Hard Target by Marquita Valentine Read Free Book Online Page A

her, or I can’t commit to a relationship.
    I can commit, but in situations like these, I have no idea if either of us will survive, or if our need to be together is grounded in that Morgan thinks she owe me and I her. Based on David’s response, I say we’re in the camp of having to leave the country to survive.
    “Ben,” she says sleepily.
    “Yes, love.”
    “How do you know how to use a gun and jump off buildings?”
    “I thought we discussed this already.” I trace a line down the center of her back. “My former life taught me everything.”
    “Why did you give it up?”
    I gaze at her face, at her eyes that are half-closed. She’s close to passing out. “I wanted something different. Wanted to do good, make something of myself.”
    A little smile curves the corners of her mouth. “Me too.”
    I wonder at that admission. It’s rather strange given her background. While I wasn’t in charge of background checks at PharmGen, I did snoop on Morgan. More for my obsession with her than anything else. Despite having no one, she’s led a charmed life.
    A soft snore leaves her and I extricate myself from her arms. Pulling on a pair of pants and a long-sleeve t-shirt, I head to my office. There is one in every house and flat I own. While I might have chosen to follow the straight and narrow path, there are still inroads that can help me navigate it.
    Inserting the flash drive into the main system unit, I open the flash drive and take a peek inside. More codes, much like the ones in Dr. Clark’s email make up most of the documents while the images are of cells. Since my specialty is computers, I can’t make heads or tails of his scientific jargon. Falling back on one of the best and simplest tools of my trade, I run an anonymous Google search.
    Nothing. “Fuck.”
    I shoot an email to Violet Virus, a German-based hacker who, at the tender age of thirteen, infiltrated the EU’s supposedly secure cloud and publically posted high clearance level emails. Her code-cracking skills are beyond genius. Plus, her background is in biology.
    After the email is sent, I call my brother on a secure line.
    “ Benji ,” he says.
    “You’re drunk, Koyla ” I say, more than a little shocked. Nikolai never calls me by my nickname anymore. Only Grandfather does, then again he has pet names for all of his grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. The Romanov clan is rather prodigious in size.
    “ Nyet . I’m celebrating.”
    My brows shoot up. “The occasion?”
    “Everly’s pregnant.”
    “Baby number four, eh?”
    “ Da .”
    “Oh no, the Russian’s slipping in,” I tease. “Let me talk to Everly.”
    “ Nyet. She’s sleeping. At home.”
    I hear squeals in the background, then shouts. “You’re in charge right now, aren’t you?”
    “We’re at the bookstore. Nicky is organizing my shelves. The girls are helping him. Everly’s parents are supervising.”
    He sounds so pleased, so damn happy and normal, that I can’t bother him with my troubles. It wouldn’t be right. My brother worked too hard for what he has now. To be the bookseller known to everyone as Roman Smith and not Nikolai Romanov.
    “That’s great. I hope to visit soon. All those college girls, you know.” I wince. I sound like the old me. The one who acted like he hadn’t a care in the world, even while he toppled governments and executed men for crimes against humanity at Grandfather’s behest.
    “ Benji ,” he begins and the censure in his voice is all too apparent. “You’re too old for them.”
    “Twenty nine is hardly old,” I disagree. Though there are days when I feel ancient.
    “Old enough to settle down. Give me nieces and nephews.”
    “You sound like Grandfather.”
    “A man without the love of a good woman is nothing.”
    I smile a little. “Then you are everything, Kolya .”
    Nikolai is more than just a brother to me. Growing up, he acted more like my father and I followed him around like a puppy. I tried to emulate him,