Page 18 of Kept By The Agents

"They think they can use the others to scare you into complying. They will use that advantage. If they take your brother's girls, you have nothing left to lose. They want you living in that terror," Suave said. He shook his head.

I shot him a dark look. Boris already felt bad enough. He didn't need to rub it in more with thoughts of what could have happened.

"How did you even find us?" Weaver asked, suspicion coating his words.

I smiled at Boris then looked at them. "You wouldn't ask that if you knew this man and his skills. He has his finger on the pulse of this city. Not much happens here without him knowing. He almost single handedly caused the Bratva and the Raleka to take one another out."

"Is that why the Raleka knew to come to you to find Cat?" Brandon asked.

Boris nodded. "They know who I am. And that I would do anything to destroy them. I am always the first on their list to question if something goes wrong. If it had been me, I would have been fine with taking Cat's identity to the grave." He shot me a sorrowful look. "But my family-"

"I don't blame you, Boris. The Raleka already knew who I was," I admitted.

"What?" Brandon asked. They were all staring at me with varying degrees of anger on their faces.

"When I first got here and Alyona explained everything," I explained, "I agreed to help her. I suggested we go to the police." That should get me points right? Their expressions told me no. "They wouldn't help us," I continued with a sigh. The cop we were talking to turned right around and walked away when I was in the middle of explaining what happened." I'd been so pissed off that he did that.

"What did you do?" Suave asked. It wasn't a simple question. It was an accusation.

"Nothing."

None of them believed my innocent tone. Suave folded his arms over his chest and arched a brow, waiting for me to explain.

"I may, or may not, have snuck into the back," I admitted. "Alyona had warned me that the police here were under the control of the Bratva and the Raleka. Of whoever would pay the most, really. So, I followed that guy until he went into an office. Then I hid and as soon as he left, I went in and copied everything from his computer onto a USB drive."

"You figured out his password?" Weaver asked. He sounded impressed.

I was about to disappoint him. "He didn't lock the screen."

"Doesn't matter how many trainings we get about that shit," Brandon muttered. He glared over at Suave and pointed at me. "That's why I'm always harping at you to lock your station. The simplest techniques always win."

Suave just rolled his eyes, ignoring Brandon. "What did you find?"

"Wait," Brandon commanded. His eyes fell back on Boris. "It's better for everyone that he doesn't hear this."

"I still want to know how you knew we were with Cat," Weaver said.

"I was waiting for her to come back to her apartment. When she didn't return last night I was terrified they'd already found her. Then you three showed up. After that firefight, I suspected you were helping her, so I followed you."

"Firefight?" I arched my brow at Brandon and Weaver. Suave was still standing guard over the door, though he was less tense now that it was clear Boris wasn't leaving until he answered our questions.

"Later," Brandon told me. "Boris. Do you have anything else that could help us bring down the Raleka?"

"Whatever the authorities have on them is likely to be outdated," he replied.

"Why would they have ransacked my apartment back home if it was outdated?" I asked.

"They still won't want an American reporter to have the information." He stepped forward and handed Brandon a USB drive. "That's everything I have on them. Maybe there will be something useful to you." He hesitated a moment, then gave Brandon a pleading look. "If you find any of the women they've taken, or knowledge of them, my daughter's name is Yura."

A whistle pierced the air from outside the safehouse. Boris looked over his shoulder at Suave and the door. He closed his eyes briefly, as though saying a quick prayer—something common for him—and then met my gaze. "I must go now. It has been an honor and a blessing to have met you. I wish you luck. If I find anything else, I'll contact you." He pulled me into a hug. "I pray that you find Elena, but Catalina…" He sighed. "You need to be careful. They'll do things that will make you beg for death long before they'd grant it to you. Don't let them find you."

"I won't," I whispered. In truth, I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep that promise. It was one thing to hunt down these crazy bastards when they didn't know I was looking into them. It was a whole different thing being cast into the spotlight and having their entire organization searching for me. "Goodbye, my friend," I told him.

We embraced once more before Suave let him leave. He wouldn't let me step outside to see him, or his family, off. It was probably better that way.

"Get everything packed up. We're leaving in twenty minutes," Brandon ordered.

"What about me?" I asked, unsure of where I stood with them. Technically, they didn't owe me a damn thing. They could move onto their next safe house and finish up their mission all while leaving me to defend myself. My stomach soured at the thought. If they did that, I was as good as dead.

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