Page 11 of Alexei

His beady eyes widened. “I’d lose my job if the higher ups get wind of it. And I don’t have the proper authority.”

“Only if they find out,” Vasili agreed. “And they won’t.”

Vasili turned to leave when McGovan frantically stopped him.

“Wait, wait.” He shoved his hands into his hair, making it a disheveled mess. We had barely been here two minutes and he was already a mess. How in the hell did he ever succeed in this career? “Let me introduce you to Agent Ashford, who has been tracking this case for a while.”

Vasili’s eyes flickered my way. A shared nod and he sat back down. She was who we needed.

McGovan picked up his handset and pushed a single button.

“Ashford. My office.”

He hung up and his eyes came back to Vasili, then darted to me. “I need to know my agent will be safe.”

“We’ll keep him safe.” Vasili didn’t know one thing about Agent Ashford. He had his secrets; I had my own.Shewas my secret.

“He’s actually ashe,” McGovan replied. “Agent Ashford has been chasing leads for the past six months in New Orleans. She can give you a quick rundown. But I need reassurance she won’t be put in harm's way. Her father is-”

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.McGovan trailed off and his eyes darted to the door.

“Come in,” he called out.

I knew who it was before the door cracked. The smell of chocolate. The door opened and Agent Ashford walked in. She no longer wore her FBI vest but still kept her sidearm.

She strode in, softly shutting the door behind her. She stood straight and firm, but something, everything about her was soft. She wasn’t that short, except that compared to Vasili’s and my frames, she seemed petite and fragile. Her lips were full, rosebud like, and dominated her delicate face right along those big dark eyes. Those same dark eyes as her brother Kingston.

Her gaze traveled over her boss, then Vasili, and ended on me.

Our eyes connected and she stole my breath. Literally. For a fraction of a second, I forgot to breathe and the only thing I felt was my heartbeat and the darkest, softest chocolate eyes on me.

This woman had no business being in the field.The thought was loud and clear in my brain.

Her expression was too soft, too innocent. It burned right through my skin and straight to my dick. And for the first time in my life, I actuallywantedto touch. For the entirety of my adult life, sex was just another exercise. A necessity to relieve the steam.

Nothing more; nothing less.

But I hated any form of touching. Yeah, I was all kinds of fucked up. Courtesy of our parent’s triangle, revenge, and jealousy. Yet as I watched Agent Ashford, it all faded away.

Past. Present. Future.

It was dangerous. Repercussions would be deadly. And her family was powerful. Her brothers protected her at all costs, and had torn into quite a few families to keep her out of harm’s reach over her lifespan.

Especially since they lost their one sibling.

I watched her tilt her head sideways, studying me, and to my dismay, I wondered what she saw.

Riffraff. A thug. A killer.

She’d be right on all accounts. I was all that and worse. If she’d remember, she’d know I was worth less than a speck of dirt on her boots. Though she still offered comfort twenty years ago. To a mere stranger; a killer.

“Ah, Agent Ashford,” her boss called out, but her eyes never strayed away from me, watching me warily. “Meet Vasili and Alexei Nikolaev.” The moron chuckled, and I kind of wished I could just shoot him so he’d stop talking. “They are brothers.”

Another idiotic chuckle.

Her lips tugged up and I’d bet all my money she almost rolled her eyes then stopped herself.

She glanced at Vasili, then back to me, then back to Vasili. I didn’t fucking like it.