Page 91 of Ruthless Bonds

He looked at the box, then finally back at me. I wiggled it and he snatched it out of my hands.

“Where’s my piece?” Tash put her hands on her hips.

“That’s just for Grig, because he’s special,” I scolded. When Grig turned around, I mouthed, “It’s in the kitchen,” then straightened my back when he looked up.

“Fine, but don’t ever do that again.” He raised his eyebrows, and I nodded, clasping my hands together.

Ten minutes later, we were on the road headed back to the church. At least it was light out, so finding the USB should be easy.

Once we got to the church, we spread out, looking everywhere for it. Ten minutes turned into thirty, and after an hour of searching, I was on the verge of giving up. But half an hour later, Tash ran over with something black in her hand, a triumphant look on her face.

“You found it!” I squeezed her into a tight hug. “Oh, my God, I owe you one. You get a whole chocolate cake.”

“Hey,” Grig snapped. “I thought I was the special one.”

“You both are.” I chuckled. “OK, let’s get home before Kreos has an aneurism that we’ve been gone forso long. I’m surprised he hasn’t even called.” I pulled out my phone, scrunching up my nose. No signal? That was odd. I’d had a perfect signal last night. “Hey, do you guys have a signal out here?”

Tash and Grig pulled out their phones and shook their heads.

“That’s weird. It was fine last night.” I shrugged my shoulders, putting my phone back in my pocket.

They both shared a look that I couldn’t decipher, but the air around us seemed to tense.

“Let’s go.” Tash grabbed me by the elbow and ushered me back to the car. Grig looked around the woods, his hand on his hip like he might pull out his gun.

“What’s going on?” I asked Tash as I jumped into the backseat.

“Nothing. It’s getting late. We should head back.” Tash hopped in as Grig started the car.

“GPS is out,” Grig muttered, giving Tash the same look from moments ago.

We pulled out of the wooded area and back onto the main road, neither of them saying anything. It couldn’t have been more than five minutes later when the sound of a police siren had me turning around in my seat. Sure enough, there was a black SUV behind us with red and blue lights blasting.

“Just stay calm, Mrs. Zokrova.” Grig turned on his hazards and pulled onto the side of the road.

Tash shifted in her seat, her hand moving to rest near her gun on her side. “FBI,” she murmured. Her eyes narrowed as she watched the SUV in the side mirror. “Agent Greene.”

My stomach dropped as I peeked out the backand indeed saw Agent Greene walking toward us. There were two men with her, both dressed in tactical gear. “What do they want?”

Grig sighed as he turned to look at me. “This is what they do. Play games to try to catch us off guard. They don’t have shit on us. Never do.”

“If they take us in, you call the Pakhan immediately and head straight home. Don’t stop. Don’t talk to anyone. They can’t legally hold us. It’s just an intimidation tactic.” Tash stared at me, her jaw clenched. “Got it?”

I nodded as there was a tap on the window. Agent Greene stood with her badge displayed, the two men behind her already holding their guns.

Grig rolled down the window, smiling. “Agent Greene, what a surprise.”

Her lips curved into a twisted grin as she yanked the door open. “Out of the car.” She looked over Grig’s shoulder at me, her face softening. “You too.”

The three of us climbed out, the two men training their guns on Tash and Grig. Agent Greene pointed to the side of the road, and I walked over, tapping my boot in irritation. They dragged Grig and Tash to their SUV and pushed them against the hood.

My blood boiled at the way they were being treated, but Grig continued to smirk and Tash’s face revealed no emotions. Except I saw the glint in her eye, the one that meant if they did something she didn’t like, she would be ready to start a fight. She glanced over at me, and I shook my head slightly, making her smile.

The agents removed Tash’s and Grig’s weapons, the click of handcuffs echoing a moment later as they cuffed their wrists behind their backs. AgentGreene supervised as the men searched the vehicle, looking between the seats and in every compartment. They even looked under the hood because apparently criminals like to keep guns there, too.

Grig and Tash remained silent, as if this was nothing unusual for them. How many times had they gone through this before? I knew Kreos had his people in the FBI, but this seemed like something to worry about.

After a few minutes, Agent Greene came over and stood next to me as we watched the agents continue their search of the car.

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