Silent Heart (The Vlasov Bratva #5)

Chapter 35 – Kolya

O f all the places to conduct an illicit meeting that was set up on the dark web, this was aesthetically far from what would be typically imagined. The chain coffee shop bustled with activity. Suburban moms with tots sat around in groups, sipping sugary drinks and complaining about their lack of sex lives. A few hipsters conducted important business on their WIFI connections. And one or two old ladies muttered about a senior center social. Jazz played in the background, and the grinders and frothers kept an irregular time, whistling with excitement!

I took a long sip of my plain black French roast. The caffeine did nothing for the weary ache that seemed to have permanently settled in my bones.

I was the darkest thing in this place, besides the cold brew. Not that they could see my blackened heart, but I was sure the aura I gave off meant the good people of the normal world could feel it. That had to be why no one sat at the table next to me, despite how packed the place was.

It was nearly the appointed time for the meeting. I’d been here an hour early, scoping the place out. When the hoodie man came and sat down thirty minutes ago, I anticipated him doing the same.

He looked…capable.

I sighed.

The idea of a partnership grew more and more favorable with each passing week. For the last month, I’d mulled over the idea of joining forces with the Cyber Ops. The trafficking victims could use the help. As a numbers game, the more of us fought, the more we could save. Plus there was the reality that I wouldn’t be able to do this forever. When I was gone, even if that was decades from now, what then? Wouldn’t it be better to train a few younger souls so my legacy could continue? While there were many other reasons, these two took primacy.

Now, as I looked at the vigilante, headphones crowning his head and focus glued to his computer screen, I felt a wash of hopelessness push through me. The kid has muscles, but so what? At best, he was an amateur fighter.

He won’t last a day against the demons.

I rose and walked to the exit. The thick overcast sky proclaimed the rush of cold. Winter was coming. Already the wind off the lake howled with the promise of violence coming from the north.

Immune to the cold, I walked to my truck, only sweeping the parking lot for signs of trouble. Even in suburbia, with all the amenities built around a superstore and shopping strip, evil lurked in the shadows.

“Excuse me, sir!” a high-pitched voice called after me.

Careful to put my back to the tailgate so there could be no surprises, I turned. A petite barista, with regal cheekbones and lush brown skin, ran after me. The glint in her eye was nothing short of arresting. I knew how I must seem to her, intimidating and grumpy. But she didn’t even blink as she stopped in front of me, dark braids bouncing against her back.

“You forgot your drink.” Her smile was warm and friendly.

“I didn’t order anything else,” I countered, sweeping a look over her head at the parking lot. SUVs, mini-vans, and sedans crawled to the drive through in a steady stream. They were busy, and yet here she was, coming out to mistakenly hand me—

Wait.

“Yes, you did,” she chuckled. “You ordered a venti cookie crumble with an extra shot, extra pump, and extra cream.”

I stared at her. She was maybe five foot. With shoes. If she stood straight. And yet…. Impossible.

“Who ordered it for me?” I demanded, wincing at the bite in my own voice.

Damn, could I not learn to be more friendly? In my line of work, people skills were rarely necessary. But it was moments like this where I wished I wasn’t so tall, wasn’t so ornery.

Luckily, it didn’t faze the girl. “I did.”

Speech failed me. Not that it was a good friend to begin with.

“I’ve been watching you since you arrived. Kudos on surveying the parking lot and the café for the last hour. You even picked out my decoy, but he’s a paid actor. I’m username AB449CF7, but you can call me Beth. A pleasure to meet you, Kolya Vlasov—or would you prefer me to call you by your military name, Wraith?”

“Password,” I demanded.

“Sure,” she chirped. This tiny woman was as obnoxiously cheerful as my brother. If they were in the same room, they would likely explode in a mess of rainbows and butterflies. “Buttery Bagels is what I would name my restaurant if I ever made one.”

“Don’t you have work to do?” I jerked my chin at the drive through line.

“I’ve covered enough of their shifts to earn the escape right now,” Beth said with a shrug. “I want a real meeting with you.”

“Is that so?” I worked my jaw back and forth. “I’m not interested.”

“I know where Ava, the student from the University of Chicago you’re looking for, is.”

That had the power to stop me in my tracks. “How did you know I was looking for her?”

“You’re not as careful with your digital footprint as you think you are. That’s something I can help you with,” the woman offered. “All I want is a long enough meeting to convince you to join forces with me.”

“And what if I’m not interested in joining forces?” I countered.

“All the more reason. If you’re thinking of retiring, we can use your intel before you hang up your gun.”

Thinking of retiring…. Fuck me. That was the dream, wasn’t it?

“There’s no retirement for my kind,” I growled and moved to my truck.

“We want the traffickers to avoid Chicago, and to think twice about running their operations in the surrounding areas. You want a higher up named Adler dead. Rumor has it he is after you, Wraith. Want to protect your family? Want to rid the world of an evil sonofabitch? Join me.”

“How did you know this wasn’t a setup?” I growled. “I could have been working with one of the rings to take you out.”

“I did my homework on you, Kolya. You’re the real deal.” The mite looked me up and down.

This felt too good to be true.

The jolt of energy from the surprise was fast ebbing. Fighting back a yawn, I shook my head. “I don’t know—”

“Just a meeting.” Beth stepped into me.

It was her eyes. They glimmered with a fierce, unrelenting determination. She was no doubt a very pretty woman, but those eyes made her otherworldly. Perhaps she cast a spell on me and that was why I found myself saying, “I’ll meet with you.”

“Great!” She jumped, actually jumped, with excitement. “I’ll explain everything I know and lay out my plans for the Cyber Ops.”

That confirmed my theory that this wasn’t an established organization but rather was in a fledgling stage. “Okay.”

Unperturbed by my lack of excitement, she spun on her heel and was about to bound off, but stopped short. “The university student, Ava? I’ll send you the information. It will be in your inbox in ten minutes.”

I clenched my jaw, more to keep from yawning rather than because I was angry.

“I would never have kept that information to myself. No matter what answer you gave about the meeting,” Beth insisted. With that, she left.

In my truck, I tipped my head back and closed my eyes for the briefest of seconds. If I stayed awake a little longer, I could save one more soul. That was priceless.