Unknown (The Elite Book 1), page 16
“I’m fine. You barely bumped me.”
Marcela clears her throat dramatically to get our attention,
“Are we done making sure Nat is alive after you almost nearly murdered her walking in here, at a whole one mile per hour?” She chuckles, “What is it Conrad? Where’s the fire?”
“Very funny. Actually I do need you. Stryker and I found some voice messages that are in Russian and need a translator.” I can feel my heart rate pick up. I’m fluent in Russian, but I won’t tell them that. “Can you come to my office and give it a go?”
“I’ll give it a shot. Russian isn’t one of my fluent languages, but I’m the best you got.” Marcela turns to me and shrugs her shoulders, “Sorry, Nat, I’m sure this won’t take too long.”
Conrad interrupts, “About that. It’s actually a few hours worth of messages.” Marcela gets ready to snap at Conrad, but he beats her to it, “Great! See you in a few minutes.” He’s out the door before she can reply. Marcela huffs and rolls her eyes, walking out the room without saying another word.
I decided to take a quick walk and stretch my legs alone. Coffee. Definitely a walk to get more coffee.
I return with an entire carrier full of drinks. I’ll not make the mistake of only coming back with coffee for myself. When I return to the office, no one is at their desks. Those assholes better not have left early for the day and not told me. I decide to take the tray with me into The Chamber and if anyone wants coffee, they can come in there to get it.
When I walk into The Chamber, I find King opposite the door, looking at my laptop. I set the coffee down, and his eyes glance up from my computer. “Stryker sent me in here to help with the log comparisons, and to my surprise,” well isn’t that a sarcastic tone, “no one was in here working.” King goes back to looking at the computer.
I’m not putting up with this Captain Asshole routine today. “I guess it was too much to hope that your attitude towards me last night was a sign that maybe you’d changed a bit.” He looks back at me, but he says nothing. “Are you going to pretend that you weren’t decent towards me last night, or was that a one night only kind of thing?” I walk over towards King and grab my laptop from him. “Use your own.”
“Now who’s being the rude one. Got some venom today do we? Rough night?” He leans back in the chair, placing both hands behind his head. Cocky asshole. He knows how he looks, and the smirk on his face lets me know that he just watched me scan his body as he was leaning back. “Luci, I still don’t trust you, but I agreed to get to know you first.” I move to sit in the seat across from him, as he reaches over snagging Marcela’s laptop. “My first question, is Uncle A the same uncle you were telling me about last night?”
My heart drops to the pit of my stomach. I stay staring at my screen and try to act like I didn’t hear him. I can feel his eyes on me as I try to regain control of myself before looking up at him. “Excuse me?” He pulls my phone from his coat pocket. Real reckless, Nat. You left your phone behind. He holds it up and shows it to me.
“This is yours, right?” I just nod my head. There’s no point in denying it, and I need to get that back. “You got a message from Uncle A, and since you were in a sharing mood about your family, I thought we’d continue that little conversation?”
I just need to breathe. With SkyEye on there, he couldn’t see what the message said. “Can I have my phone back?” He continues to look at me. “Please.”
He hands me back the phone, I quickly shove it in my pocket. No way am I going to open that with him so close to me. “You don’t even want to open a message from your dear Uncle? The way you talked about him last night made it seem like you two have a good relationship. Something going on there?” He’s digging for information. I was right to be suspicious.
“We do have a good relationship, but you know how family can be,” I went for the low blow with the family part to throw him off, “once you start a conversation, they go on and on forever. We have work to do, I’ll talk to him later.” King’s eyes shoot down to the screen in front of him. I hit a nerve with the family comment. Normally, I would feel bad for the low blow, but this asshole is fishing for information. Trust your gut. He’s still trying to take you down.
We sit across from each other continuing the research Marcela and I started. There’s no conversation outside of checking the shipment logs. Towards the end of the day, King stands up abruptly and walks out of the room without saying another word. Dick. I take that as my cue to pack up my things as well and head home for the night. I really want to check that message, but I’ll make sure I’m home to do it.
Once I make it to my apartment, I sit down at my counter, opening my phone.
Uncle A: Each week, one disappears. Take your pick.
The message has a series of photos attached. I open them. There’s a picture of Conrad walking into the lobby of the office building, but it’s taken from within the building. There’s another of King watching me leave in the car last night, a picture of Stryker leaving my apartment building early this morning, a picture of BJ at the art show with Ophelia, and Marcela with Laura walking into the office building last night. He isn’t just watching me, he’s watching all of them. How many of these people have I passed? How many are there?
I freeze, realizing that my entire apartment might have eyes inside it. I keep my body still, but my eyes start to track the room looking for all the vents and other areas a camera is likely to be hidden. Once I’m satisfied with my scan, I get up and check each one. No cameras or other devices. I decided it’s safe to check my little hiding spot.
There’s a large vent behind the bed, which is why I arranged my room the way I did. I slide the bed over and unscrew the vent. I need a reminder of what I’m here for. Pulling a small duffel bag out of my hiding spot, I open it to make sure all my precious items are still safely hidden inside.
Nat
The threats from Uncle A are getting too close. Before I joined this team, there wasn’t anyone that he could use to threaten to make me work faster. Was that his whole reason for putting me with this team? Did he know I wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice anyone I grew to care about? I pull the bag out of the vent, and sit on the floor to open it.
Inside the bag, are multiple fake passports, fake IDs, and a shit ton of money of varying currency. Those are all courtesy of Uncle A. The things I’m digging for are my own. I pull out a small lock box and open it. This box holds a stack of photos of my loved ones. The photos are of me, Alexie, and Katia.
I look through the photos and pause on a photo of all three of us at the beach. This was the day we agreed to never abandon each other. The day we made a promise to stand by each other through all the bullshit that’d come our way. We spent that day at the beach celebrating Alexie’s birthday. He was going to turn eighteen a few days later, which is when he’d be forced to join the Bratva. We knew once he officially joined, our lives would all change.
Alexie’s dad is Uncle A, also known as Andrei Volkov. Andrei is the head of the Volkov Bratva. They’re one of the most powerful Bratvas to come out of Russia. Andrei moved the family to the US right after he found me. We moved to the US to take over territory from another family that was into some shady businesses.
Andrei took me in and treated me like one of his own. He told me it was the opposing family that killed my parents, and he and his men had been there to take them down. They were too late. My parents were murdered and I was left alone. He saved me that day. I don’t know what life would have been waiting for me if I’d not run into him.
He made sure I was trained in skills to take care of myself, but also skills that would be of use to him as I got older. I was trained in various forms of combat, taught different languages, how to pick locks and steal cars, and I was taught how to get close to people. When I turned eighteen, he started to send me to work.
The work I was sent to do was attaining secrets from the country’s people with power. Get close to them, get the information Andrei could use against them, and get out. He didn’t care how I got the information, as long as he had the information. I was always successful, which made me one of Andrei’s favorites.
Alexie, on the other hand, was treated very differently. He is, or was, the heir to the Volkov Bratva. As Andrei’s only child, he was in line to take over. Alexie was treated harshly. Whenever he’d mess up or just when Andrei deemed it necessary, he was beaten and tortured. Andrei said it was to make him tougher because no one respects a weak leader. Alexie had to get his hands dirty. He beat, tortured, and murdered. Katia and I knew this wasn’t what Alexie wanted, but the alternative would mean death for him.
When Andrei told me Alexie killed Katia, I was heartbroken. It had felt like my life had been ripped apart. How could the man I love kill our best friend? The more I thought about it, the less likely it was possible. There’s no way Alexie would’ve gotten involved in business with his father who he called “terrible.” That isn’t Alexie.
If he planned to leave his father’s business, it would be to free himself from that life. I refuse to believe that Alexie would just leave me, and I refuse to accept that he killed Katia. I need to find Alexie because his disappearance is no coincidence. But what does it all mean? Why hasn’t Alexie come for me? Is he even alive?
I have one week. One week to get information to Andrei before he starts taking out people I’ve grown to care for. I start to grab the photos, and tuck them back in my lock box. Once I put everything away, I move my bed back where it belongs.
The next day, I head into the office with a new plan. I need to gain access to Conrad’s computer. He’s the best computer genius I’ve ever come across, and that computer will give me what I need. I’ve spent my time with the Elite trying to figure out why I was placed with this specific team. That reason has to be their high level access to information.
“I hope that extra coffee in your hand is for me,” I look over to see Marcela peeking her head above her computer.
“Sorry, this is for Conrad,” I give her a wink back. I want her to think it’s because we’ve been hooking up so I can avoid any other questions from her. I look over to see King rolling his eyes at my statement.
“Yes, girl. That man must be giving it to you good, for you to bring him coffee and forget about me.” I laugh, but don’t say anything in return. It’s not a total deception because the man did give it to me good. I continue to walk past the work stations and head for the hallway leading to Conrad’s computer room.
The door is open, so I stick my head inside. When he doesn’t look up, I tap my knuckles a few times on the door frame. That gets his attention. His eyes light up through those dark rimmed glasses. Fuck, this man is sexy with those on. “To what do I owe this visit? Not that I would ever complain about a visit from you.”
The sincerity in his tone feels like a punch to the gut. I’m going to hurt people, but his hurt will be the worst. “I brought you some coffee. Just the way you like it, Americano with an extra shot.”
Conrad gets up and makes his way towards me. I hand him the cup, and watch as he brings it to his full lips. Those very kissable lips. “Ahhhh. Perfect. Not my favorite thing to have on my lips though,” he says with a smirk.
I bite the bottom of my lips and he takes another step forward. He leans down and reaches his other arm around the small of my back, pulling me towards him. His lips gently press to mine for only a few seconds before he pulls back, “Thank you, Spitfire.” Conrad releases me and steps away, “as much as I could spend all day with my lips on you, I’m in total research mode.” He turns around and sits back at his computer.
This could be my chance to see how he accesses things. “Total research mode, huh? Sounds like you’ve found something interesting.” Gut punch number two. Fuck, I’m a terrible person for even considering using this man, let alone actually going through with it.
“Stryker has me locking myself away in here because Ingram came in this morning raising hell on why we’re wasting our time on this case and not handing it off to another team that deals more with these types of things.”
There’s no way we can hand over this case. This is the best team to try to find those kids.
“He gave Stryker forty-eight hours to get everything wrapped up and sent over to the international affairs team. I hate when this shit happens, but he wants us picking up more murder cases. The more cases we solve, the more funding we get or some bureaucratic bullshit like that.”
Conrad is furious, but so am I. This feels like we are letting all those kids down. “Is there anything we can do to stop this?”
“Stryker told me to get whatever information I can. We basically have two days to get this thing figured out. If we can get a major break in the case then Ingram may let us stay on it.” His eyes don’t tear away from his screen as he talks to me.
“What can I do to help? Show me how to research anything. You have like ten computers here. Let me help.” My intentions behind asking for his computer are not at all malicious, I really do want to help find those kids.
Conrad looks up at me, and points to a laptop sitting to his right, “Use this one. It won’t access all databases, so it won’t overwhelm you.” He looks back to his screen before looking up at me again, “And, Nat. Don’t tell anyone that I’m letting you use one of these. I don’t let anyone touch my computers.” Yup, I’m a total asshole.
Conrad has a small, round table with a few chairs around it in the corner of his office. I decide to sit there, facing Conrad. I immediately get to work, initially looking up information about Starling Trucking company. Each time I try to go further into my research, it says “higher authorization required.” I’m only trying to find records on the sale of the company to find the names of the previous and new owners. This is information that shouldn’t be so well hidden. There’s definitely someone on the inside covering up something.
My eyes jerk up when there is a banging noise on the other side of the room. Conrad jumped out of his seat so fast that his chair fell backward. He looks over at me. “Sorry about that. I have to go see Stryker now!” He runs out of the room without saying another word.
I’m left alone in Conrad’s office. He left his main laptop in here and I can see that it’s still open. I quickly get out of my seat and look into the hallway for signs of anyone. When no one appears and it sounds like the coast is clear, I shut the door to the office. His door automatically locks when shut, so I’ll be able to hear anyone coming in and hopefully have time to move back to my spot.
I step around Conrad’s chair, leaving it on the ground. Leaning down, I began to browse over the screen that had Conrad in such a hurry to run off to Stryker. It’s bank records from Russia. It looks like Conrad was able to break through and trace the money from the Starling Trucking company. My eyes go wide as they scan down to the bottom of the page. Volkov. All the money is funneling into an account with the name Volkov. What. The. Actual. Fuck.
I hear someone singing in the hallway, snapping me out of my daze. I grab my phone out of my pocket and snap a quick picture of the screen and run over to the table. A keycard swipes at the door to open it and in walks BJ. She looks to Conrad’s desk, which faces directly in front of the door and sees the chair on the ground. She walks over and picks up the chair not noticing me in the office as she is humming to herself. When she turns to walk back to the door, she looks directly at me and drops the folder in her hand, papers splaying across the floor.
“Oh sweet lord in heaven and Satan below, what are you doing at that computer?”
I eye her curiously at what she means, “I’m helping Conrad with some research.” I get up to help her gather the papers that fell.
Once she has all the papers reorganized and placed back in her folder, she narrows her eyes at me. “How is it you’re the only person in the entire history I’ve known Conrad, he’s let use one of his computers?”
I remember Conrad telling me to not tell anyone that he was letting me use a computer, but at this point BJ already saw me. “BJ, he told me not to let anyone else know, so do you think you could keep it a secret? I don’t want to upset Conrad when he’s under so much stress.”
“Fine. Fine. Only because I don’t want to cause any drama between you two. I’ve never seen Conrad so happy.” She gives me a smile, and I think that’s the end of it. “Do tell though, how are things with you and Conrad, and Stryker? It’s just us, so any details you’d like to give? I promise to keep those a secret too.” She definitely put some emphasis on the word secret letting me know that it’s a situation where if I give her some juicy deets then she’ll keep my secret. Sneaky, sneaky BJ.
I cave and give her what she wants, “Things are great. They’re so different, but exactly what I need at the same time, if that makes any sense?” BJ has taken the chair at the table across from me, both her hands propped under her chin, and her full attention on me. “Conrad is so sweet and gentle, and let me tell you about his dick game. I had a hard time walking out of his apartment after that night. He is one fine black man.” Sharing these things with BJ is easy, and I start to wonder why I haven’t been this open with her before. It feels good to share these things with someone I’d call a friend.
I continue to share more of my night with Conrad before BJ interrupts, “Okay, so Conrad is gentle which I think we all knew he would be. Now tell me how Mr. Control Freak himself gets down in the bedroom.”
“Well, Mr. Control Freak is also a control freak in the bedroom. He’s very domineering.” She sits up a little straighter in her chair. She’s enjoying this.
“I hate when men try to boss me around, even Stryker, but when he’s making me ask to cum or making me wait until he tells me to, it’s almost an out of body experience. Being bossed around and told what to do in those situations gets me off just thinking about it.” I stop there knowing that I’m not quite sure I want to share with her how I did get myself off the other morning just thinking about Stryker.
