The girl never even glanced our way. A woman of her status probably had men lined up. Smart. Capable. Beautiful. Rich. The Ashford family held sway over everything. They were the royal elite of the social and political world. Her brothers referred to as the Billionaire Kings. Except underneath all their shine, they had secrets and skeletons, just like anyone else.
Either way, a woman like Agent Ashford didn’t fuck around with men that dealt in shady businesses, had a fucked up past, and scars marking their body and mind.
Vasili and I strode out of the elevator. He didn’t even glance at the woman in front of us. Not that he ever looked at any other woman since Isabella. He had been texting with her since we left the house. My brother left her barely twenty minutes ago. It was a mystery what they could possibly be saying to each other.
Scratch that. I really didn’t want to know.
Just as we got to the office door, he shoved his phone into his pocket.
George McGovan.
The name neatly printed on the office name plate outside the door. It opened on cue and a man in his forties came face-to-face with us. His eyes lit up in recognition. Vasili and McGovan first crossed paths over a decade ago when Vasili saved his ass in some Russian prison. Ever since then, Vasili had been using him for information. He even managed to have McGovan wipe out some of my activities flagged by the FBI. Of course, McGovan didn’t rank high enough to be able to wipe out all my shit.
“Mr. Nikolaev,” he greeted us, extending his hand. “Two Nikolaevs.”
He grinned like it was the best joke ever.
“Special Agent McGovan,” Vasili greeted him, accepting his hand shake.
I never moved. I fucking hated touching people. I’d much rather break his hand than shake it. It had nothing to do with being a germaphobe and everything to do with what that fuck Ivan had done to me.
The special agent readied to extend his handshake my way, but Vasili interrupted him.
“Can we get right to business?” Vasili demanded more than asked.
“Of course, of course.” The special agent glanced around, his eyebrows scrunching. “I see my secretary has disappeared again.”
Both Vasili and I kept our gaze on the man. We wanted to get this done and get the fuck out of here. We weren’t on the wanted list, but it wasn’t as if we were strictly legal either. God knew I wasn’t. The FBI had been sniffing around me since the moment I stepped foot on U.S. soil. Ivan Petrov was known for his criminal activities; although nothing had ever been pinned on him. He had enough scapegoats to pin crimes on.
And unfortunately, my name had been part of his crimes. After all, I was the executioner. His personal killer.
McGovan stepped out of the way as we strode into his office. Vasili sat down opposite the FBI director, while I remained standing, leaning against a cheap gray stand up file cabinet that protested at my weight. It was hard to get rid of some habits, one of them being the need to be close to the exit. When you grew up surrounded by enemies, it was ingrained into you. If not, you were dead.
The moment we were all situated, Vasili didn’t waste any time.
“Like I mentioned on the phone,” Vasili started. “We have some valuable information that will help with solving the kidnappings of young boys in New Orleans and throughout Louisiana.”
What the FBI didn’t know was that these kidnappings were happening all over the United States. In fact, all over the world. Most of the boys that were taken were never found again.
“I see.” McGovan rubbed his hands, like he was already mentally counting what solving this case might do for his career. “Can you send over what you have?”
“No.” It was the first time I spoke. The special agent’s head snapped my way.
“The only way this will work is for you to assign your team to work with us,” Vasili explained, ignoring his question. “Once the culprit is captured, he is all yours.”
This wasn’t a capture mission. This was a kill the fucking bastard and the FBI could have his dead body type of mission. The FBI had no idea who was responsible, but they had a team and resources. I knew exactly who was responsible but needed access to their resources. One resource in particular.
“And you will remove Alexei out of your database completely,” Vasili added. “I don’t care how. I just want it done.”
I didn’t move to look at him. I told him I didn’t give a shit if I was on the FBI radar or not. They’d never catch me or find anything that could be upheld in court. But my brother was stubborn and adamant about fixing his mother’s sins. They weren’t his to fix. If that bitch was still breathing, I’d skin her alive.
“That’s not exactly how it works,” McGovan explained, pulling my thoughts back.
Vasili stood up, fixing his impeccable suit, pretending to wipe off nonexistent specs of dust. He was giving the idiot time to realize this would go only one way.
“Hold on. Are you leaving?” McGovan asked with a slight panic in his voice.
“Yes.” Vasili pinned my boss with a stare. “There is only one way this is going to go. We have information that will help end these kidnappings. You have the resources. Assign the core team to us. We’ll take care of the rest. The only thing you need to take care of is wiping Alexei out of your system.”