Page 12 of Alexei

“Hello.” Then as if she couldn’t stop herself, her eyes came back to me.

That’s right, little girl. Keep your eyes on me.

ChapterFour

AURORA

Holy smokes.

It was the only thought I could conjure. What an amazing gene pool! My eyes traveled over the man who sat in the chair. Even sitting down, he looked like a damn giant. He wore an expensive suit; Armani if I had to guess. Custom made. Though it didn’t take away from his aura of danger. The man was a fucking beast.

My eyes darted back to his brother. He wore black cargo pants, military grade… an expensive military grade. Black combat boots. A black, button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up that exposed his muscles. And those damn tattoos.

What the fuck was up with those?

He had them on every visible inch of his skin. Even on his face, under both his eyes. I shifted forward, as if pulled by an invisible force, or curiosity, to examine those tattoos. Personally, I hated tattoos, but there was something intriguing about his. They didn’t seem random either. The profiler within me wanted to dissect them and understand the meaning behind each one of them.

“Ah, Agent Ashford. Meet Vasili and Alexei Nikolaev. They are brothers.”

I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes at my boss.No shit, Sherlock.

Anyone with one eye, never mind two, could see these two were related. Even if their coloring wasn’t the same, and it was, all you had to do was look at their eyes. I had never seen such pale blue eyes in my lifetime.

A distant, foggy memory flashed in my mind but dissipated before it could clear.

“Nice to meet you,” I greeted them both.

Though the way my boss uttered their last name, it sounded important. The last name didn’t ring a bell, but then I wasn’t exactly from this area. Though I’d be sure to look them up.

“You too, Agent Ashford,” the guy sitting down replied, his voice deep and accented. The one standing remained silent.

“You and Jackson will be working with the Nikolaev men.” I cocked my eyebrow. These two were clearly not agents. My eyes roamed over the two brothers. Their expensive clothes didn’t conceal the predators underneath, nor ruthless intelligence hiding behind those pale glaciers. These men were dangerous. “I want you to share all the information you have with them. And this is to remain confidential.” My head snapped to the Nikolaev brothers and then to my boss. Okay, something was definitely up. “Can you do that?”

Again, the urge to roll my eyes was strong. My boss was the classic example of the man who thought women couldn’t do a job as well as a man in this organization. I could show him women did it even better, but why waste my energy on it.

“Which part?” My voice dipped with sarcasm. I couldn’t resist. Sometimes McGovan talked to me like I was a moron. “It kind of seems overwhelming.”

Both Nikolaev men's lips twitched. Though I wasn’t sure whether it was in distaste for my sarcasm or insubordination. My eyes darted to the brother that was sitting down. I noted tattoos on his fingers.

A cross, queen of hearts, and pointed star.

Kind of hot, though tattoos were not my thing. Mentally, I made a note to look up what those symbols meant. There was no mistaking the Nikolaev origin. That last name screamed Russian.

“Don’t worry, Ashford. These men will help you, so you don’t get overwhelmed.” Okay, this time I just couldn’t stop myself. I rolled my eyes.

“Wonderful, then we’re all set,” I sneered.

Usually, information wasn’t shared with outsiders. I glanced back at my boss and noted him pushing the button on the device, which jammed any electronic device, making eavesdropping by anyone outside this room impossible.

Yeah, something was up with all this shit.

“Though considering these two are not cops nor agents, it’s illegal to share information about an active, ongoing case,” I continued icily.

McGovan’s bushy eyebrows jumped up to his receding hairline. “Excuse me?”

God, did he want me to spell it out?

“I said-”