AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hey, brat.” He calls me brother in Russian. “Let me video call you, and we can watch it together.”
“What about Erika?” Again, my accent is strong, but I can’t control it.
“She’s sleeping. It will be okay. I’m here for you.”
“Why?” I’ve always wondered this. Yes, we are friends, but he could have abandoned me, just like my father’s family did. My mother’s family was already gone.
“We are family.”
I accept his video call request without further comment.
“Load it up. I don’t have all night.” He jokes, but I know he’s serious too.
“I heard it’s a girl,” I say, commenting on his wife’s pregnancy. “How are you going to handle that?”
“I’m screwed. God is laughing down at me for being the punk I was with girls growing up. Fuck, I not only need to get another soldier from Andrei but also have Ley’s team on retainer all the time.”
I can’t stop the laugh that bursts from my chest. For the first time in my life, I want that. I want to know my baby is in my woman’s belly. That my life is going to go on. It hits me like a ton of bricks. A pain in my chest.
I need to find her.
“It only took one look at Erika for you to know?”
He chuckles. “Yeah. You think it’s happened to you, brat?”
“The woman who stole my badges.”
“Holy shit. That’s why you didn’t want me to go after her. She’s the hacker, isn’t she?” He pauses for a moment. “This is fucking hilarious. Your girl is giving you a run for your money.” He laughs hard and loud.
“What are you two laughing about down here?” Erika steps into frame behind him. Her voice is soft, carrying a hint of sleepiness.
“He’s the one laughing, not me,” I grumble.
“You started it with the girl talk.” Gray tries to deflect. “Okay, princess, I need to watch something with Alek. You go up to bed and relax. I’ll be up shortly.” He kisses her and rubs her growing belly.
“Night, Aleksei. Miss you.” She blows me a kiss.
“Hey, princess, don’t make me spank you,” Gray growls at her as he swats her butt. I turn away from the screen because I don’t want to intrude on their moment. “Only I get your kisses,” he tells her.
“Hey, hey, I don’t want your woman.” I defend myself.
A few seconds later, he coughs to get my attention. “Ready?”
“Yeah, let’s do this.” I’m glad for his and Erika’s distraction, but I hate that I’m going to taint the moment with this.
I click the link after I upload the flash drive onto my computer. A grainy image of Jimmy Duncan pops up on the screen. He’s disheveled and bleeding. I notice he’s missing fingers on his hands, and when the camera pans out, I see the damage to his legs and feet. He’s been worked over good.
“What did you do to earn the Irish’s trust?” the brigadier asks.
“I d-didn’t just have the I-I-Irish’s trust,” Duncan stutters.
“Who else?”
“B-B-Barone too.”
“What did you do for him?”
“Hits.” The word drops like a bomb. “N-Not like Bronwyn.”
