Page 102 of Alexei

“Alexei?”

“Da.”

“If you think I’ll use whatever you tell me for the FBI case, I promise I won’t,” I started softly, “Whatever happens in Russia, stays in Russia,” I joked, my voice not quite portraying any humor.

I offered him a feeble smile, hoping he’d see sincerity in my eyes. I meant those words. I wouldn’t use his confidence against him. Ever! Somehow over the last few days things have shifted and he has become important.

That arctic gaze watched me, longing and sadness in them.Broken eyes, my memory whispered. I wanted to hug him, make him better.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock. I waited.Nothing.

I resumed my pacing. Breathe in. Breathe out. One step. Two steps.

I focused on the small space and each step. Dirt ground. Stone walls. No window. It took ten steps to cross the room. One camera. I took a deep breath, turned around and continued pacing, avoiding the need to look Alexei’s way.

After thirty minutes, or was it an hour, I could see the path on the dirt floor from all my pacing. At this rate, I’d put a dent in it by tomorrow. Alexei said his brothers were already in Russia. They could be here very soon. I had to find a way to get information from Ivan about my brother. I couldn’t walk away from this place without discovering what happened to him.

My eyes darted to Alexei, still seated on the shabby, springy twin bed. My step faltered and I gave him a double take.

He didn’t look well. I studied his face. He looked shaken up. It was the first time I’d seen a flicker of strong emotion on his face. A hint of perspiration glistened on his forehead, something unhinged in his eyes. I would have missed it if I wasn’t watching him so carefully.

The man’s face fascinated me. Much to my dismay. It would seem I wanted him despite my current disappointment and anger.

A faint trace of perspiration trickled down his face. And something clutched in my chest. Maybe it was my nerves, or possibly worry for him.

No, no.It was just a concern for our situation. If he was worried, maybe we are in deeper shit than I thought.

I kept telling myself we’d get out of this shit, complete the assignment and I’d be on my way. Right after I obtained information on my brother. Deep down I knew he couldn’t be alive.

If he was, he would have found a way home. To us. Dad wasn’t much of one, but my brothers and I were always close. All of us cared about each other and always had each other’s back.

I had to focus on that. Find information on my brother. Close the case. Move on and forget Alexei. I didn’t need to make my life complicated with any suspicious connections with members of the mafia. And the Nikolaev men… well, they were fucking mafia. And clearly, Alexei didn’t trust me enough to share certain things with me.

Yes, I just needed them to get us the fuck out of here so we could…

A strangled, labored breath returned my attention to Alexei. Jesus, he looked worse.

“A-Alexei, are you alright?”

Those cold, pale blue eyes had a way of sending Arctic cold temperatures right down to my soul when he looked at me. Yet, right now, there was something vulnerable in them. The stoic, arctic expression was gone and in its place was a man. A man that I was sure felt something. Fear or panic, I couldn’t tell.

Tentatively, I took a step towards him. Then another.

“Hey,” I rasped, unsure what to say.

He didn’t move, didn’t speak. It was nothing new. Yet, his eyes were screaming with something. Something horrific.

Taking another step, I slowly raised my hand to his face. Any moment, I expected him to smack it away, grab my wrist, and tell me off. Yet, nothing came. As if I was watching through an hourglass, my movements seemed exaggerated and slowed, each breath delayed, our eyes locked.

My palm connected to his clammy cheek.Heisperspiring, I realized in shock.

In all the weeks I had known him, I had not seen emotions flicker across his beautiful face. Yet now, it was as if shadows danced in his pale blue eyes, haunting him. It was the most unsettling feeling, and for the first time in a very long time, fear clutched at my chest.

A fear for him. Just like I feared for my brother twenty years ago.

I swallowed and lowered so we could be eye-to-eye. I didn’t like to see these haunting ghosts lurk in his broken eyes.

Alexei was usually maddening with his silence. His stoic face could drive a saint insane. And I was no saint. Yet, right now… I’d rather have all of that back, rather than see him suffer.