The Final Hour (Volkov Bratva #3)(42)

“You wouldn’t have shown up if you did, and if you had, you wouldn’t be talking to me. Plus, too many witnesses”

He smirked like he found her amusing. “I could snap your neck before you uttered a sound. I would tell you to ask your Russian, but—” He shrugged like he hadn’t a care in the world, “—he can’t answer anything at the moment.”

He was baiting her, much like Luka did on a day-to-day basis, but unlike him, Klaus wasn’t doing it to make her laugh.

“Mishca said you were the best sniper he knew, which tells me that if you were the one to shoot him, you wouldn’t have missed his heart.”

“True enough, but I still fail to see why I’m here.”

“I want you to find the person who did this.”

“Not my problem.”

Lauren frowned, squeezing her hands together as she tore her eyes from Mishca to look over at him. “Whatever happened between the two of you, he’s still your brother.”

Rolling his eyes, he bit out, “If you think to appeal to me that way, you clearly don’t know shit. Word of advice, walk away before you’re in a bed next to him.”

She was shaking her head before he even finished. “I can’t do that.”

“Then you’re far more stupid than I thought. We done here?”

With long strides, he was nearly out the door, but she jumped to her feet, quickly making him an offer before he could take another step.

“I’ll pay you! Just name your price.”

She didn’t know much about mercenaries, or how they worked, but if they were anything like she thought, he would be willing to trade his services for currency, no matter if he hated the person he was working for.

He turned back, blatantly laughing at her. “You couldn’t afford me.”

Steeling her resolve, she tilted her chin up a fraction, staring at him daringly. “Name your price.”

“Half a million.”

He didn’t look like he expected her to agree to that amount—it was far more than he charged normally for a similar job—but he failed to remember that fear made people desperate.

“Done.”

Klaus studied her for several moments before shaking his head, seeming baffled by her answer.

“What are you going to do next time?” Klaus asked her as he crossed to her side, making her crane her neck to look at his face. “You have to know this won’t be the only attempt on his life. “

“I’ll do what I have to,” she said with conviction.

“How easily you’re willing to take out someone else to save your precious lover. And if the person you’re hunting is a father, with a wife and child, still want me to take the shot?”

His words had the desired effect, making her flinch, losing some of her bravado.

“You’re no better than them, are you?”

This time, Lauren didn’t try to stop him as he walked out the room. Turning, she went back to sit at Mishca’s side, trying to put out of her mind what Klaus had just said.

Because a part of her feared it was true.



Some hours later, Lauren blinked her eyes open, not really sure what woke— “Luka, what the hell?”

He was crouched in front of her, his face just inches from hers, slowly chewing on a slice of orange, a smile stretching his lips when he finally noticed she was finally awake. Since he was in such a good mood—considering it was him—she doubted he knew about Klaus’ appearance the night before. She decided it could wait until later.

She shoved him back half-heartedly, sitting up so she could look around, then to Mishca. Everything was how it had been.

“What do you want? And where have you been? I was going to send out a search party.”

“I do my job, except I couldn’t find him. But enough about me, you’ve been here for three days and you kind of reek—”

“I showered yesterday, and considering you just woke me up, I have a valid excuse.”

He just went on like she hadn’t spoken. “—And it might be good for you to get prepared for when the Cap comes home.”

Lauren sat up straighter, looking over to where Mishca was still sleeping undisturbed. “Was there news? What did the doctors say, and why didn’t you wake me up?”

“I convinced a nurse to tell me. She was surprisingly flexible considering—”

“Luka!”

“Well you’re no fun. The swelling went down and they stopped the blah so he’ll be waking up and blah blah blah, good news. Plus, some other shit that I thought was boring.”

Lauren touched his shoulder, making him stop in the middle of his rambling. “Luka, please. What did they say?”

And surprisingly, he quoted whoever he talked to back to her, verbatim, even using the medical terminology that was a little lost on her. When he finished, and she could do no more but stare at him in amazement, he gave her a rather sad smile that made her wonder what was wrong.

“I never forget anything.” But just as quickly as that sudden sadness came over him, he snapped right out of it. “Ready to go?”

Deciding it was best not to argue with him, she gathered her stuff, and after giving Mishca a kiss, she left with him.

Since the shooting, she hadn’t been back to the new place, instead spending all of her time at the hospital, not that anyone seemed to mind. And it made it easier for her babysitter to watch after her, or at least that was Luka’s excuse though Lauren doubted that.