deep inside his gut. He went back through the entire chain of events, from the time Ben left the file to now.
It wasn’t right. Something wasn’t. Fucking. Right.
Mike called Jake, surprised when he answered before it barely had time to ring.
“I was getting ready to call you.”
Something about his brother-in-law’s tone heightened his already off-the-charts level of anxiety. “What’s wrong?”
“I just got off the phone with Alexandar Volkov.”
“What?” Mike’s stomach dropped. “Why the fuck would he call you? Better question, how the hell does he even know who you are?”
“He didn’t say. But he also knows who you are. Apparently, he has since before we showed up at his place.”
As far as what-the-fuck moments went, this was a pretty substantial one. Mike began to pace.
“Why didn’t he say anything?” Or shoot their asses the second they stepped foot on his property?
“I asked him the same question. Said he knew how you felt about his daughter, and that you’d do whatever it took to keep her safe. Figured your protection was better than anything he could provide, so...he went along with it.”
“Jesus Christ.”
And the hits just keep on coming.
“Exactly. After we left, Volkov started digging. Looking for anyone with a motive to hurt him or Juliet.”
When Jake didn’t say more, Mike damn near shouted, “And?”
“Mike...Volkov thinks his son Ivan is behind the attacks on Juliet.”
“Ivan? Why the hell would he want to hurt his sister?”
“According to Alexandar, the same lawyer who got him a new trial thinks he can do the same for Ivan. For reasons he didn’t bother sharing, Alexandar was willing to take his chances, even if it meant Juliet were to testify against him this go around. But Ivan—”
“Wouldn’t,” Mike finished for his friend. “Motherfucker.”
“It gets worse.”
Worse than Juliet’s own brother taking out a hit on her?
“While he was in prison, Alexander became best buds with one of the guards,” Jake continued on. “He’s been his eyes and ears ever since he got out, and apparently he’s picked up on a lot of shit. Mostly about how, once he’s released, Ivan plans to take over the family business.”
“But if Alexandar’s released for good, too, then how can he...ah, fuck.” The horrifying realization hit Mike square in the chest. “Ivan’s planning to take out his father, isn’t he?”
“Alexandar believes so, yes. First he has to get rid of the one person he believes will stand in the way of his release.”
Juliet.
“You get a name?”
Since Ivan is still behind bars, he’d have to have someone on the outside doing his dirty work. Someone smart enough and ruthless enough to orchestrate the attempts on Juliet’s life.
“I did, and...you’re not going to like it.”
At first Mike didn’t understand what Jake was saying. Then, as if the stars of hell had suddenly aligned, he understood.
“It’s Lopez, isn’t it?”
“I’m sorry, man.”
He let loose with a long string of curse words. Storming around the cabin, Mike wanted to hit something. No, he wanted to hit Lopez.
“I’m going to kill him,” he growled.
“Mike.”
“No, Jake. I’m serious. I’m going to rip his fucking heart out of his chest and shove it down his goddamn throat.”
“Mike...”
He paced some more. “He was here, you know?”
“Lopez? When?”
“About an hour ago. Asshole stopped by to give me some bullshit file. I was outside cutting wood, so he gave it to Jules, and...” He stopped walking and frowned. “Wait. He was here in the cabin alone with her, Jake. He had the perfect opportunity to take her out, then. Why didn’t he?”
“Lopez is smart, Mike. Think about it. He knew you were close by. He does something to make Jules scream or whatever, you come running. You see him, his game is over.”
“So why even stop by in the first place?”
“My guess? He wanted to check out the situation. See if your guard was down, maybe?”
“The file he gave her had my real name in it, Jake. Juliet knows the truth.”
“How much of the truth?”
“All of it.” The betrayal in her eyes would probably haunt him forever.
“Wait a minute. Lopez drops by, hands Jules a folder he knew would blow your cover, and then leaves.” It was a comment, not a question.
“I know.” Mike shook his head. “It doesn’t make any sense.”
“Actually, it does.”
He frowned. “How?”
“The fucker knows if he can put a wedge between you two, it makes her vulnerable. More susceptible to someone else’s influence. Someone like, say, a government agent.”
“Lopez left, remember? He didn’t even lay a finger on her.”
Thank fuck.
“And he won’t.”
“I’m not following you.”
“Think about it, Mike.”