MADISYN
Standing outside Steele Concierge Medical,I stare up at the tall, white building as it towers above me. I feel small and insignificant in comparison, but my contribution is more than just as a nurse.
“Waiting for something?” Hannah asks.
I take a swig from the cup of coffee in my hand. “The caffeine to kick in?” I was waiting for my colleague with the FBI, Special Agent Savannah Blakely, to make contact. She never did show up at the coffee shop.
Hannah grabs my arm and drags me in through the front door, oblivious to the fact that I secretly work for the FBI as a forensic nurse.
We show our badges to security before being granted entrance past the lobby for the elevators.
“Check out the eye candy at six o’clock,” Hannah whispers to me as we approach the long hallway of elevators. There are eight elevators, four on each side, making it so that no one has to wait too long for a ride up to their floor.
I suppose when you pay twenty-five thousand dollars a person per yearly enrollment fee, the least they can do is not make it a long wait to see your physician.
I inconspicuously glance in the direction Hannah suggests. A gentleman with a dark, scruffy beard, dark eyes, and tattoos covering his arms, chest, and up to his neck meets my stare.
It’s Mikhail Barinov, my target.
Is that why Savannah bailed on my ass this morning? Did she see him enter the building on her way to the coffee shop?
I wouldn’t expect a text or phone call from her. My FBI-issued cell phone is at my desk in the city. I have a burner phone that the bureau provided me with, and Savannah has direct orders not to use that phone number. Contact between us is kept to a minimum.
“Hot, right?” Hannah says with a wicked grin. “I hope he ends up as one of my patients today. I’d love to do a full physical exam on him.”
“I never took you for the tattooed, bad boy type,” I say. She’s got a boyfriend at home. He’s sweet, charming, and an accountant. There’s not much of a fantasy wrapped up in that package.
Hannah is a ray of sunshine, and Mikhail is positively trouble. Thankfully, she’s just looking and not going to ask for his phone number.
The elevator doors ding open. Hannah shuts her mouth, I do the same, and we step inside first.
Mikhail shuffles in as well, his suit coat off, draped over his arm. Accompanying him, is a bodyguard or one of his men. He has a half-dozen bodyguards based on the intel I reviewed before my undercover assignment.
I don’t specifically recognize the gentleman, but Mikhail did a short stint in prison awaiting his trial. It’s possible he made some new connections and grew his empire.
Neither appears to be injured or unwell at first glance. But Mikhail and his buddy could also be visiting a patient.
Or maybe he’s making sure he didn’t catch anything while behind bars. Who the hell knows why he’s showing up today?
The man in the prestigious suit coat presses the button to the third floor. There are a wide array of physicians and medical offices on the third floor. It doesn’t narrow down his reason for coming in today.
“Any lunch plans?” Hannah asks me, her mood downright chipper. Although she’s talking to me, she’s ogling the bratva leader. I’m confident that she has no idea who he is, or if she did, she’d shut it down right now.
“Just grabbing sandwiches with my new bestie?” I say, nudging her shoulder. “Assuming that we can get away for an hour.”
Hannah chuckles. “You’re lucky if you get a fifteen-minute break.”
My first assignment is to connect with Mikhail without appearing like I genuinely want to. If he senses that I’m desperate, he’ll see right through the charade. It must seem genuine, which is why he’ll need to make the first move.
That’s a tough sell in the elevator when he doesn’t know anything about me.
But he’s seen me.
That’s the first step.
And now that he’ll recognize me, hopefully, I can earn his trust.
The elevator dings, and Mikhail steps out along with his muscle, pretending that he didn’t even notice us or acknowledge our existence.
Except he did notice me.
His gaze locks with mine downstairs, and while I have to pretend it’s all business, there is something there. A spark that shouldn’t have been, and a stirring of feelings that make my stomach flutter and my heart rate quicken.
After the double doors shut, I shoot a look at Hannah. I can’t tell her he’s bratva, but he gives off the bad boy vibe. “You and bad boys with tattoos?” I joke.
“My parents sent me to boarding school. I guess I’m still rebelling.”
“Well, you'd better get it out of your system. Any day now, Mark is going to propose.”
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