The Man by Her Door (Zoya Volkova Crime Thrillers Book 3) by Nadya Frank

Author:Nadya Frank [Frank, Nadya]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2025-10-30T00:00:00+00:00

Snow crunched beneath Vitaly’s boots as he trudged through the thick drifts, shoving aside low-hanging branches. Ahead of him, Alexey forged forward like a machine, ignoring every scratch and slap from the brush, too focused to care.

Goggles was leading the way.

Usually, domestic abusers crumbled in custody, breaking down and confessing without as much as a push. They should’ve dragged Elena’s ex to the cops. Only this guy felt different.

Dump him in an interrogation room, and the guy would find safety in handcuffs, shut his mouth, and claim he couldn’t remember a thing.

He had the air of a man who’d hurt someone and walked away still convinced he was in the right. Calculating. Lacking the panicked regret that usually made these bastards spill their guts.

That, of course, made trusting him an even dumber idea. Still, here they were, following him deep into the woods.

Vitaly probably should’ve texted someone. Tanya, specifically. It would’ve been the smart thing to do.

But the last thing he needed was to look helpless and dependent.

Zoya’s words came back to him, unwanted. Maybe she’d been right. Maybe, deep down, he wanted to prove something to Tanya. Impress her.

Not because he measured himself against Tanya’s coworkers.

He was insecure because he measured himself against Tanya.

Dating a woman who carried a service weapon had turned out to be more complicated than he’d expected. And that kept him from grabbing his phone now and letting her know where he was.

Alexey mumbled something, his words snatched away by the wind.

“What?” Vitaly asked, stepping up to close the gap between them.

Elena’s brother kept his eyes on the man ahead. “I said, his glasses fooled her. She thought he was decent, intellectual, or whatever. Like gandons don’t come with poor vision.”

Vitaly swept tangled branches out of his path. “Is he the boy’s father?”

“God, no. That guy’s long gone. And this four-eyed parasite’s got his own family, his own damn kids. And yet he still wouldn’t let her go.”

“Your parents said Elena didn’t have time for men,” Vitaly murmured.

That got a slow turn from Alexey, his expression colder than the wind cutting through the trees.

His eyes locked on Vitaly’s. “Who the hell are you?”

Vitaly told him about Bloodletter as they crossed the grove, reaching the edge of a shallow creek, frozen solid under the brutal February cold.

Goggles trudged along the bank, scanning the ground. He stopped at a lonely, dead tree and lowered his head.

“There was heavy snow that day,” he muttered.

He flicked a glance at Alexey, making a slight motion—almost like asking if he should start digging. Elena’s brother smacked his hand away and shoved him aside.

Vitaly stepped forward, planting himself between Goggles and the possible escape route, ready in case the bastard tried to bolt.

Together, they watched as Alexey dropped to his knees and tore into the mound of snow with bare hands. He worked in silence, breath coming in short, harsh bursts. Every so often, he stopped to shake out the cold from his raw fingers.

After a while, he paused and looked up at Goggles.

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