“Yes.” He took another bite of his steak.
Val scrunched her nose at him. “Are you going to make me pull the information from you?” She took a sip of her wine as she watched him. “I can, you know.” She placed her hand on his. “Don’t make me.”
A small chuckle escaped him. She would. The woman was tenacious. “She met my father when he was doing some work in the oil fields of Russia. There was an educational exchange in the late seventies. Russia needed outside help to upgrade its crude oil infrastructure. My father met her the first time he was there. He went back three different times, and they fell in love. They devised a plan for her to leave Russia, and they were married in Switzerland before they moved back to the States. It took over a year to clear the diplomatic red tape for her to gain a visa.” He took another sip of water.
Val pushed her sautéed vegetables around her plate. “What was her maiden name?”
“Solntesevskaya. Nadia Solntesevskaya.” He watched Val’s face fall, and her eyes widened.
“Are you serious?”
“I am. She’s the daughter of Mikhail Solntesevskaya.” His mother was Bratva royalty, or she was until she married his father. A fact he found out as an adult while reading at a library instead of shivering on the streets. The name Solntesevskaya was infamous.
He’d never met his mother’s family, but he’d found her birth certificate in the closet while looking for Christmas gifts one year. He’d asked her who Nadia Solntesevskaya was. He’d never forget her reaction or the beating he’d gotten from his father. Soon after, he was sent to boarding school.
“Holy fuck. How did Guardian not know this?” Val stood up and started pacing. “What am I supposed to do with this?” she mumbled and turned, walking back and running her hand through her long white hair.
“Guardian may find out when they run this upgraded clearance. There wasn’t much need for more than a typical background check when I was watching over Mrs. Henshaw. My mother’s name was misspelled on the marriage certificate and the visa. She kept the spelling and became Nora Solsevski.” He sighed and looked at the food in front of him, which had lost all its allure.
Val paced and turned. He watched her start to shake her head, and then she stopped, looking at him. “You can’t go to Russia with me.”
“Why?”
“Why? Did you seriously just ask me that?” Her arms flew up in the air, and she groaned. “Smith, you arefamily. What if someone found out?”
He narrowed his eyes at her, confused by her consternation. He was a golden ticket for her. He could open doors she’d never be able to access. He might even be able to find out information on Komal. “Wouldn’t that be better for Guardian’s cause?”
“What?” She looked at him as if he’d grown three heads.
“I can provide you access to the inside of the Bratva. Information for your agency.”
“Ouragency.” She flopped down on the couch, and her silk robe fell open, revealing her long, lovely legs.
He let his glance linger for a moment before speaking, “Once they know, it’ll again beyouragency.” He shrugged. “I’ll return to my apartment if that’s what you want.” He’d offered his services, but he wouldn’t push the issue. Perhaps it was best if he left and let her do what she needed. The man Guardian called Harbinger could fly him back.
“Not true. Guardian doesn’t abandon its people.” She leaned forward and dropped her head into her hands. Her fall of hair draped past her knees, and Val flipped it back. “We need to talk to Anubis.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t hide this information. Management needs to know.” She flopped back onto the couch.
Smith stood up and made his way to where she sat, crouching in front of her. “Then don’t hide it. I’m a tool, like any other man you’ve used to complete your work. This one, Komal, is an animal who must be put down. If using my mother’s family name will assist you in doing so, then do it. If I’m a hindrance, send me back to my existence.” The road he was to travel seemed to be hers to decide.
She leaned forward and pushed his hair back from his forehead. “And if taking you into Russia places you in danger?"
He shrugged. “The greater good is more important.”
She shook her head and whispered, “Is it?”
He took her hand and kissed her palm. “It is. It always will be. If my life, or death, can benefit humanity, it will be a small repayment for the evil I’ve done at the behest of others.”
“I’ll call them. In the morning.” She leaned forward and kissed him. “Tonight is ours.”
8
Jewell flopped into her chair and grabbed her juice just as the phone rang. She tapped the keyboard and answered the Annex’s call. “CCS, what’s up?” She never took off her headset while working, so she was ready to go at a moment’s notice.
“I have an issue I need to run up the flagpole.” Anubis’ voice put her nerves on edge.