But I will. It’s only a matter of time before I find something.
Nikolai knows something, and I have a feeling we’ll meet again, unless he’s abandoned the stalking act. The truth is, a small part of me hopes he hasn’t. But it’s only because he has charm. He’s good at mind games too. I haven’t met a man like him before, one so direct and yet mysterious. Men are usually too predictable, and I think that’s why I’ve never been too interested in dating.
Trust a Bratva criminal connected to Mom’s death to catch my eye…
But it’s nothing, and it’ll soon be stamped out when I find out the connection between the Bratva, my father, and Mom’s death. Nikolai might have an attractive face and body, but it’s only a mask to distract people from what he really is—a ruthless monster.
The name Sentinel International keeps popping up in my head, so I type it into Google and hit enter, waiting for the search results to load.
Nothing. No public records. No evidence of filed tax returns. No financial history at all. Which makes it even more interesting. You can find details about pretty much every company on the internet, all with a single click of a button. But not this one. Which could only mean that Sentinel International is trying to hide from the government.
I sit up on the couch and bring the laptop closer, suspicions rising. Why would these guys want to hide from the government? Money laundering? Tax evasion? Those are the two obvious reasons that spring to mind, considering that Father owns an investment company, but it could be something even worse. Something darker that has nothing to do with money.
My stomach turns, but I continue searching.
Let’s try this from a different angle—the Watson & Co. database.
I begin typing on the keyboard when a jolting sound interrupts me. I freeze.
Shit.
Why does it have to be so dark in here?
Shutting the lid, I place the laptop on a throw pillow and investigate the noise that seemed to be coming from my bedroom. A shiver runs up my spine as I enter and turn the corner to… nothing.
Standing in my bedroom doorway, I exhale a sigh of relief. Everything is still. A cockroach must have gotten into the vents or something.
I’m about to leave when the AC clicks on, the pipes beginning to groan.
My shoulders drop.
It was nothing, Lauren.
You need to take a chill pill, girl.
Clearly, I’m tired. I really should get some proper sleep tonight. Maybe I’m more freaked out about all this Bratva stuff and my father’s shady business than I should be.
I leave my bedroom door ajar and head back to the couch, the closed laptop still on the pillow where I left it.
I resume my search and hit enter.
I shouldn’t have clearance to search the company’s database, but I learned how to bypass these restrictions years ago. I guess that’s one of the few advantages of having a father who’s too consumed with ‘business.’ He has no time to make sure his daughter is behaving.
Until now, I’ve never really needed to deep dive into the trenches of Watson and Co. Holdings. Perhaps it’s because a part of me always knew that I wouldn’t like what I was going to find. But now that my bestie and my father are both tangled up withthe Bratva, things are different. And I’m not going to stop until I find out the truth.
I search and find a name attached to the company.
R. Aslanov.
I raise my eyebrows.
Who the hell is R. Aslanov?
I click on the name when something flags up: “Access Denied.”
Hmm. Okay, let’s try a different approach.
Exiting the alert, I navigate back to the main page and try accessing through a different portfolio.
