Page 79 of Miki

One thing I didn’t do was go into the exact nature of my illegal activities. She would find out more about that later if she stayed with me. In the meantime, I couldn’t forget she was still a police officer, and it was better that she didn’t know for now.

While I believed I had the first three steps of my plan to woo her in the bag, and I was sure I was well on the way to step 4 - winning her love - her loyalty was still in question. For even if she loved me, her moral code might lead her to betray me and above all else, I had to protect my family from that.

Everything I’d told her to date could be denied. She had no witnesses to my words; it would just be her word against mine and without evidence, it would be hard for her to prove anything.

I didn’t believe she would betray me, but without winning her loyalty with her love, there was always the slight possibility, and I needed to ensure she was completely mine before I divulged anything more.

Eilidh was quiet the whole time I spoke, simply looking off into space as she listened intently to my words. My stomach churned with nerves. It wasn’t a feeling I was used to, and I hated it.

Finally, I finished speaking. There was silence between us for a moment before she released a long breath and smirked.

“I thought you were Bratva, and was pretty sure you had to be high up if you were,” she stated, surprising me.

Of course, I shouldn’t be surprised; she was an intelligent woman and a detective. I should have known she would figure it out, and in all truth, it wasn’t that big of a leap to imagine that a Russian oligarch who she knew to be a criminal of some sort, would at least have some link to the Bratva.

However, that despite suspecting I was Bratva, she still got intimate with me and was developing feelings for me. That gave me hope.

“So why do you want to get Mathieson away from the police op?” she asked.

“I need him for questioning,” I explained.

“And then?” she asked, frowning and biting her bottom lip.

“Then I need to ensure he can never threaten my family again,” I replied, watching her intently.

“So, are you planning on killing him?” she questioned.

“Yes,” I said without hesitation.

She was silent again, and I could see her mulling things over in her mind.

Waiting for her response was killing me, but I said nothing, leaving her to figure her feelings on the matter out for herself. All the while, I prayed she could deal with it.

If she couldn’t, I would have her moved to a safe house, kept under my protection until I’d dealt with her colleagues and Mathieson, and then I’d let her go. It would break me, but I would do it.

Please let her accept this! I begged the universe.

Eventually, Eilidh took a deep, steadying breath and nodded.

“But you don’t know how to get him?!” she said, more of a statement than a question.

Little Miss Red stood and paced the floor, biting at the skin on the side of her thumb as her mind worked overtime.

Watching her, I remained silent and waited for her to work through whatever was going on in that brain of hers.

My little detective was thinking hard, and then suddenly, I saw her lightbulb moment. Her eyes widened and a triumphant grin spread across her face.

She’s got something!

“Glasgow has a secret network of underground tunnels which were created during the Second World War, including one that leads to Govan where the factory is,” she told me.

A slow grin spread over my face as I listened to the rest.

“The tunnels were made to ensure the telephone lines for the war cabinet were far enough underground so that if the enemy bombs destroyed the buildings, the phone network would remain operational. They also connected various important buildings together and bomb shelters so people could use them to escape from the bombing, too,” she told me.

“After the war, the tunnels were sealed off and forgotten about, but they still exist. That old factory building has been around since then, and there was a shelter nearby, so it might have an underground tunnel. If it does, that might be the answer,” Eilidh finished, grinning.

The woman was a genius!

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