the fuck is this?” I ask, my eyes flitted between them, unable to believe what I’m seeing. I have the distinctive impression I’ve been betrayed, and I don't like it one bit. Suddenly, I feel completely and utterly alone. “What the hell is going on here?”

Not only am I confused about what’s going on between Karen and Alexi, but I’m surprisingly jealous about whatever it is. I had no idea the two of them were in touch.

“Okay,” Alexi starts, holding out his hands trying to calm me down, but it only inflames me. “Let’s all just go and sit down so we can discuss this fully.” I do as he asks, despite the fact that I’m pissed off, and as soon as we’re all sitting down, he launches into his explanation. “I went down to the police station, to talk with Karen today because I thought that she might have been the one that attacked you in the bathroom...”

“No,” I shoot back quickly. “If you’d just asked me, I would have been able to tell you that it was someone completely different.”

It was a man, I was sure of it, but as if she wants to prove me wrong and embarrass me in front of Alexi, Karen lifts up her top to reveal Taser marks.

Shit. My heart sinks as I realize that it was her. Then a hot burst of anger overtakes me—she is supposed to be a police officer, someone who upholds the law! What the hell is she doing playing around with criminals? Plus, she seemed utterly convinced that I killed Damien when she first questioned me. Now am I to understand that she was part of it all along?

Also, why the fuck is she sitting next to the man I adore on the couch, while I’m sitting across from them? It’s as if the dynamic has completely shifted, and now I’m the outsider.

I’m the one who has been sleeping with him, I’m the one he gave a necklace to... Karen is nothing. Or at least that’s what I thought.

“Can you just... tell me everything?” I hiss. “I don't want to hear it from you, Alexi. I don't feel like you can make me understand why the fuck a cop is blaming Dimitri for the murder. I can’t wrap my head around it, and I need to understand.”

“Okay,” Karen slides forward in her seat, and looks at me intently. “You’re angry, and I understand that, but I want you to know this isn’t a position that I ever thought I’d be in. I don't want to be in this position any more than you do.”

But I’m not falling for her attempt at bonding with me. I slump backwards and fold my arms across my chest.

“I was assigned the case to do with Damien and Dimitri... it was known to the police that they were involved in drugs, but they were very clever about hiding everything. You know how they are, very secretive.”

I nod stiffly, not wanting to give her too much.

“But as soon as I started to get involved, working undercover, it became clear that there were a lot of disputes between your husband and his brother, stuff that escalated badly.”

“Damien never had anything bad to say about his brother,” I start, but that doesn’t stop her.

“Dimitri wanted him out of the business. Now, I can see he wanted it all for himself, but at the time I got suckered into believing that he just wanted to shut it all down. He wanted to help me take Damien down on the promise that he wouldn’t continue... and I’m ashamed to say that I fell for his lies.”

The police officer’s cheeks turn pink, and I find myself leaning in to hear more. “I fell for him.”

That makes my heart fall into my shoes. I can believe as much. I can relate to how easy it would be to fall for Dimitri. He’s sweet, kind, generous... even I am not immune to his charms.

“I fell for him hard, and that was my downfall.” Karen sighs, and for the first time since she entered this house, I actually feel kind of sorry for her. “He then started on a new plan... to have Damien murdered. I didn’t agree to it, of course. In fact I was horrified, but by then I was in too deep. I don't know what caused the shift in him, why his behavior suddenly took a killer turn, but it did.”

She stares deeply into my eyes, and I can see that every word she speaks is true. “And that’s when he started to talk about you all of the time. I realized then that I’d been a fool. He’d never cared for me at all. I tried my best to back out, but then he took my daughter.”

Oh fuck.

I jump as horror courses through my veins. She has a daughter who has been taken? By Dimitri? What the fuck? I don't even know what the hell to think anymore.

“Okay,” I nod sharply, having made my decision. “Okay, I understand what you’re both saying, and I need to know for sure.”

My mind reels, and I jerk my head to look at Alexi. “I’ll do it. I’ll message Dimitri. Then I’ll go to his home. Let’s just... let’s do this.”

“Are you sure?” He asks, furrowing his eyebrows. Clearly, he sees beneath the facade and wants to make sure I’m alright... but what he doesn’t know is that I can’t deal with him right now. I just need to get this done.

“I’m sure. If Dimitri has Karen’s daughter, then we need to figure this out. This isn’t about me anymore, it’s about a child.” If I zone in on that fact, rather than all the bullshit surrounding it all, I have a purpose that I can work towards. I can see that Karen is in a state about her child, and I really don't think that she’s making that up. If Dimitri can do that to a woman, then maybe murdering his own brother isn’t beyond him either. “Let’s just set this up.”

“Okay, well... why don't you send him a message?” Alexi asks, looking surprised I’m so willing to get the ball rolling. “See when he can do it. Maybe this weekend?”

‘Hi Dimitri, I’ve been thinking about what you asked me earlier all day, and I think so time out of the city would be good for me. Does the offer still stand to stay at your villa? I could drive over tonight if so x’

I include the kiss at the bottom as a promise of something I now know that he wants. I don't really want to offer it to him, but if he thinks it’s on the table, he might be more likely to agree. My heart thumps painfully in my chest as I stare at my phone, waiting for a reply, and it only takes a minute for one to pop up.

‘Of course, Nadia, that would be lovely! I’m here now, so please do come xxx’

“Okay,” I announce, standing up. “I’m going over there tonight, so I really hope that you’re ready for this.” My tone might be cold, my emotions shut off, but I’m all business now. If I allow my feelings to come into play I’m afraid I’ll fall apart. The fact that I’m learning everything I’ve ever known about the people in my life is bullshit, plus the insane jealousy that I can’t seem to shut off despite everything that I’ve just learned, is killing me.

I need to keep focused.

“Right,” Alexi replies, snapping into business mode too. “That’s good. You go over there, we’ll follow behind, and while you’re distracting Dimitri, we will see what we can find. We can have a look through his villa, and determine if he has anything incriminating there. It might be a long shot, but it isn’t like we have anything else.” I watch as he glances over to Karen. “We should at least be able to find some information on where your daughter is being held.”

Fucking hell. I don't like the idea of them hanging out alone even longer, even if it is the best thing we can do right now, but what choice do I have? I gulp everything down painfully and nod.

“I’ll also be doing my part,” I insist, not wanting to just be the honey trap in this. “I’ll get Dimitri to confess some stuff too.” Okay, so I might not be able to find out for sure if he killed Damien, but he may well tell me more about the business, and I might find some clues as to where Karen’s daughter is being held. “But first off, I need to look amazing.”

My motive for this is two part. I do want to keep Dimitri interested and therefore distracted and I want him to think things might be going somewhere between us, but I also want Alexi to be jealous too.

I want the man I love to be thinking about me with Dimitri, in the same way that I’ll be thinking about him with Karen.

Luckily, I still have a bag of my things in the back of the car, and there’s a really nice dress in there that will be perfect for the occasion. It’s not too dressy, which might look suspicious, but it does hug my curves and show off a little cleavage.

As soon as I’ve put the dress on and fixed my hair, I examine my appearance in the mirror. I suppose I don't look bad, considering. But all I can see is the slightly crazed look behind my eyes, the one that suggests I might be in way too deep.

“Let’s go,” I say, trying to sound confident as I walk back out into the hallway where Karen and Alexi are waiting. They both turn to look at me, and right away I spot a spark of desire in Alexi’s eyes.

Good, he should know what this jealousy feels like. Because it’s driving me insane! I can’t stand the thought of being away from him, and I want him to struggle with it too—even if it’s not helpful to our task. “I’ll drive over there, and I guess I’ll see you later.”

I push past them and climb into my car. I’m a messy mixture of fear, anger, and jealousy—probably not the best combination heading into the lion’s den. But maybe I’m doing this at the right time, when I’m so pissed off that I’m not thinking about how dangerous this could be.

I need to get this over and done with so I can put this part of my life behind me.

In my rear view mirror, I notice Karen get into Alexi’s car with him. Soon his engine is roaring behind me, but I’m doing my best to keep my eyes trained forward, rather than looking back at them. I need to get into the mindset of taking Dimitri down... or at the very least finding out whether or not he’s guilty.

Is it possible he’s really behind all of this?

Am I being naive by assuming that I can take him at face value?

I hope I will be able to read him properly, because if not, everything around me might be about to fall apart.

Again.