Time Stood Still (Volkov Bratva #3.5)(11)

Luka went around the back, going to bring the car around while they waited outside. Mishca scanned the street, not very surprised at the unmarked car that was parked a few blocks down. He knew he was under a microscope, so he always made sure to pay careful attention to when and how he conducted his business.

Once Luka arrived, he hopped out the front, popping the trunk to place their luggage in. He reached for the bag Lauren held, but she smiled tightly, as she hefted it in herself, not meeting his eyes as she said, “I got it.”

Lauren was nice, more so than she needed to be in the world they lived in, and Mishca had never seen her treat Luka with anything less than sisterly affection. Now? She looked like she didn’t even want to be around him.

Mishca looked between the pair, trying to decipher what the problem was, but the moment he asked, Lauren smiled with a shake of her head, and Luka didn’t bother with a response at all. Once Lauren was beside him in the back of the Range Rover, and Luka was maneuvering them into the morning traffic, Mishca looked over to Lauren.

“What did he do?”

It was clear that it was definitely something, he knew her too well to think otherwise, even as she continued to deny it.

Ignoring that, he asked, “Do I need to have a word with him?”

“It’s fine, Mish. I’ve got it under control.”

She fell silent again as she took out her phone, absorbed in whatever she was looking through on her phone. He left her to it, needing to send out a few last minute messages to some of his men that were not in the need to know about him leaving the city.

While they were only going to be in Michigan for a couple of days, his plan to take them to Sardinia was going to be a bit longer, three. He would have loved to stay gone for longer, but currently, he couldn’t afford to let his businesses go unattended for that long.

Even before he became Pakhan, there were always enemies hovering, waiting for the moment when he would make a mistake so that they could steal territory from him, encroach on his business contacts, but Mishca hadn’t gotten this far by making mistakes, and so long as he had allies, he could be fine.

But Lauren didn’t need to know any of that. When he’d agreed to this trip, he’d promised her that she would make it as normal for her—and Susan—as he could. He knew the ties his family had with them, and he didn’t want to disrupt their life by bringing in reminders of what his family had caused.

He agreed to not have security tail them while they were with her mother and Ross, but though unknown to her, he did have a few people that would be meeting them in Sardinia. Though he didn’t anything of significance would happen while they were there, he would rather be safe than sorry.

JFK International came into view as they pulled up along the curb, Luka throwing on the hazard lights as he climbed out. Mishca got out next, extending his hand to Lauren to pull her out.

It took no time at all for Luka to unload their luggage, but before they went off to enter the airport, Luka stopped them.

“Yo?”

Lauren glanced back at Luka, ever patient though she still looked reluctant to talk to him. Luka turned back to the car, reached across the front seat, grabbing the small plant that Mishca had wondered about.

She looked just as confused as Mishca felt as Luka handed it over to her with a hopeful expression, digging his hands in his pockets as he rocked back on his heels.

“What is this?” She asked, turning it over in her hands, running her finger over one of the leaves.

“An olive branch.”

This meant nothing to Mishca, but whatever secret meaning it held for the two of them, it made Lauren smile slowly, and whatever tension that had been consistent between them vanished in that moment.

She went to him, wrapping her arms around him, rising up to kiss his cheek. She whispered something in his ear, and he mumbled a response, neither of which Mishca could hear, but whatever was said made Lauren nod and smile again.

“We should get going,” Mishca called to her.

Luka slammed the trunk shut, moving to hug Mishca as well, stopping short when Mishca glared at him. “No worries, Boss. I’ll hold down the fort.”

As he headed around the back of the car towards the driver’s seat, Mishca called out to him, “Watch after Alex.”

His hands flexed into fists at his sides, but for once, the enforcer didn’t give a response.

***

True to Mishca’s word, it didn’t feel like they were connected to a Russian mob syndicate once they were alone in the airport. It had actually been his idea to fly commercial as opposed to taking a private plane. In the crowded airport, as they waited to be called, they sat in a relatively secluded corner next to an outlet, Lauren’s iPad on the charger, her legs thrown over his even with the relatively small space they were in.

She hadn’t thought much of what it would be like to go on a trip like a ‘normal’ married couple when she had booked this one, but now that it was just the two of them, no constant ringing phones, casual clothes, and zero security, she liked this idea more and more.

“Hungry?” He asked looking over at her.

“Just something to drink.”

He easily climbed to his feet, traveling well across the room to a row of vending machines. Before, it hadn’t been much of a surprise that Mishca garnered attention wherever he went, but now it was hard for Lauren not to notice the side-eyed stares—undoubtedly because of the press covering Mishca’s, albeit a short one, trial.