20. Rurik
20
RURIK
“ I t’s weird having you here,” Kelly said as we got ready at her apartment. She was due to go to the admin office and work soon, whatever busywork she did in front of Jasmine’s front-desk area.
“How?” I frowned as I continued to wire her. It would’ve been so much easier to have her record with her phone, but she explained that some people further back in the dean’s office were strict about not using personal phones on the clock.
The plan was to have her spy on Jessica and Owen talking in the redhead’s office. News was still spreading about Marcus James being found dead in an office in the admin building, and they were continuing to do damage control. It was scandalous enough for one of New York’s up-and-coming politicians to be found dead at all. But at the college campus? They had a PR nightmare on their hands.
One of the Baranov guards found out that they’d have a bigger meeting today, potentially conversing with Eric, too. So this was a good opportunity for her to gather intel for us.
“After spending a week with you and living somewhere to your standards, then you coming here and downgrading to be with me here…” She cringed as she looked around at the apartment she’d called home before meeting me. Now her home would be wherever I was.
I hope.
“I don’t care,” I told her. “So you came from a different background than I did. That’s not a bad thing.”
She shrugged, and I realized she’d tossed out that comment as a way of distracting herself from being nervous.
I sighed, hating that she’d need to be “used” at all. Plenty of men brought outsiders in as girlfriends or wives. They weren’t all put to the test like this to be included in the Baranov Family.
“Listen, it won’t be so bad,” I said.
She nodded. “I know.”
“Just stand around, use the copier near her office, like you said.”
Again, she nodded.
“You’ll be fine. And hey, if nothing comes out of this, then Oleg will realize it’s more or less a dead end.”
She arched a brow. “You don’t think I’ll get anything useful?”
“That in no way means that you are not useful or worthy. You always will be, even if you back out of this right now. I just have my doubts that they’ll actually say anything incriminating that we could use.”
“How come?” She buttoned up her shirt.
“Because of the day and time. They’ll be aware that others are in the offices. They’ll be aware of the chance of people listening. Yes, they called this meeting sort of last-minute like it’s an emergency to talk, but if they really wanted privacy and secrecy, they’d make it for somewhere else less crowded, without people coming and going.”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Those offices are supposed to be their private domain. Irina said she and Vik—” She stopped short, smiling. “Um, never mind. I’m not sharing girl talk.”
Finished with wiring her and making sure she was put together, I led her out of the apartment and met with the Baranov soldier here for backup. I was going to keep my distance and tail her, and he would walk closer to her. Because Kelly had always been such a loner, if Jerome or anyone else was watching her, they’d notice that a man was with her now. I wanted that honor. I wanted the world to see that she was mine or could be mine, but for the sake of her getting closer to the enemies and near a person of interest, we had to keep up the ruse that she was alone.
She reached the offices and went inside like normal, and it was agony to wait outside while she went further into the dean’s suite. The plan was for her to busy herself near Jessica’s office and then make an excuse to Jasmine that she didn’t feel well and needed to leave.
With the comms unit in my ear—hidden by my hair and my hat—I listened in to what the others heard from the van in the parking lot.
And it was a whole bunch of… nothing. Jessica and Owen were talking about academic affairs, normal things I imagined a dean and his assistant would usually discuss. Another man spoke up, and a text from Lev confirmed he was a Petrov dealer, but he was also talking about normal things to do with student schedules and such. Unless they were all talking in code, this exercise was a waste of time.
Thank God.
I had higher hopes that Oleg would realize how stupid it was to ask Kelly to be a spy now.
Over the wired connection, Kelly sighed with what had to be complete relief. She’d been so nervous but dutiful to do this part I didn’t want her to have in the first place.
“Coming back to you now, Rurik,” she whispered.
She gave her excuses to Jasmine, who sounded like an uptight and hard-to-please boss. Jasmine wasn’t pleased that Kelly would step out for not feeling well, but Kelly was polite and apologetic.
I didn’t waste any time walking around the building to the back entrance. It was a little more secluded than the large walkway out front, and I waited there for her to return to me.
I couldn’t wait to hug her. I couldn’t wait to tell her she’d done a good job. And hopefully, with this done, we could resume talking about us and how she could take faith that being with me wasn’t some kind of a conditional situation.
She appeared at the end of the stairwell, hurrying with her messenger bag flapping at her hip. The second she saw me, she exhaled a long breath I bet she’d been holding. Before we walked over here, she’d been so tense and anxious. It would be my pleasure to help her relax and unravel for the rest of the day. Since she no longer had her job at the bar, and she admitted that she’d already finished all her school work to pass half of her classes, it seemed her free time could be my downtime.
“Stop.”
She frowned, whipping her head around to look behind her as a man called out and ordered her to stop again.
“I said stop!” he said, raising his voice as he hurried down the steps after her.
Who the fuck is this?
I worried for a brief second that someone knew she’d been recording that conversation. That she was working with the Baranovs. This was her biggest reservation about associating with Eva, with me, with any of us. It was a big deal to say you were with a crime family. It was the fastest way to put someone on the opposite side from the law, from innocence.
“I…” Kelly shook her head, facing forward to reach me. “No, thanks.”
“Hey! I told you to stop.” A security guard landed on the last step then hustled after her. I’d never seen him around before. Even though my presence had been spotty on campus over the last two months, I had made it a goal to identify the campus security members in case they’d give me any trouble.
This new guy, whoever he was, seemed to want to give Kelly big trouble.
“No, thanks,” Kelly said, shaking her head and looking at me. That worry and nervousness had crossed over her face again.
“I’m not asking. I’m telling you to stop.” He jogged after her, his face stern with a glare.
“No, thanks.”
“I’m not fucking soliciting either,” he growled. “Stop right where you are.” Then he reached out and grabbed her arm.
I wasn’t close enough to intervene, but she reacted instantly. Spinning to the left a little, she deflected him and yanked her arm away.
“Get your fucking hand off her,” I threatened as I reached her and pulled her close.
“I’m not talking to you.” He sneered at me, then returned his angry stare to her. “I told you to stop.”
“Leave her alone,” I warned.
“I’m not talking to you,” he repeated with more ire in his strained tone.
And I wasn’t wasting time listening to him, either. “Let’s go,” I told Kelly, urging her to walk out the exit with me.
I didn’t know who this fucker was or why he thought he could harass her right now, but I didn’t intend to stand around and find out.
“She’s not going anywhere,” the guard said, puffing his chest out.
Leaning against me, almost cowering, Kelly trembled and clutched the front of my shirt.
I leveled a hard glare on the man. “Fuck off,” I ordered.
Before I make you.