In the Beginning (Volkov Bratva #1)(73)

“Lauren, I presume? I’m Detective Rodriguez.”

She shook his hand, eyeing him warily. He had that look that Ross used to wear when he came by to discuss her father’s case, like he knew something that might hurt her.

“I need you to tell me anything you know about the Volkovs.”

“I told you,” Ross interjected. “She doesn’t know anything.”

He still didn’t look satisfied. “I don’t. I only ever met Mishca’s father over the break.”

“Did you hear anything out of the ordinary? Did they do anything? You know as well as I do,” he said to Ross when he made to protest, “that they won’t take any chances if there is even the slightest possibility that she can incriminate one of them.”

She shook her head, but she did remember the cryptic conversation between Viktor and Mikhail in the hallway before Mishca pulled her away.

“I have to call this in.”

“You can’t. They even catch wind that she might have talked to you, that’s it for her and I can’t let that happen. It doesn’t make a difference what she tells me, I have no jurisdiction here.”

They talked, the words flying right over Lauren’s head as she sank down on the couch, dropping her head in her hands. Never could she have imagined this turn of events.

She didn’t realize she was shaking until Ross crouched in front of her, rubbing her arms up and down. “Nothing’s going to happen to you. I won’t let it.”

***

It was only minutes after they left that there was another knock at the door. Since the buzzer hadn’t went off, she assumed they had come back because they had forgotten something, but Mishca stood on the other side.

In hindsight, she could definitely see the ‘mob’ aspect in the way he carried himself. Always dressed impressively. No nonsense attitude. The formidable bodyguard that even now was standing off to the side. Mishca didn’t have any tattoos on his hands, or any that were visible unless he was in short-sleeves, but on Vlad, there were more than she had ever noticed before.

Play it cool. That was the trick to make sure they wouldn’t suspect anything. She stepped to the side, not trusting her voice in the moment. He swept past her, but Vlad stayed motionless in the hallway.

“I didn’t know you were home,” Mishca started, not bothering to sit at all. “Until Thomas Ross came by the manor earlier.”

The gun tucked into the waistband of her jeans seemed to heat up as she took a cautious step back. Ross had given it to her before he left, making her promise that she would use it if she needed to.

An emotion flashed in his eyes, but he looked down before she could properly read it. Unbuttoning his suit jacket, he opened it, spinning in a slow circle for her to see.

“I can tell from your face that you’ve already spoken to him. I’m not here to hurt you.”

“It’s not true,” she said after some time, her voice cracking. “Mish, say it isn’t true.”

“That’s not why I’m here.”

Mishca was not one to shy away from a question, this much Lauren knew, at least until she thought about the questions she had asked him that inadvertently dealt with his family.

“Then what do you want if you’re not here to silence me?”

He flinched like she had struck him, but he almost seemed angry at her. “I don’t know what you think you know, but I don’t want you to do something that you’ll regret.”

“Okay.” What more could she say to that?

He watched her. She watched him. Neither willing to confess to what they knew. A hard knock at the door startled her. Vlad pushed the door open.

“Rebecca is waiting for you in the car.”

Lauren choked, shooting an accusing look in Mishca’s direction. “Rebecca? One night stand, Rebecca?”

He looked at her, unwavering, and shrugged. “You and I aren’t working.”

It was the right thing to do, end things now before it was too late for her, but that didn’t stop his words from cutting through her.

“Why are you doing this?” She asked helplessly, not knowing whether she was asking why he was breaking up with her or why he was with Rebecca. Either way, she wanted an answer.

“It’s the only way,” he whispered trying to convey a deeper meaning that she just wasn’t getting.

“Fine. It’s over.”

“Lauren—”

“I never knew you,” she said cutting him off. “I doubt anything you’ve ever told me was true anyway.”

He seemed momentarily taken aback by her words, like he had been expecting her to protest, but she needed him to know that, although what she had said was how she felt, she was also telling him that she wouldn’t speak of what she knew to anyone.

After several seconds, he nodded, seeming irritated but accepting of her words. Even as she watched him walk out the door, she hoped that he would turn back.

This, all of it, was turning into a cluster-f*ck that she had no idea how it was going to play out.

***

Mishca stood in the hall, staring at the closed apartment door. He almost wished he had done this months ago, before they had meant anything to each other. Seeing the fear in her eyes made his heart constrict and he wanted to fix this, but he had to push her away.