Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

Aria

I clutchmy laptop to my chest as I stand outside the towering door. The imposing estate alone almost makes me want to flee, but I didn’t get where I am by running when I’m scared.

My finger hovers over the doorbell, my hand quaking. I will myself to push it. No turning back now. Loud chimes sound inside the elegant house.

What am I doing? Why am I here? I wish I didn’t feel so out of place. I wish I had another option.

My heart’s racing when the door opens and Tatiana, my old college roommate and former best friend, stands in front of me.

She blinks. She’s barely aged the past few years and looks as beautiful as ever with her pale skin the color of cream, and her ice-blue eyes, a mass of thick dark curls framing her face. “Oh my God. Aria?"

“Tatiana,” I say with a forced smile as I look over my shoulder. “Please. I need to come in.”

The quick snap of her gaze tells me she understands. With a nod, she steps back and slams the door behind me.

“Come with me.”

I follow her to a small room that looks like a study, complete with a sideboard and gleaming mahogany desk.

“Sit.” She points to a chair. While I never bothered with small talk, Tatiana never bothered with formalities. Without another word, she takes a glass from the shelf, opens a decanter with amber liquid, and pours. "Drink?”

I normally don’t drink. It’s too expensive and I like to stay in control of myself. But this is good stuff and God, has it ever been a week. I drink what she gives me until ice hits my teeth.

Tatiana gives me a half-smile. “How’ve you been?”

I swallow. “Been better. You?”

With a sigh, she nods. “Same. I knew you’d eventually come to claim your dues. So let’s hear it.”

Claim your dues.So that’s what we’re calling it now. Ah, well. She isn’t wrong.

“I need to know that we’re safe here. I cannot be overheard."

“We’re alone.”

My mind whirrs and clicks. I can’t help it.

There were two cars in the driveway, four pairs of shoes in the entryway when I entered, and two sets of keys on hooks by the door. Either she likes duplicates, or she’s lying.

I know her well, and I think it’s the latter.

I give her a look with a pierced eyebrow. "Really?"

"It’s recent," she says, clearing her throat, and looking away before she drags her eyes back to me. “I kicked him out. That’s all you need to know, Aria. Spill.”

At one point Tatiana and I were best friends. Eventually, as our college days passed, we had less and less in common. No one really liked me — I was too honest, too direct. I didn’t play well with others. My clothes were never the right style, I didn’t know how to drink, how to fit in, and my grades surpassed everyone else’s. But we both know I’m the only reason Tatiana graduated from Suffolk Law.

She stares at me. "You’ve finally done it, haven’t you?”

I wince and nod.

A slow grin spreads across her face. "I knew you’d do it someday. You’re fucking amazing.”

She would know. Whereas others might ask for help with homework or essays, I was the one people came to when they needed hacking skills. She was the one that came to me, tearfully begging me to hack into the school grading system when she was at risk for failing. I did, with the promise that one day she’d pay back the favor.

“Tell me everything you can.”

“It’s huge,” I tell her in a whisper. "The more I tell you, the more danger you’re in. You’re in danger just being with me right now."

Her brow furrows, and her lips press together. She nods.

“Listen, Tatiana…The stuff that I found…if it ever got out to the press…it would destroy institutions across the world. You remember the Epstein scandal? Think bigger. Multiply it by a hundred, drag in every major institution you could think of, and you’ll be getting closer.”

“Holy shit.”

I nod, my belly churning.

“World,” she repeats, her eyes wide. I watch her swallow before she clarifies. “Not just the country?”

“World.”

"My God,” she mutters. "So if you’re found…”

“I’m fucked.” One of the people implicated could have me killed with a simple command, hiding all evidence laughably easily given the lack of contacts and influence I have. I lick my lips and nod. "Even the good guys can’t help me this time." Because even the “good guys” are on that list.

“Are you in danger right this very minute? Do you have a place to stay?”

“Yes, I am and no, I don’t.”

I pull out my phone and tap the article I saved. Wordlessly, I hand it to her.

Mysterious Campus Attack Unleashes Panic as Authorities Hunt for Missing Professor

In a chilling turn of events, the tranquil campus of West End Community College is reeling after a brutal attack last night, sending shock and horror through the community. The assault, which authorities suspect was aimed at locating a missing professor entrenched in a high-profile investigation, has left students and faculty in a state of fear and confusion.

At approximately midnight students and campus security reported masked assailants arriving on campus. Some believe the assailants suspected Professor Aria Cunningham was hiding on site.

The attackers managed to evade capture, disappearing into the night as swiftly as they had arrived.

West End Community College has been placed on high alert, with classes suspended indefinitely, and students urged to stay safe. Officials are urging anyone with information on the whereabouts of Aria Cunningham or the attackers to come forward immediately.

Finally, she blows out a breath and nods. “My God. Officials. And you’re telling me you found information on said officials that would destroy them.”

I blow out a breath in relief. “That’s exactly what I’m telling you.”

She nods and smiles wanly. “I knew when you came to me it wouldn’t be to set you up on a blind date or to borrow some gas money. How much do you need?”

I exhale. “I need more than money.”

She stares at me as reality dawns. “You need protection,” she says in a whisper. “Someone outside the law.”

“Exactly,” I whisper back.

She rises to her feet and paces the room.

“Holy shit, Aria. Girl…” Her voice trails off as she thinks over the implications of what I’ve told her. “This is too big for me. You’ll need someone who can give you protection and money. You need someone with power. I have money, but money will only go so far.” She mindlessly tugs at the delicate gold necklace she wears. “You could — no, no, that’s too much. Hmm. That won’t work,” she says, as she mentally sifts through ideas. “Could send you to — no. Not this time of year, it’s too busy and they’ll be looking for those records anyway.” She blows out a breath. “You can’t show me what you found?”

I shake my head. “I don’t want to involve you. The more you know, the more dangerous it is.”

And honestly? I don’t know her. Not really. What if she decides she wants to turn me in herself? Suddenly, the thought of coming here in the first place was the worst thought I ever had.

My heart is beating so fast I’m dizzy. I can’t wait any longer. I can’t stay in one place.

I stand up.

“You know, I’m good. I think that I⁠—”

“Aria! I’ve got it!” She reaches for my arm and grips it tightly, her eyes so wide she’s scaring me. “There is someone who can help. I mean…he’s…vicious. He’s scary as fuck. But if you go to him, okay, them…and offer your skills…it just might work. I mean, you’ve got information that law enforcement doesn’t want you to have. Your only choice is to go to someone who’s above the law. Who doesn’t care about niceties or following the rules. Who hates the Feds and would likely love fucking them over.”

I eye her skeptically. She’s right, but…“Okay?”

“The Romanovs,” she says in a whisper.

The hair on the back of my neck stands up. “They rule The Cove and they despise local authority,” she continues. “They’re the only ones above local authority.”

I lick my lips. “How?”

“Organized crime. You know? Bratva.”

Bratva. I do know. When you do what I do, sifting through the vast network of connections and people and places...you know exactly where the most powerful people live.

The Romanovs own The Cove, the large, sprawling “Little Russia” smack dab between Coney Island and Manhattan. That’s all I know.

But I have no safe place to go. I could form another identity, uproot everything, and flee the country. I know enough that I could fabricate a new ID and start from scratch.

But I’d have nothing. No one.

"I’ve lost everything, Tatiana. I’m willing to pay the price of anything at this point."

She stares at me unblinking. "Anything?"

I swallow. “Anything.” My small apartment is gone. My identity has been leaked. I don’t have a job anymore and had no money to begin with. For the first time in my life, I’m thankful I have no loved ones I could lose.

“The Romanovs are in charge of everything in The Cove. I can tell you right now that whatever you ask of them, it will come at a price. A price you may not be willing to pay. "

My mind goes over every possible price. Debt collection. Forced involvement in crime. Unpaid labor, human trafficking…sexual favors.

What would they demand of me?

"I have what they may find to be a…marketable skill,” I say, my voice trembling.

She blows out a breath, and relief floods me when she smiles. "Of course you do. What do you know about The Cove?"

I shake my head. “Honestly, not much.” I want to hear what she has to say.

Tatiana’s family is Russian, so she’s a lot more familiar with it than I am.

“So it’s this neighborhood known for having a lot of Russian influence. The shopkeepers speak Russian. There are restaurants, grocery stores, cultural centers. An Orthodox Church. There’s like a beach, and a boardwalk. It’s really popular in the summer, because people sunbathe and swim, and take walks. In the winter it’s less crowded because of the drop in tourists. But that’s when the Romanovs come. That’s when they set up shop, or whatever the fuck they do. I don’t know. They own everything. Literally everything. The restaurants, hotels, venues. But they also have apartment buildings and single-family homes, you know, residences. They own those, too."

“Wow. Okay.”

I can do this. What do I have to lose? I’ve already lost almost everything. Almost.

She bites her lip thoughtfully. “This just might work.”