In the Beginning (Volkov Bratva #1)(65)

It seemed, no matter how hard she tried to shield her from it, Lauren was uncovering a truth that Susan had tried to shield her from.

Pinching the last page between her thumb and forefinger, she ripped it from the book, setting it in her dresser drawer. She didn’t delude herself into thinking that Lauren would find out the truth sooner or later, but she would protect her from it for as long as she could.





Chapter twenty:


The Old Diner


Aunt Sally’s Diner was a hole in the wall in Lauren’s rural town, but it served some of the greatest burgers that he had ever tasted, even with all of the amazing restaurants in New York. It was just as lively as she remembered, the regulars seated in the cracked vinyl booths, the upgraded digital jukebox playing one of the newer pop songs Sally was so fond of.

Ross and Lauren took up their regular booth by the windows, Ross on the right side so he had a clear view of the entrance. Always the cop even when he was off duty.

They read over the menus out of habit rather than necessity, already knowing what they were going to order. Over the tope of her menu, Lauren spotted Christina, a girl she knew from high school, skating towards them, pulling out the familiar hot pink notepad to take their orders.

She smiled warmly at Ross, her blonde ponytail swishing over her shoulder. “Hey Detective T, you want your regular?”

He closed the menu, handing it over to her. “Sure, that’s fine.”

Scribbling his order down, Christina prepared a smile for Lauren too, but it faltered once she recognized her. “Lauren Thompson, right? I haven’t seen you since graduation. How’ve you been?”

“Good.”

“I heard you moved up to New York? What’s it like up there?”

“Busy,” she said. “How are you?”

“You remember Justin Rogers?” She asked, her face practically glowing.

Truthfully, Lauren hardly remembered anyone from high school, but she politely nodded anyway.

“We got married this past October.” She flashed a small diamond ring, but from the way she was bursting with happiness, it didn’t matter the size of it.

“That’s great. I’m happy for you,” she said and actually meant it.

After a bit more small talk and catching up, Christina skated away to put their orders in. Reaching for her water, Ross snagged her wrist, whistling at the sight of her bracelet.

“Christmas present?” He asked with a knowing smile.

“My mom told you?”

“She might’ve mentioned a new boyfriend, but I was waiting for you to tell me about him” Ross said taking a sip of his coffee.

Before she might have been embarrassed but giddy, willing to tell him all about Mishca, but she couldn’t, not now, not when she wasn’t sure where they stood.

She shrugged. “He’s just a guy I met.”

“A guy? How old is he?”

“Twenty-four.”

He hmphed, looking disapproving. “Isn’t he a little old for you?”

“Don’t go into father mode, Ross. Four years isn’t that big of a difference.”

“Uh huh and what does he do?”

She winced, knowing he wasn’t going to like her answer. “He owns a club. In his defense,” she went on before he could interject, “it’s a very nice club.”

“Not a strip club?”

She laughed. “No, not a strip club.”

“Went to school?”

“Graduated.”

“Kids?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Any sisters?”

“One, her name is Alex.”

Ross slid his cup to the side as Christina appeared, refilling it. “Can always judge a man by how he treats his sister.”

“Then he’s a great guy,” she said though her voice sounded sad even to her. Changing the subject, she said, “I found some of my dad’s old things the other day. I was thinking maybe I can take a look at his case files.”

It had occurred to her that she might have seen the words in the files from the days she went down to the precinct, and since she couldn’t pronounce them then, her subconscious had attached Viktor’s voice to them.

He frowned, giving her the cop stare. As a child, it intimidated her enough to make her follow his every word, but now it just made her smile. “Why would you want to do that?”

Thankfully, she was given a moment to think of a proper response that might sway him when Christina arrived with their food and a refill on Ross’ tea.

“It couldn’t hurt, right?” She asked. “You know, a fresh pair of eyes might help.”

That elicited a chuckle out of him. “You’re not a cop, Lauren, and you haven’t said anything about trying to become one.”

“I wanted to read through them. I was only five when it happened and I think I’m old enough now to understand whatever’s in there.”

She looked down at her plate, pushing the eggs around with her fork as she waited for the verdict. Could she move on from this if he didn’t hand them over?

She was plotting out ways to convince him when he finally sighed and said, “Why not. When are you headed home?”

“The day after tomorrow.”