Chapter 8
“Ready?” Lev asked as he and Reyna perched on the back of the truck, ready to jump.
She shot him a look and nodded. “Ready.”
They tossed out their packs since it would be easier to jump without them.
“Now,” he said.
They both leapt, landing hard and rolling to absorb the impact as the truck drove away. Each quickly got to his or her feet and retrieved their packs before hurrying off the road.
After ducking behind a tree, Lev looked around for any movement. He knew the Saints were out there, waiting. No doubt the bastards would let him and Reyna believe that they were about to get away before they swooped in and killed them.
Lev had known for a while that he’d die violently, but he would do it fighting for Sergei, not out in the wilderness battling a group that never should have been able to gain such power to begin with.
“Clear,” Reyna said after looking to her side of the forest.
He adjusted his pack on his shoulder. “Same.”
Reyna pulled a map from her pack. It had been folded and refolded so many times that the edges were worn. She then cracked a glow stick to shed some light in the darkness. Lev saw the red marks added to the map along the border of Poland and Ukraine, which must be the checkpoints.
“We’re here,” Reyna said and pointed at the map.
It put them farthest away from the busiest border crossing, but closer to one of the smaller ones. “If I were the Saints, I’d have very few of my people at the crossings. Instead, I’d station them between the checkpoints to hide.”
“I would, as well,” Reyna agreed.
“Which means, in order for us to get across, we need to find those waiting.” He didn’t say to kill them, because it was understood.
Contrary to what many in Sergei’s employ thought, Lev didn’t enjoy taking anyone’s life. Each death was a mark against his soul, but he willingly bore the weight because of Sergei.
“The mountains will help us,” Reyna said as she tapped the paper, indicating the location.
Lev studied the map before he nodded. “I agree. There is a forest, as well.”
“True, but it won’t be much use. Both governments took down trees and anything someone could use as cover about twenty feet on either side of the border.”
That would leave them exposed when they crossed. Prime opportunity for a sniper to take them out as soon as they showed themselves. But what choice did they have? They had to get to Poland. Everything hinged on them locating the Saints first.
Reyna looked at Lev. “There’s no other way.”
“We’ll get through.”
“Your confidence reminds me of Arthur’s,” she said as she folded the map and returned it to her pack.
Lev raised a brow at her. “Is that a compliment?”
“Definitely. Arthur never saw anything he couldn’t do. Except end the Saints.”
“He isn’t to blame for that. Neither of you understood how far-reaching they were.”
She twisted her lips. “I’m not sure if that would have stopped Arthur, to be honest. He hated injustice of any kind.
It’s why he got into the CIA. He loved the idea of protecting his country.
Arthur was very much a patriot. He never shied away from doing whatever it took to keep America safe, and our people free. ”
“He sounds like a good man. I’m sorry you lost him.”
Reyna shrugged nonchalantly as she zipped up her pack. “It’s part of the job, right? We knew what we were getting into.”
“Perhaps, but I doubt you expected to fall in love.”
Reyna stilled and slowly lifted her eyes to his. “No, I never expected that.”
Lev had never been in love before. He thought he might have come close once, but that had been a long time ago. Besides, a Brigadier really couldn’t allow themselves to have that kind of connection with anyone. It gave his enemies something to use against him.
He was good at his position because the only one he cared about was Sergei. And it would stay that way.
Reyna gave him a nod when she was ready to set out. They began walking, keeping to the trees to stay out of sight. He was glad he’d found some boots. They not only helped him with traction as they began the ascent up the mountain, but they also supported his feet.
“How did you come to be here?” Reyna asked after nearly twenty minutes of silence.
Lev wanted to refuse to answer as he usually did, but something stopped him. He wasn’t sure if it was because of the time he’d spent with her, or if it was because he felt as if she deserved to know something after what she’d shared with him.
“I’m not a spy by trade,” he said.
She moved ahead of him on the narrow path and glanced at him over her shoulder. “You do pretty damn well. What do you do?”
“I work for a Russian mob boss.”
Reyna halted and looked at him. “In the US?”
“That’s right.”
“That’s why your Russian was so good.”
Lev shrugged one shoulder. “My father was Russian. I learned the language early.”
“You have no American accent, and when you speak English, you have no Russian accent.”
“A product of learning both languages at the same time.”
She gave a short whistle. “Impressive. And I thought I had a knack for languages. You understood my Ukrainian, didn’t you?”
“For the most part. I’ve not spoken it in ages. How many languages do you know?”
“Eight.”
“That’s remarkable.” And damn if he wasn’t impressed.
Reyna flashed him a quick smile and started walking again. “Everyone has a skill. That’s mine.”
“Obviously, you had other strengths. Otherwise, the CIA wouldn’t have made you an operative.”
“I suppose. What are your skills?”
“Killing.”
She didn’t so much as glance his way when he stated the fact. Somehow, that made him feel a little better. It didn’t absolve him of his many sins, though. Not that he expected such a thing. He, more than anyone, knew what awaited him when death came for him.
“What do you do for your boss?” Reyna asked.
“I’m a Brigadier.”
“My time in Kiev gave me an up-close and personal look at the mafia. Do you do the same functions in the US as the Brigadiers do there? Here, they’re in charge of a small group of men and give jobs out to the Boyeviks, the warriors.”
The path widened so that Lev could come even with her. He was surprised when Reyna slowed to let him catch up.
“Actually, things are a bit different for me,” he explained. “My Pakhan, the boss, came over from Russia. He wasn’t part of any mafia while he lived there, but his uncle was. He learned a lot, and when he came to America, he took what he knew and used it to create his own mafia.”
Reyna looked at him as if she were seeing him for the first time. “You care a great deal for your Pakhan.”
“He’s more of a father than my own ever was.”
“That’s nice that you have that relationship.”
Lev wasn’t sure why he’d shared that with her. He’d never told anyone else before. “I may be the Brigadier, but I also carry the job of the Two Spies.”
Reyna’s eyes widened before she looked forward once more. “Support and security for your Pakhan. That must keep you busy. Why doesn’t your boss fill one of the other roles?”
“Because I get the jobs done properly.”
“I see,” she murmured.
Lev caught her quick glance in his direction. He wished he knew what she was thinking.
Reyna asked, “Did your Pakhan send you here?”
“He wanted in the fight against the Saints, yes.”
“And you didn’t?”
He shrugged. “It’s not that I didn’t want to fight them. My job is to protect Sergei and everything he’s created. I can’t do that from here.”
“You’re worried about him.”
It wasn’t a question, so he didn’t treat it as such. “I know fighting the Saints is important, but my first duty is to Sergei.”
“I think I’d like to meet him.”
“He’d like you.”
Her head snapped to him as her lips turned up in a smile. “You think so?”
“He’s always had a thing for strong, intelligent women.”
Reyna’s smile grew, making her eyes twinkle in the moonlight that fell through the trees. “I think that was a compliment.”
“It was.”
The smile was still in place when she looked ahead. “How did you come to work for him?”
That was a story Lev had never shared before. No one had dared ever ask. That was his own doing. He made sure no one wanted to know because he didn’t want to talk about it.
“Forget I asked,” Reyna said when he didn’t reply.
He shook his head. “It’s just that I’ve not spoken about it in years.”
“It’s fine. You don’t need to tell me.”
“When my father arrived from Russia, he went to work for Sergei. He lived hard and drank harder. He expected a lot from me, and no matter how well I did, it was never enough. The simple truth was that he went to the US for a better life, but he hated it. He hated everything about America. It didn’t matter that my mother loved him more than life itself.
It didn’t matter that Sergei took him in and gave him a job. ”
Reyna licked her lips. “And your mother?”
“The gentlest woman I’ve ever known. One time, when my father was drunk—though not too drunk—he told me that’s what drew him to my mother. He loved her. In his own way. He just couldn’t find happiness where he was.”
“Even with your mother’s love?”
“Apparently, love doesn’t fix all things,” Lev replied.
Reyna tucked her hair behind her ears. “Was it the connection of your father that brought you to Sergei?”
Her question brought memories of that time straight to the forefront of Lev’s mind. “I knew Sergei, of course. He was always nice to me back then, but no, I was going for my medical degree.”
“To be a doctor?” she asked, her brows shooting up on her forehead.
“I was drawn to it. It was the one thing my father approved of. I was in my second year when he died of liver failure. He’d always said it would be the alcohol that took him.
I was finishing up my final year, getting ready to do my residency when I got word that my mother had been attacked on her way home.
Witnesses told authorities that it was a group of men.
They beat her so badly that she never regained consciousness. ”
Reyna stopped to face him. “I’m so sorry.”
He looked off into the distant darkness as he halted next to her.
“The police took too long to bring the group to justice. When they finally did haul one man in, he confessed to doing all of it. And when I heard his connections to a rival mafia, I knew it was in retaliation for something my father had done. If only they’d come after me. Not my mother.”
Lev snorted and slid his gaze to Reyna. “I went to the Pakhan of that mafia and demanded the men who had attacked my mother. I wanted my revenge.”
“Did you get it?”
“It turned out that my mother’s death was just a ploy to get to me. I was their target. More than six of them came at me. I deflected as many hits as I could, but suddenly there was a rope around my neck.”
Reyna’s gaze darted to his neck exposed by his shirt.
There were no scars there, at least not externally. “That’s when Sergei and his men stormed in. He not only gave me my life, but allowed me to take revenge on the men who murdered my mother. I followed Sergei back to his home and never looked back.”