The Final Hour (Volkov Bratva #3)(56)

“Who I am is inconsequential. Besides, you’re going to die soon.”

“You shot my husband.”

The mercenary shrugged, dropping her bag at her feet. “Guilty.”

“Why?” She already knew why, she just needed to stall for some time. Surely if she didn’t check in with Klaus, he would come looking for her.

“Nothing personal,” she said as she pulled the pins from her hair, though they looked less like accessories and more like sharpened blades. “You’re just a job. Besides, I needed the practice. No worries though dear, I’ll make it quick for you.”

“Come on Rayne, can’t let you do that.”

While she was glad Klaus had finally made his appearance, Lauren didn’t breathe a sigh of relief at the sight of him. Instead, she stayed perfectly still. There was no guarantee that anything she did would help the situation, especially in a room full of trained killers.

The mercenary, Rayne, tilted her head in a way so that she could both see Klaus and Lauren. Clearly Klaus had forgotten to mention some pretty important details, like the fact that he actually knew the mercenary they were looking for, but she looked just as surprised to see him.

“I don’t know what you expect to accomplish here, Vor, but you should leave while you still have your life.”

“No choice. I live the trade of dead men, don’t I?”

Something passed between them, an unspoken message, but it was clearly enough for Rayne to get what he was saying to her. She turned away from Lauren, facing Klaus head on. Lauren was clearly no longer a threat in her eyes, at least not until Rayne dealt with Klaus. Trying not to be a distraction to Klaus, Lauren took slow steps in the opposite direction, backing into a corner, out of the way.

“You’re not the Russian despite the nearly flawless accent. Who are you?”

Klaus shrugged, unperturbed by her demanding tone, dropping the fake accent. “I’m no one.”

“Is that why you never showed your face?” Rayne asked, palming one of her blades with an absent smile. “You’re smart, Red.”

“Take off, Rayne,” he said, straightening his stance. “Whoever hired you will die anyway, your contract will be void. While I’ve always respected our relationship, she’s my job, and I don’t want to kill you.”

“As if you could.”

With two fingers pointed in her direction, he waved her on.

In movies, they always ran at each other in a flurry of motion, but neither Klaus nor Rayne moved, still watching each other…at least until Lauren bumped into the edge of the desk, knocking a container full of pens to the floor.

For just a fraction of a second, Klaus’ gaze flickered to her, and then Rayne attacked. He reared back, just as the sharpened blade barely missed his jugular.

He swung, she parried. She kicked him in the gut, but he recovered quickly enough, grabbing hold of her foot and yanking her forward.

They went back and forth, the bass of the music covering up the sound of glass breaking.

Lauren didn’t think Rayne could make a mistake, that she and Klaus were evenly matched, but one mistake changed what was an equal battle. When she struck at him with one of her blades, he jerked back at the last second, spinning to move behind her.

Faster than either of them could process, he snapped her neck. She didn’t make a sound as she slumped forward, her head twisted at an awkward angle. It didn’t matter that it was not Lauren’s first dead body, she was still hyperventilating as the mercenary’s eyes stayed fixed on her.

She breathed deeply through her nose and out through her mouth, trying to calm her racing heart, but it didn’t seem to be working.

“She’s not going to freak out on us, is she?” Celt asking entering the room, barely giving the dead mercenary a glance before grinning at Klaus.

“If she does, throw something at her.”

“Hey you.” Klaus snapped in her face a couple of times, forcing her attention on him. “Don’t freak out, yea? Don’t need your damn Russian to make an ass out of himself because of it.”

Lauren nodded, but she didn’t really hear him. Clearing her throat, she focused on anything other than the body. “What are you going to do about her?”

There was nothing they could do until after the club closed and every last person had left. In that time, Lauren had stayed in the office with Celt, staying on the phone with Mishca until Luka arrived. Celt had been kind enough to stand in front of her, blocking the sight of the body.

Klaus came back in, pacing the floor, looking apprehensive. When he saw Lauren on the phone, he took the phone, putting it up to his ear. “You’ll see her within the hour, f*ck off.” Then, proceeded to turn it off.

“Do you need to piss him off every time you talk to him?”

“I have family issues,” he said dryly.

“Clearly.”

Luka finally walked in, completely ignoring Klaus altogether. They seemed to avoid each other whenever they were in the same room together, probably because of their first meeting together.

“Why do I alway have to take care of the bodies?” Luka complained as he shrugged off his jacket. “Does no one care that the bitch’ll probably smell? I just bought these damn jeans!”

“How on earth do you put up with him?” Celt asked looking baffled, scratching at his beard.