Page 47 of Shielded Secrets

I shook my head. “I’m not here to spend time with her. Not today.”

“Then why…?” He glanced at Rurik.

“I want to help,” I said, even though Oleg was talking to Rurik, not me.

Oleg faced me, wiping his mouth one last time, then placing his linen napkin on the table. “Please excuse me for my bad manners.” He gestured at the table. “Have you eaten yet?”

I shook my head. “No. But no, thanks.” I glanced at Rurik, worried he’d protest again.

I’d seen enough of the welcome that I could count on if I chose to stay with Rurik as his girlfriend. And as his girlfriend, I would feel awkward and guilty to not help their… cause. I’d only stayed with him for a week, but that was enough time for me to feel in my heart and know in my head that this was the right choice.

“I want to help spy or listen, or whatever you’re asking for. It makes sense. I am in an ideal position working near the dean’s office.” I reached out to hold Rurik’s hand again. “And I know I’ll be protected.”

Oleg nodded. “I’m not asking you to do much of anything, really.”

Rurik huffed as he rubbed his hand down his face and looked off to the side.

“You’ll just go to work like usual.”

“And?” I asked.

“And happen to wear a wire or record anything you might hear.” Oleg shrugged. “Anything that might be said near you, should you happen to meander close to a particular office when certain people are expected to be there.”

“Kelly, I will be there.” Rurik released a heavy sigh. “No matter what the details are and how this is supposed to be rigged and set up, you willnotbe alone.”

“That’s right,” Oleg said. “Rurik will be there with you to watch over you.”

He already has been.

“I appreciate your willingness to support our investigation.”

Is that what they call it? An investigation?

I was pretty sure that recording people against their knowledge was a crime. Compared to the other crime I’d committed, this seemed like child’s play.

“And if anything were to come back to me, if I were to get in trouble or something…?” I asked.

Oleg chuckled. “Don’t jinx yourself, Kelly. You’re borrowing trouble with those what-ifs.”

“But,” I said again, “what if…?”

“If anything should happen or go wrong, now or ever, we will handle it.” He tilted his head to the side, studying me. “What are you afraid of?”

He would’ve been better off asking what I wasn’t afraid of.

“Getting caught. Someone hurting me. All of you throwing me under the bus and leaving me in a bad situation.” I shrugged.That kind of stuff.

“Who’s done that to you before?” he asked.

I opened and closed my mouth, stunned that he’d ask that. “What?”

“You would worry about such a thing if you’ve had the time and exposure to count on it being possible. Who’s left you in a bad situation before?”

Damn, was he good. He was intuitive and sharp, and I wasn’t sure how this big, bad Mafia Boss would react if he knew what I had done years ago with one of the area’s favorite cops.

“It’s a generalization,” I lied. “My parents were addicts and they abandoned me.”

Oleg nodded. “I saw that in your file.”

---