Chapter 8 - Tasha
I could hear them arguing through the door. Vadik sounded angry as his brothers tried to explain something. I couldn’t make out all they were saying. But I did hear something about a debt they have to repay before they could cut any ties.
Pavel, the youngest of the three siblings raised his voice and I could suddenly hear him clearly. “How many jobs must we do before our debt is paid?”
Makari, the middle brother was mumbling about being set up to fail.
Chills ran down my spine as I heard Vadik’s deep smooth voice rising as he spoke. “I know it’s difficult. But we only have to hold on a little longer. We just need to get through the missions one at a time.”
Pavel was almost screaming at Vadik as he responded. “That’s bullshit and you know it! The last couple of missions were more than impossible. I think they are setting us up to fail and to what extent?”
I felt a slight pang in my chest. I didn’t think they were really all that bad. But there may be something to what Pavel is saying.
Makari spoke next, his voice now also raised. “Yeah, what’s up with all these new types of jobs? We know nothing about hacking. How do you intend to get the intel they asked for?” Before anyone could respond, he continued. “Wait, I know. They want to punish us for Nadia’s mission, don’t they? That’s why they give us jobs they know we can’t complete.”
I could hear Vadik sighing as he moved around. “You’re right, I guess. They want us to suffer for her betrayal and failure. They know we can’t do this.”
Pavel spoke next. “Nadia is blood, and we will take whatever they throw at us, right.”
I wondered what he meant by this. Yet, my mind wandered off as I considered the fact that we may have had a hand in this situation. Even if it was only a small part. I didn’t want my brothers and Nadia back in this fight, I didn’t want them at risk.
Moving away slowly, I returned to my room. I had to talk to Vadik. They had another job coming up, and I decided I would help them. I heard him talking about gathering intel and felt sure it would involve hacking.
It was the least I could do. After all, they had not harmed me in any way since they kidnapped me. It could be a way I could thank him for not being a total ass hat. Shaking my head, I tried clearing the thoughts swimming around my head. It could also be a good way to get close and gather intel on the Chernykh’s.
I didn’t want to be discovered by them. I wanted to make things harder for them. To do that, I needed my own intel. Laying back on the bed, I wondered how I would get word to my brothers without upsetting the apple cart.
There was a knock at the door. Sitting up, I rubbed my eyes wondering how long I had slept. I hadn’t even realized I had dozed off. “Yes,” I spoke as I stood up.
“Lunch is ready,” Pavel’s sweet voice came through the closed door.
“Thank you, I’ll be right down,” I responded lightly. After washing, I headed down to the dining room. Pavel was sitting at the large table by himself. “Where’s everyone?” I inquired as I took my place.
“Vadik’s in his office,” he said between bites. “Makari, well, I don’t know.”
I quickly ate the toasted sandwich. I needed to see Vadik. I wanted to offer my assistance.
“Thank you for sharing lunch with me,” I said as I rose.
Pavel looked up at me. He smiled broadly as he lifted his hand to his brow saluting me. “You’re welcome,” he replied.
Turning, I rushed out and up the stairs. Vadik’s office was down the hall from my room. I passed his room and stopped before his office door. Taking a deep breath, I knocked. There was mumbling from inside.
Opening the door, I peeked my head around it. He was sitting on a couch by the fireplace. He didn’t even look up as I walked in. His elbows were perched on his knees and his head rested in his hands.
I felt a knot forming in my throat as I watched him. All of this had to be hard, but he didn’t show it to his siblings. He always had this strong vibe he gave off. Yet now he sat here looking defeated. I had never seen him this way.
Gathering my courage, I spoke clearly. “Vadik, I want to assist you with the new mission. That is if I can.”
As he lifted his head looking at me. I felt my breath catching in my throat. His light green eyes appeared lighter than usual. I felt sure the light coming in through the window was playing with them, but they were so beautiful.
There was a flicker of concern in those shining eyes as he spoke. “Are you sure you want to get involved in something so dangerous as this?”
Nodding, I replied quickly. “Yes, I want to assist in any way I can. I know you can’t do this on your own.”
“You do know it is a gun dealership we are infiltrating. These people don’t mess around, Tasha,” he added.
“I know, but I also know that you have to hack the system from inside. Getting in is your strong point and hacking is mine. Together, I’m sure we can do it.”
A light smile touched his lips as he nodded. “Right, we’ll be leaving around four tomorrow. I’ll be out most of the day, but my brothers will be here if you need anything.”
Turning to leave, I paused. This would be my first time out in the field. Glancing back, I spoke softly, “Will you be out all day?”
“Don’t get any ideas,” Vadik huffed as he rose. “The place is locked down.”
“No, no, I was just wondering,” I replied before heading back to my room. I paced up and down the length of the room. I was anxious and excited. At some point, it felt like I was going to barf, but I didn’t.
I barely slept a wink. I was so excited to be part of a mission finally. It was my first time. Even though it was exciting, my nerves were shot. My brothers always had me working from the office or the van. Mila was the one who went in with them.
The day had passed in a blur. I felt like a spark plug or battery that was overcharged. The drive to the office building wasn’t long and the guys sat in silence. As we pulled up and stopped down the block from the building Vadik turned to me.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked.
A nervous giggle escaped my mouth as I opened it to reply. “Yes, I was born ready,” I add taking a deep breath.
“Follow my lead and do as I say,” Vadik huffed.
Smiling softly, I nodded. “I will do as you ask,” I replied.
Vadik gave me a suspicious look over. He turned and headed in through a side door to the back of the building. I followed close behind not wanting to be caught.
We were moving slowly. I frantically looked left and right as I scanned the area. Suddenly, I felt him pulling me into the room to our left. He opened the door, pulled me inside, and closed the door abruptly. Glancing at the content, I realized we were in a small janitor’s closet.
The space inside was occupied. There were brooms, mops, buckets, cleaning materials, and more surrounding us. Our bodies collided as we pressed up against each other in the tight space. My hands moved in between us as I pressed back against his stomach. I couldn’t help but feel the firm strong muscles he hid under his shirt.
He glanced at me. Our eyes met and for a moment I forgot where we were. I wanted to rise up on my toes and kiss those juicy lips. Mentally slapping myself, I looked to the side. The footsteps we heard faded.
Stepping back into the hallway, I lightly cleared my throat as we moved towards the server room. I felt hot and sweaty suddenly. We heard chattering as we rounded the last corner before the hallway leading to the servers.
Vadik flung his hand across my chest pushing me back up against the wall. His touch was soft but warm. I felt my stomach turning and smothered the gasp with my hand. He glanced at me and then let go. Vadik peeked around the corner waving at me to follow.
Every time we hid, we were up against each other. My body was betraying me as my hormones played around inside. Feeling his breath on my cheek and neck made me earn for his kiss. I hated being so close as I had to keep reminding myself of who he was.
At the last two stops, we ended up between shelves and walls. We were pressed up so closely that I could feel his heart beating, smell the shampoo in his hair, and almost taste his sweat. This mission was messing up my mind.
After another couple of turns left and right down this hallway and that one, we finally got to the server room. I was hacking the locking system when Vadik breathed out over my shoulder, “Hurry, the guards are about to enter this hallway.”
The door clicked and Vadik pushed it open slightly. Focusing on what was inside, I didn’t hear the voices. Vadik jumped me into the room. He landed on me as he shoved the door closed with his foot.
Laying there, I was about to ask him what he was thinking when he placed a finger on my lips silencing me.
Only then did I hear the guards speaking as they moved past the door. Breathing out softly, I felt my nerves eating at my insides. We almost got caught. As the voices trailed off, Vadik shifted off me and assisted me up.
I sneaked up to the closest server and plugged Vadik’s phone in. It was the only device they allowed me to use with supervision.
It took me a second, but the rest was easy once I had located the data we were looking for. Their internal protection protocols were almost non-existent. I assumed they didn’t expect anyone to infiltrate them like we just did.
Once the transfer was completed, I pulled the cable from the mainframe. Looking up at him, I smiled as I whispered. “I got it all. What you needed and more.”
Vadik took my hand. He appeared to be beaming as we moved back out. Getting out was a lot quicker than getting in. We only had to hide a couple of times. The closeness was driving me insane. He smelled so good. No man had the right to smell so alluring.
Once we got into the car, the excitement almost overcame me. I leaned in hugging him tightly. I wanted to kiss him but restrained myself. “That was awesome,” I uttered as I pulled back.
I felt his hands on my sides as he stared at me. Our eyes met and I felt them pulling me in. I could see him slowly inching closer “Sorry,” I mumbled as I turned lecturing myself to keep my emotions in check.
Vadik was focused on the road. Placing my hand in my pocket, I felt the phone inside. This might be my only chance to reach out. I had to send details through to my brothers. Turning sideways, I faced the window as I pulled the phone out.
I knew I had to keep it low and out of sight. Glancing back, I was glad Vadik’s focus was still on the road. I pretended to stare out the window as I attempted to unlock his phone. It wasn’t as difficult as the system on the mansion doors. Within seconds I was in.
My fingers glided over the screen. I had to be lightning-fast and clear all traces before he noticed. Addressing it to Abram, I started typing my message. ‘Sis here. Opportunity to send a msg, do not respond! Refrain from calling or any other contact. I am good, no harm yet. The seas look calm ahead as well. There is trouble for them with the Chernykh’s though.’
I shifted a little as I noticed we were getting closer to his home. ‘Got to go, will try and send more.’ Deleting the message and any trace, I put the phone back in my pocket as we stopped.
That was close, but it was done. Entering the house, I stopped at the bottom of the stairs. Turning to Vadik, I pulled the phone out. Acting all innocent, I held it out as I spoke. Here’s the phone, sorry, I forgot I had it.”
He stepped closer and closed his hand around mine as he took the phone. His fingers gently caressed mine and I felt my inside turning. “Thank you and don’t worry about it. Sweet dreams,” he replied as I turned and headed upstairs.
Crashing down on the bed, I wondered about what I had done. Did I fuck up by sending the text? Shit, what if he finds out? I knew it wasn’t very likely, but if it did come out? How would he react? I rolled around for a while worrying about it before sleep finally came.