Page 7 of Guarded Rebellion

“Yes,” the Boss said.

“Me?” I pointed at my chest, as if he needed the emphasis of who I was. He wantedme, a lethal killer and trained spy, to twiddle my thumbs while his spoiled brat of a niece pretended to be smart at college? “Can’t someone else do it?” I wanted to scoff at the mere suggestion. “What about him?” I gestured at Rurik.

“Do I need to remind you that you lack the privilege of declining orders, Lev?”

I sighed. “No, sir.” Of course, I’d do as he asked, but this was bullshit. This was a joke. Asking me to babysit Eva at a damn college campus was an insult to the qualifications I brought to the table. It’d be a waste of my skills.

“She’ll be starting with the winter semester,” Oleg continued. “You’ll have a few days to get your affairs in order.”

Gee, a couple of days to “relax” then.

Still, I struggled to comprehend the why of this assignment. Why me? I suspected there had to be more than what met the eye. Oleg Baranov wasn’t the Boss for no reason. He often coupled motives, and some weren’t clear at the surface level.

“I thought you were against her enrolling,” Rurik said. “I mean, there’s not really any point in studying anything once she’s married…”

“I changed my mind,” Oleg said, standing to meet us on the other side of the desk. “And I’ve changed my mind for a specific reason. I’ve heard that another student will be in attendance at this institution.” He made direct eye contact with me, serious as ever. “The second eldest daughter of the Petrov Family. Irina Petrov. I expect you to spy on her and the Petrov security with her.”

Aha. Now we’re getting somewhere.

“I see,” I replied.

“I doubt that you do,” Oleg replied blandly. “While you were following your orders and taking out Yusuf Ilyin, I wondered if the Petrovs are plotting against us. As you’re aware, we cannot clearly determine what their role was with that drug arrangement falling apart.”

“Agreed.” I wouldn’t take offense to his implication that I couldn’t see this in a big-picture frame of mind. Of course, I did. I was “just” a soldier in the family, but I had eyes and ears. I wasn’t a stupid grunt worker.

The notion of babysitting Eva on a college campus didn’t appeal. I seldom had to deal with her to know more than what other soldiers commented. Sexy but sassy. Polite but aloof. She sounded like a pain in the ass already, but spying was a better jobthan babysitting. Collecting intel about the Petrovs was a worthy cause.

But it still sucked that I’d miss out on a real break after all.

“Do you understand your orders?” Oleg asked me after a few more minutes of sharing vague details about the job.

Unfortunately, I do…

“Yes, sir.” I bit back another groan at not being able to sleep in my own bed.

Or relax.

4

EVA

Once my uncle gave me the permission to go to college, I jumped on it. It had taken me months to get him to say yes. I still wasn’t sure why he had. Why he changed his mind would remain a mystery to me. All that mattered was that hehadchanged his mind.

I began to prepare for enrolling and registering months ago. I walked through the websites. I contacted the college staff and emailed the registrar and curriculum advisors. Even though I hadn’t received his permission yet, I started the process of acting like I would be a college student in hopes that my effort would be seen as proof that I was determined to do this. That it wasn’t a whimsical fling of an idea. Doing all that legwork well in advance and making all the plans could show Uncle Oleg how serious I was about this, how logical and practical I was about chasing my dreams for a college degree.

I knew I wasn’t like any other twenty-two-year-old. I would be arranged in a marriage. I would be expected to be a Mafia wife. I was unable to escape that fate, but that didn’t have to mean that I couldn’t live at all before it started. Before I would be trapped in a marriage and into motherhood, I couldtryto live, to experience some semblance of life outside this mansion.

It almost seemed frivolous to get a degree while knowing I couldn’t make a career out of it, but that didn’t matter. I would apply myself. I would work hard. But when I wasn’t, I could justbe. I could live like a normal young adult away from this prison of a home.

Freedom was on the menu, and I couldn’t wait for it. I’d only get a taste. A sample of independence was all I could count on, but I’d take it.

“Anything to get me out ofhere,” I muttered as I walked from the kitchen to head back upstairs and resume packing. On the way, I passed no fewer than six guards, all of them stiff and unsmiling, nearly glowering at me as I went by.

These… gargoyles had always been present in my life, and even though they seldom ever spoke to me, I felt the burns of their stares. They judged me. I knew they did without any communication having to be shared between us. Their auras, their vibes, their very presence always made me feel uncomfortable. Never family, but sentinels. Never friends, but violent, pissed-off-at-the-world employees.

“No, ma’am.” One stood with his spine ramrod straight as Maria pawed at the lapels of his jacket. “I cannot.”

She didn’t listen, deaf to his rejection as she lowered her hand to cup his dick through his pants. Kissing along his neck, she whined and pouted. “Real quick,” she begged. “Before he’s home.”

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