Russian Law (Law Series ) (Volume 1) by Camille Taylor

taken -
at least nothing that I could determine.”
    He
followed her eyes as they moved around the room. Nikolai was murdered here, in
this very apartment. He shivered as a chill went down his back.
    “Do
you have the report they made?” he asked.
    She
nodded.
    “Can
I see it?”
    She
frowned, trying to decide why he wanted it. Finally she gave up and went to the
writing desk nearby and opened the drawer. She shifted through some files
before pulling one out and handing it to him. He assumed the Russian letters on
the front read Nikolai Nagregor .
    He
opened the manila folder and took a second to glance at the information before
moving on. Elena had found him. The thought sickened him as he saw the color
photographs of her husband lying on the floor. He could only imagine what
finding a loved one like that would do to a person. He immediately admired the
woman for continuing with her life. She didn’t seem affected too much because
of it. It couldn’t have been easy. He took in what Elena had called the mess
‘random chaos’ and she was right. It was plain to anyone to see. The apartment
hadn’t been burglarized but it certainly had been tossed. Someone had been
looking for something in particular. He doubted they found whatever it was.
Nikolai was by all accounts a great agent. There was no way in hell he left
something worth his life out in the open for anyone to find.
    “You’re
right. I think they were looking for something. You know Pochenchov said
Nagregor found a mole inside Russian Intelligence.”
    Elena’s
head jerked up from looking at his hand, she pinned him with her cool gaze. “You
asked about Nikolai?”
    Lucas
nodded. “Yes. I had a hunch. I’m not much into coincidence and Nikolai’s murder
just didn’t sit right. I believe he learnt something someone wanted to keep
secret.”
    Elena
mulled that over. “Did Pochenchov say who?”
    He
looked into those grey depths, losing himself for a moment before moving his
attention back to the conversation.
    “No.
But I’m going to find the son-of-a-bitch. He has a lot to answer for. I just
have to lay low for a while.”
    Elena
wrapped the white bandage around Lucas’s palm. He could tell she had done this
before. The bandage was tight enough to stop the bleeding and keep the wound
clean but loose enough that he didn’t lose any feeling in his fingers. With a
husband like Nikolai he assumed he would have taught her how to correctly clean
and bandage wounds.
    Elena
stood and started gathering up the used cloths. Lucas looked up from admiring
her handy-work.
    “You’re
really good at that, thanks.”
    Elena
nodded, her lips pressed into a tight line. He caught hold of her wrist,
effectively stopping her.
    “Elena,
what is it?”
    She
sat heavily in her chair and looked over at him. She looked like she was about
to give a cancer patient bad news.
    “You
should know I have no standing with SVR. I was only reinstated to my status as active
liaison officer yesterday so that I could work on your case.”
    “Why?”
    She
frowned. “Because no one else wanted the job.”
    Lucas
shook his head. She was either evasive or hadn’t understood what he was asking.
He was hoping for the latter. He didn’t like thinking that she was lying to him
or purposely being ambiguous. He acknowledged the unreasonable thought. He
barely knew her and she had no loyalty to him and knew it was stupid to think
she owed him any. But still he would like to think she was being honest with him .
    “No,
I meant why were you on probation?”
    She
looked over at him and sighed.
    “Nikolai,
I kicked up a stink. Wouldn’t leave it alone, I’ve been chained to my desk for
the past six months buried and forgotten under paperwork.”
    Lucas
heard heavy footsteps stop outside her door, followed by a large fist knocking.
    A
man’s voice came at them through the door, his Russian thick, his voice
gravelly. “Elena Ivanova? Please open the door!”
    “ Govno ,”
Elena cussed,