Silent Heart (The Vlasov Bratva #5)

Chapter 42 – Harley

I glanced at my phone as I gathered my notebooks and materials from the auditorium seat. There was a message from an unknown number, but given the contents of the message, it was a safe guess as to who my mysterious sender was.

Unknown: Dinner. 7 p.m. I’ll explain everything.

Hoisting my bag over my shoulder, I tapped a sassy response, full of emojis.

Me: You? You hardly speak. Do you really have enough to fill the whole span of dinner, or will we be doing other…things?

Naughty ideas began to fill my mind. The fire we lit this morning in the back of his pickup smoldered.

Unknown: I’ll talk.

I chewed on my lips. whatever he had to say at dinner, would it lead to more? I sure as hell wanted it to. Yes, I was mad that he disappeared. Yes, he had a lot to make up for. But belonging to a criminal organization? The expanse of his silence made sense.

Me: I’ll give you the opportunity to explain, but we’ll see how much needs to be handled by conversation or if your mouth needs to do a different type of groveling.

There. Unless he was dense, which he never seemed to be, he was going to get the picture just fine that I wanted more. Kolya was back in my life, and I wasn’t going to let him slip away. Not without a fight.

I blew out a breath, staring at the screen as I continued to walk down the hall. There were many things I was unsure about, but not how I felt about him.

“If I take him back, if we’re going to try this thing again, I need some proof he’s not going to run,” I reasoned.

Could he give me that? Did he want to stay? The way his body felt against mine, the way he watched me said enough. Even if his words didn’t.

“It was the secrets that drove us apart,” I said, hoping I could convince myself of the truth of that statement.

Holy cow, it was going to take a lot of work to make me believe that.

A sound shuffled in the distance. I glanced up from my phone. There wasn’t anyone directly in front of me. The corridor was mostly empty as students prepared to attend lectures. I was free until three, so I continued to head in the direction of the on-campus deli.

Air brushed against my skin as a door pulled open. My neck prickled in warning.

Before I could look to the side, rough hands gripped me and yanked me into a room. The rough leather of a work glove clamped over my mouth, cutting off my scream.

“We’re not here to hurt you,” a suave voice intoned. “If you promise not to scream, Marty will remove his hand.”

Breathing through the rising panic, I quickly took stock of the situation. There were six men in regular clothing spread around the room. At first glance, they could fit in with the college students.

With the exception of the one who’d spoken. There was no mistaking him for a twenty-something-year-old on the path to higher education. The air around him seemed to crackle, not with power, but with cruelty. It was there in his eyes. And that eerie calm, the fact that he seemed cool and collected, calculating his nefarious plans, rather than exploding into a burst of aggression that made him absolutely terrifying to behold. Because animals didn’t fall prey to those conditions, it had been a while since I brushed up on the terminology of a psychopath versus a sociopath, but what I knew deep in my gut was that this man was far more dangerous than any rabid creature I would ever encounter as a veterinarian.

I forced my body to go completely still. And what was harder, I forced the fight to leave my veins. I met his gaze, letting him know I wouldn’t panic, but I didn’t want him to think I would back down from his threat.

Like with any creature, I was in charge—even if he clearly had more brute strength.

“Miss Kellnhofer, thank you for your cooperation, we greatly appreciate it,” the suit said.

I nodded, flexing my jaw which still ached from the rough hold. “Want to explain yourselves?”

“Of course, straight to business. I like that.” The man smiled, but there was no warmth in the gesture. “We are after your…friend. Mr. Vlasov.”

A bolt of panic stabbed my chest. I didn’t know any Vlasovs.

“You know him as Kole, I believe.”

Something clicked. The foreign last name. I didn’t even know his real name, and I was willing—

Am willing…I am willing to keep seeing him.

I nodded once. “He’s been gone for months. The last time we were together was over the summer.”

Dark humor slithered around the room.

The man’s voice dripped ice. “While that statement is technically true, we know he came to town, and we know you two came back to campus from some rendezvous this morning.”

Tipping my chin up, I set my shoulders. “What of it?”

“You have aging grandparents, who’ve been blessed with a large family,” the suit mused.

My gut flipped with a sickening feeling.

“I would hate for my business with Mr. Vlasov to spill over into their world,” he added.

The roof and walls of my mouth turned to sand. I took a shuddering gulp of air and said, “Great, so I’ve told you a half-truth and you’ve threatened my family. Where does that leave us, Mr….?”

“Call me Smith.”

How unoriginal. “Alright, Mr. Smith, where does that leave us?” I repeated.

“I just want Kolya. He’s been a thorn in our side for far too long.”

This was the moment of heroes. I didn’t have to be from Kolya’s world to understand how situations like this worked. My cooperation for the lives of my loved ones.

The thing these thugs didn’t know was that I was made of sterner stuff.

“How am I going to help you get Kolya?” I mused, humoring their position. I should be cowering, laying it on thick to make them think I was at their mercy and scared for the lives of my family. But it was hard to loosen my frame. Even harder to force a shake in my voice.

I had vital seconds to play into their hand so they wouldn’t suspect I would betray them.

“Here’s my number. You’re a smart girl, you’ll easily be able to separate him from his family. Make him believe you’re on a date.” It would have been easier if the man slid his gaze up or down my body. Instead, he sounded bored. As if he didn’t care what I did. That my noncompliance would be a mere inconvenience to him. “Contact me and we’ll resolve our business.”

He’ll hurt him. Ice shot through me. I didn’t know how, but I wouldn’t let him.

“Do you understand?” The question was supposed to be a demand, make me quake in my boots. But since the man’s voice still lacked emotion, it was even scarier than if he’d yelled and threatened.

I forced my muscles to move and nodded. “We’ll be in touch.”

“So easy. What a smart woman you are, Miss Kellnhofer.” The man rose, smoothed his suit, and gestured for the others to move. “Do know that if you try to warn Mr. Vlasov, I will know, and it will be your grandparents’ funerals you’ll be planning this Thanksgiving break.”

The moment I was alone, I collapsed into a chair and began to shake. This was exactly what Kolya tried to tell me. His world wasn’t nice.

“Well, I’m a cowgirl, and no one messes with my man,” I growled. But I wrapped my arms protectively around my shoulders, rubbing at the cold and wishing I felt braver than my words.