Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 80660 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 403(@200wpm)___ 323(@250wpm)___ 269(@300wpm)
They also took the time to order some clothes and other important items they were now without. There had been no chance to stop by Alexei’s apartment prior to leaving Paris, which clearly pained Alexei. It was only lucky that Soren had his passport on him, while Alexei had a supply of things secretly stashed at the train station for just this event.
Alexei’s mood improved when they reached Amsterdam and stepped into the house. As they wandered through all four floors, Alexei explained that his Uncle Justin had sold his apartment, and they’d purchased this building when Alexei and his mother had moved to Paris. They’d wanted a place of their own a short distance away but hadn’t wanted to stay in the same city and risk putting Alexei’s or his mother’s life in danger.
The house was simple but stunning. The walls were white except for a few light, pastel-colored accent walls. Some of the windows were also accented with bits of red stained glass. There were even skylights on the top floor to allow in more of the sun’s golden rays. The furniture was plain but comfortable. Everything was neat and tidy, if a little dusty.
On the first day, they ran out to get basic supplies. The next day, many of their orders arrived along with the expedited computer from the States. He didn’t want to think about what his uncle had spent to get it to them so quickly. He was even more grateful that Alexei’s uncles hadn’t arrived with the computer.
When the computer powered up, they sat close together at the kitchen table and plugged in the hard drive, to discover that it was indeed encrypted. Alexei smiled and shrugged before launching the necessary programs to start hacking the damn thing.
“So, what do you think is on it?” Soren inquired. He got to his feet and grabbed both his and Alexei’s coffee mugs. He poured fresh coffee into both. He added cream and sugar to his. For Alexei, he skipped the sugar but added cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. A smirk tugged at one corner of his mouth. It was the first time he’d ever learned how another person liked their coffee. Alexei was freaking domesticating him, and he loved it.
“Client list,” Alexei said without hesitation. “If I were a rival arms dealer, I’d want a complete listing of his clients so I could take over his business. And if I were a foreign agency, I’d want that list to go after them.”
With a grin, Soren lifted one skeptical brow at Alexei as he carried over his mug. “The SVR hunting down terrorists?”
Alexei flashed him a matching skeptical grin. “Yeah, not high on their to-do list, I’m sure. But if it also has a listing of people Kalman got his weapons from—such as Russian officials—I’m sure the SVR would rather have that list than allow it to fall into someone else’s hands.”
Soren pressed a kiss to a spot behind Alexei’s ear, sending a shiver through him, then dropped into his seat. He could really get used to this setup. He liked sitting at this table, mostly because he saw Alexei every time he looked up. He liked seeing Alexei through all parts of the day. He loved the grumpy and rumpled Alexei first thing in the morning, whimpering and grasping for that first cup of coffee. He loved energetic and enthusiastic Alexei ready to tackle anything. But his favorite might be the sleepy, cuddly version of the man at the end of the day as he wrapped himself around Soren while they fell asleep at night.
“What do you think is on it?” Alexei asked. He pushed the laptop to the side, leaving it to do its thing, while he grabbed the coffee and took a big drink. He sighed happily, his eyes closing. It was already his second one of the morning, but they were both struggling to catch up on sleep after everything that had happened.
“Plans for a new weapon?”
Alexei blinked at him. He put the mug down with a dull thud on the table. “Seriously?” he whispered.
Soren shrugged. “It would explain why my buyer is so hesitant to make the exchange. Anyone who has that hard drive is a target for execution. The priority is recovering it, but if it can’t be recovered, it has to be destroyed, along with anyone who possesses it. The Russians either lost it and want it back, or the weapon plans belong to another country and they want to steal them before they can fall into the hands of another group.”
A low groan rumbled up Alexei’s throat and he dropped his head to the table, his forehead hitting with a loud thump. “I thought I was doing something good by killing that arms dealer.”
Reaching across, Soren ran his fingers through Alexei’s soft, messy blond hair. “You did the world a huge favor by killing him.”