Shattered Altar: Chapter 28

“You opened up her phone line?” Demyan asks.

“I did.”

“And you tapped it, I assume?”

I smirk and give him a pointed look. “What do you think?”

He laughs. “Well, out with it. What’s the hot goss?”

I exhale slowly. I understood the risks of giving Olivia freedom of the house, but I hadn’t expected it to escalate so damn quickly.

Especially since I assumed the maids knew how to follow orders.

“She found the scarf.”

Demyan’s eyes go wide and he sits bolt upright. “How?”

“How else? She went snooping.”

“That door is supposed to be locked.”

“I know,” I growl. “The maid on duty forgot to lock it.”

“Fire the woman. No, execute her. Better yet, jettison her into space.”

“It’s Tina,” I tell him, knowing that he’s always had a soft spot for the petite blonde.

He groans. “No, not Tina!”

“Should I prepare the rocket?”

“The poor girl was probably day-dreaming about me,” he muses with fake devastation. “She shouldn’t be punished for that. We can’t really blame her, can we? Curse my roguish charm!”

“I’ll take that as a no.”

“Okay… so the wifey knows then?” he asks.

“Hardly,” I scoff. “She doesn’t know anything for certain. But she has assumed a lot.”

“And she told her brother?”

“Yeah, but it doesn’t change anything. I made it clear to both of them where I stand. Rob knows what he’s risking if he pushes me.”

“Does that mean you’ll keep her for more than a year?” Demyan asks shrewdly.

“I’ll keep her as long as I have to.”

“I see, I see.” He strokes at his nonexistent facial hair. “How convenient.”

“Don’t be an asshole, Dem,” I warn.

“You might as well tell me to stop breathing,” he retorts. “My point still stands.”

“Since when have you ever made a valid point?”

“Since your world got flip-turned upside down by the cute brunette with the dimples.”

I feel a prickle of annoyance when he says that, but I hide it. Demyan already thinks he’s right about everything. No need to let him know he might be onto something where Olivia is concerned.

“I appreciate a beautiful woman as much as the next guy, don’t get me wrong,” he says. “But this one is more trouble than she’s worth.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you have the potential to actually fall for this girl,” Demyan explains. “That makes her more dangerous than the rest.”

I laugh scornfully. “You’ve confused me for someone with a heart.”

“Aleks—”

“Demyan,” I snap back. “Stop pushing this. Marriage doesn’t always have to be a disaster. That only happens when you marry for the wrong reason.”

“What’s the wrong reason?”

“Love,” I snap. “You decided to chase a foolish fairytale. To play make-believe.”

“I never—”

“Yes, you did,” I interrupt. “You thought you could have it all. Be the family man and the Bratva man. But you can’t be both. That’s why I’m not trying to be.”

“So you’re smarter than me, is that what you’re saying?”

I smirk. “I mean, I don’t think I need to say it at this point.”

He laughs and shakes his head. “Christ, you’re an asshole. I’m just being the voice of reason here.”

“I don’t have any illusions about my purpose. Nor hers. She’s not meant to be my loving wife or steadfast partner. She’s here because I need to put an end to a problem. Once that problem is solved, she’ll go right back to where she came from and I’ll forget she ever existed.”

He sighs in frustration. “When are you going to let her on to the fact that you’re listening in on all her conversations?”

“I’m sure she’ll figure it out eventually. Until then, I’ll take my information where I get it.”

“How chivalrous. Discover anything else?”

“They’re really close.”

“Her family?”

I nod. “‘Die for each other’ kind of close.”

“So like us?” he asks, batting his lashes at me.

I laugh. “I’d never die for your dumb ass.”

“And I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire. Glad we got that settled.”

We both grin. It’s nice to have a moment of levity every now and again. Sometimes, I forget that, before everything else, Demyan was just my best friend. It wasn’t always all about work.

But things change.

“Have you ever thought about going through with more than just passive threats?” he asks.

“Like?”

“Like, you know… exterminating the problem.” He gestures vaguely.

“You mean killing the brother?” I shake my head. “No. That would defeat the purpose of taking his sister. And he’d only be replaced by some other do-gooder Bureau rat who won’t care about Olivia enough to listen, which puts me right back where I started without a trace of leverage. No, I need Rob Lawrence in play. That’s the course I’ve taken.”

“And that course didn’t come with any additional, sexy little perks or anything…”

I roll my eyes. “Agent Lawrence has the power to end this investigation because he started it. It didn’t have any traction before he took the reins. The buck stops with him and I have his balls in a noose at present. Killing him would serve no purpose.”

“And just to be clear, it has nothing to do with the fact that it would upset your pretty little wife?”

“Are we back to this shit?”

He smirks. “Okay, okay. I’ll drop it.”

“Thank God.”

“I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

“Don’t I always?”

It’s a rhetorical question. Demyan doesn’t bother answering. He just stretches out and looks longingly towards the bar. “Too early for a drink?”

“Do what you like.”

“Such a good boss,” he says, walking over to the bar to pour himself a whiskey. “Very hospitable working environment.”

“While you’re over there, pour me one, too.”

He rolls his eyes. “Knew there was a catch.”

He pours out two glasses of whiskey and brings them over to where I’m sitting at the table. He’s only just sat down when there’s a sharp knock on the door.

“What now?” he mutters impatiently, as though we’ve had to suffer interruptions all morning.

“Enter,” I call out. The door opens and Pyotr walks in. “What is it, Pyotr?”

“Ms. Jennifer is here, sir.”

Demyan gives me a wicked grin. “Ooh, this is gonna get real interesting.”

“Send her in.”

Pyotr nods and disappears.

“Did you expect a visit from Jen today?”

“No,” I say, teeth clenched. “Which means she’s come to tell me something, and it’s not good.”

“How do you know?”

“She’s a big believer in delivering bad news in person.”

“Classy chick.”

I narrow my eyes. “Easy.”

“What? A man can admire.”

“Not this one,” I say firmly. “Not Jen.”

“Dude, chill out. You already have a wife.”

“She’s my best girl on the inside. The woman can charm the stripes off a fucking tiger. She’s an asset I don’t want messed with or distracted.”

He gives me puppy-dog eyes. “Don’t you have any faith in me?”

“Faith that you could keep her happy? That’s a definitive no. But if I want her to quit and run screaming for the hills, I’ll cut your ‘roguish charms’ loose on her.”

“You boys arguing about me?” Jen pushes the door open and walks in, all confidence and easy charm. “Well, well, if it isn’t Demyan Nikitin. What have you been up to, sugar?”

“Suffering a deep depression until I laid eyes on you, gorgeous.”

She laughs pleasantly. “If I were ten years younger and twice as stupid, that line might even work on me.” She bats her eyelids in his direction and blows him a kiss.

“Jennifer,” I greet. “Take a seat.”

“Preferably on my lap,” Demyan suggests.

Her blonde hair is darker than I remember. She’s let it grow out. It sits past her shoulders now.

She’s wearing dark trousers that flare at the knees and a skintight black blouse underneath her pristine white jacket. The woman has always had taste, but she very rarely gets to indulge in it. Work demands she blend into her roles.

“On second thought, let’s move to the sofa,” I say. “We can talk properly there.”

Demyan makes sure to stand up right when she’s walking past just so that she gets a full face of him.

“Have you been working out, handsome?” she purrs, tapping his chest delicately with her long, red nails. In her heels, she’s slightly taller than he is, not that Demyan seems to mind.

“For you and you alone,” he replies with a wink.

“Demyan,” I bark. “Move your ass.”

“All work and no play,” Jen tuts, shaking her head. “Makes Aleks a… well, you know how the saying goes.”

“No, finish it,” Demyan encourages her. “Maybe he’ll listen to you.”

She snorts. “Aleks doesn’t listen to anyone.”

“Are the two of you done?” I cock my head to the side. “You have news, don’t you?”

She eyes the drinks that Demyan and I have brought over to the seating area with us. “You’ll get your news—but first, I need a drink. You don’t want to be accused of being a boy’s club, do you?”

I give Demyan a nod and he goes to get her a drink. While he’s pouring, Jennifer looks me up and down, making her ogling blindingly obvious.

“You look good, boss.”

She’s always had a habit of making my title sound seriously dirty. I’d have fucked her a long time ago if I didn’t value her contribution to my Bratva so much. She’s too good of a spy to lose to heartbreak.

“You look different,” I remark. “Why’d you go darker?”

“The man I was trying to seduce prefers brunettes,” she says. “I couldn’t bear going all the way, though.”

“You could do whatever you want with me, baby,” Demyan suggests salaciously. “Blond, brunette, shave it all off, I don’t care.”

“You and every other man on the planet,” she laughs. Then she eyes me. “Well, every man but one.”

She takes the drink that he offers her, then raises it in a toast. “To the Bratva.”

We all raise our glasses to that. But while Demyan and I only take a sip, Jennifer drains all of her whiskey in one go.

A tiny little red flag goes off in my head. The woman’s never been much of a drinker. The only time she really throws it back is when she’s anxious or nervous about something.

And I have a feeling this time that I know what.

“I needed that,” she says, thumping her now-empty glass down on the table.

“You okay?” I ask carefully.

She exhales slowly, but forces a smile on her face. “I’m always okay.”

“Jennifer.”

“What?”

“You look like you might need a break.”

Her eyes flash with menace. “I do not need a break from anything. I can handle this job. I’ve handled it for five fucking years.”

“Really? Because you seem pretty rattled right now.”

“You’re the one who’s rattled!” she snaps. I give her an all-knowing look—Don’t try to pull that bullshit on me—and she sighs. “Okay, fine. It’s just… it’s not always easy, you know? Moving back and forth between worlds.”

Demyan and I exchange a glance. Of course, she catches it.

“Oh, don’t do that,” she says. “Don’t look at each other like I’m a problem that needs to be fixed.”

“Like I said, you’ve been in it too long.”

“You have a lot of enemies, Mr. Makarova.”

I snort. “I’m aware.”

“If I don’t do what I do, who’s going to have your back when shit blows up?”

“You’re not my only spy, Jen.”

“But I am your favorite,” she points out cockily. “I’m the only one you trust.”

“Wrong. I don’t trust anyone.”

She smiles. “I’ve been in the underworld long enough to suss out a lie. You’re good, don’t get me wrong. But I can sense it all the same.”

“Or maybe your ego is just getting in the way of your judgment.”

She scoffs. “That hasn’t been the case in a long time. Not since—well, we don’t need to go there.”

I smile. “It’s good to see you, Jennifer.”

Her smile turns soft and sincere. “I know. It’s good to see you, too. Both of you.”

“Thanks for saying that. I was starting to feel left out,” Demyan pouts.

“Oh! Speaking of which, I heard you’ve got a pretty wife locked up here somewhere,” Jen says.

Her tone is nonchalant, but I don’t miss the way her fingers clench tight until the whites of her knuckles show through.

“She’s not locked up anymore,” I say. “I gave her freedom of the house, which of course she’s already abusing.”

“Freedom of the house?” Jennifer gasps in alarm. “You mean, I could have run into her out there?”

“It’s not impossible.”

“Christ. I didn’t expect her to be roaming the halls so soon.”

“What’s the matter?” I prod. “Not interested in a reunion?”

She glares at me. “I’m not staying long. I just wanted a chance to get dressed up.”

“I’m flattered,” I say. “Does this bring us to the reason you’re here in the first place?”

She nods and her smirk flattens out. “You’re not going to like it.”

“I assumed as much.”

“There is a reason the cops zeroed in on you,” she tells me. “Someone gave them an anonymous tip.”

“We knew that already.”

“But what we didn’t know was who gave them the tip.”

“Don’t drag it out. You have a name?”

She nods. “I do. You’re really not going to like it.”