Page 22 of Guarded Rebellion

The soldier, Marcus, arrived on time, but I scowled when realizing one of the newest, cockiest soldiers would be taking over Eva’s guard in my absence.

“She’s to go nowhere. Only her lecture, with your presence,” I told him when he arrived at the apartment. Turning my head from side to side, I tried to lose the nagging ache of strain in the muscles of my neck. The pillows were too damn soft to be comfortable.

“Yes, sir,” he replied at the same time Eva huffed and carried on to the kitchen.

“Nowhere but her lecture hall,” I repeated, directing the order to her this time.

“Why would I assume otherwise, overlord asshole?” she quipped.

What I wouldn’t do to spank that sass out of you…I bit my tongue and ignored Marcus raising his brows in surprise. After I gave him one more stern look, I left to drive back to the house she’d wanted to leave so badly just to go to school.

The entire drive back, I thought about her. Why she’d be so adamant to go to college. If she really thought she could have a career. But mostly, how she seemed happy about being gone. Eva wasn’t “happy” around me. Near me, she was rude and impatient, but I could call her on that act and know that her attitude was directed in retaliation for how strict I was with her. When she wasn’t aware of me watching her, I picked up on how calm and satisfied being an academic woman made her. She was peaceful when reading. She was pensive and looked intellectual when studying.

On one hand, I could sympathize with her need to not be idle. That she could feel better about herself to apply her smarts and have a goal like acing a test. I, too, loathed being still and without a purpose.

But what the hell are you going to do after, Eva?She’d be married and bearing children while her fancy diploma would rot and mold in storage.

At the mansion, I tucked away all my thoughts about the sexy smartass I was supposed to be watching over. Facing Oleg and a few of his top leaders, I switched into pure soldier mode, ready to answer any questions they had for me.

“I killed him. Whoever he was, he was dead,” I replied once the meeting started.

“You confirmed it?” a leader asked.

I nodded, trying my best not to get irritated as I showed them the picture on my phone. “I took a picture for proof of death.” No one disputed the grisly, gory image on the screen. “I felt for a pulse. After I took out Yusuf, I checked on this man’s body, as well as the two other Ilyin guards I killed to reach Yusuf. They were all there, right where I left them. Dead.”

Oleg nodded. “We will follow up with these reports of that man appearing.”

“Where has he been reported?” I asked.

“Throughout the city,” someone answered. “At clubs. Mostly glances in passing, though, from the soldiers on the street.”

“And no one can confirm who the fuck he is?” I asked.

“You didn’t either,” another leader replied hotly. He crossed his arms, narrowing the one eye he still had. The other had been removed as he was tortured twenty years ago.

“I didn’t have time to hesitate and confirm who he was. He was acting like a guard, so I treated him like one. I had that single opportunity to get close enough to kill Yusuf, and I took that chance, just like I was trained to.”

“How was he acting like an Ilyin guard?” another asked.

I shrugged. “He was with the other guards. He was aware of them and speaking with them, as if they were a team. At no time did any of the Ilyin guards with Yusuf act as though he was a trespasser or enemy.”

Oleg sat up and cleared his throat. “That doesn’t mean he couldn’t have been a mole, though. A plant on their staff.”

“Who would plant him there, though? The Petrovs?”

Oleg drummed his fingers on the desk. “It wasn’t us.” He pointed at me. “You were the only Baranov man I had assigned to take out Yusuf.”

I nodded once. I had been solo on that assignment.

“Speaking of,” the Boss said. “What news do you have of the Petrovs?”

“Nothing.” I shook my head. “She’s had one class with her, once. They didn’t seem to speak much, from what I could see through the door’s window. I’ve supervised all her interactions with classmates. Eva and Irina Petrov have not formed any alliance or friendship, and they both seem to be steering clear of each other.”

Oleg nodded. “Good. She knows better. She’s not stupid enough to speak with the enemy or insert herself into politics.”

“And the soldiers on site are minimal. Just one or two with her at a distance. More are nearby, as backup, but in a similar fashion to the security detail I’ve arranged for Eva.”

“Very well,” Oleg replied.

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