Page 71 of Guarded Rebellion

“Lev?” He sighed. “That is my job. I gamble on all of your lives. My family. My men. Soldiers, leaders, spies, and guards. Every Baranov’s safety depends on a gamble in one way or another.”

But I’m not a Baranov.I was Lev Kvashnin, a bastard child and orphan he’d given a purpose to.

“I gambled when I tasked you with taking out Yusuf Ilyin,” he reminded me. “The same as I gamble on your commitment to keeping my niece as safe as possible.”

“It’s not a gamble,” I replied. “I will guard Eva with my life. No matter what.”

“Hmm.” He cleared his throat. “Good to hear it.”

I furrowed my brow, unclear of what his remark meant. Was he glad that I was a dutiful soldier and guarding her? Or was he… proud that I’d bethisdedicated to keeping Eva safe?

“I will report in after my patrol,” I told him before we ended the call.

Eva and Kelly were napping, too tired after lunch, and instead of waking the woman of my dreams, I texted her to let her know I would return after checking on the men. She’d get the text and know that the guard posted in the hallway would see to her safety until my return.

The closer I got to Eva, the less I cared for this dual job. To be her bodyguard, but also to be a spy in the field. I tried to resist the dream and vision of just doing one—being a soldier like usual and spying for the Boss with her in my life. As my woman.

When I arrived on campus, I acknowledged Rurik but didn’t join him. At this stage of the mission, it seemed best to spread out instead of pairing up. He kept in touch frequently anyway, so even though we were working together out here, we remained apart.

Just like I confirmed to Oleg, there was nothing new to notice about the Petrov forces here. More of them lingered at the dorm building where Irina resided. But they seemed idle and bored. Not expectant and as though they were waiting for something or someone like that night Rurik and I had tailed them.

This is pointless.They were hiding somewhere else, and there were far too many buildings all over the campus to have adequate surveillance everywhere. This was only one thing the Boss had to deal with. Countless other missions, dangers, threats, and deals had to have his attention too. The Baranov organization was large and powerful, but the enemies we accrued were many.

I turned to check the rear doors to the biggest library before I gave up and returned to Eva at the apartment. This building was the oldest here, and with countless additions, several areas were sheltered and not so easily watched. The last time I was here was when Eva had that study group, where she kissed that punk to get a rise out of me.

Speak of the devil…

I spotted the scrawny asshole just ahead. He turned from taking cash from someone in a suit just yards ahead, near a corner that led to another outdoor corridor.

“Fuck.” He moved his head just enough to spot me approaching. His eyes opened wide. Frantically shoving the money into his back pocket, he scrambled to run. He tripped. Moving so quickly that he lost his footing, he gave me a head start on him.

Before I could reach him, though, curious what he was being paid off for, I filed away the observation of his fear. He had reasons to loathe me for the times I’d forced him away from Eva. Right now, though, he looked at me like he’d piss his pants, terrified of my getting ahold of him when Eva wasn’t anywhere near here.

“Stop,” I warned, running after him.

He regained his footing though, darting off.

I dug in, running faster, but others turned on me. The suited man paying him off faced me. He was an Ilyin soldier I recalled from staking out Yusuf.

“What the—” I deflected the first hit from another Ilyin charging close.

Three of them surrounded me, and still recovering from my other fight at the dorm, I knew I’d be outnumbered and overpowered. If not for Marcus and another soldier noticing the commotion and rushing in to assist me, I would’ve been killed.

Like the cowards they were, though, they retreated when an SUV sped up and drove off. I got a couple of shots off at the car, but it didn’t stop them.

“What…” Marcus panted, bending over with his hands on his knees. He strained to catch his breath, just as I did after the fight. Any second now, security would come to investigate the shots that were fired.

“What the fuck was that about?” He stood, wincing at me as he licked blood at the corner of his mouth.

“I don’t know. I saw them paying off that fucker and?—”

“No.” He shook his head. “Not that they fought you at all. Why the fuck wouldn’t they shoot at us?” He narrowed his eyes, studying me. “Why wouldn’t they shootyou?”

They hadn’t. We’d tried to use our guns on them, but they’d deflected us, preferring hand-to-hand combat.

I huffed. “Fuck if I know, man.” I glared in the direction of where they’d sped off.

“I was told to look out for the fucking Petrovs,” the other soldier said as he tucked his gun away.

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