Undercover Lover by Jamie K. Schmidt Read Free Book Online Page A

come into his home and steal from him.”
    “That’s true,” Drake said.
    “Would you have gone on your knees and let them rob you?”
    “No, I would have shot them. Why didn’t your father?”
    “What are you saying, Drago?”
    Drake pinched the bridge of his nose to stave off the stabbing pain that felt like his brain was leaking out of his head. “I don’t know what I’m saying. They let me look at the crime scene and the evidence as a courtesy. I’m not officially on the case.”
    Andrej stuttered, and Drake interrupted him.
    “I said not officially. I’ll find who did this.”
    “Why his home? Why not take the bar? There’s more money.”
    “He was isolated at home.”
    “I should have been there.”
    “You might have died too.” Drake gripped his arm. “Was your dad into anything stupid?”
    “You ask me this now, at his funeral?” Andrej turned tear-filled eyes at him.
    Drake shook his head. “Forget it. I’m just pissed, and I hate standing here when he’s in the ground.”
    Andrej clasped him in a hug that nearly cracked his ribs. “He loved you like a son. He wanted me to be tough like you.”
    “He loved you just the way you are,” Drake said.
    “You find his murderers and leave the rest to me. I’m going to kill them.”
    “No, you’re not, Andrej. You’re not a killer.”
    “Or maybe I get someone to do it for me.”
    “Don’t go down that road. Let me handle this. Let me do this for you and for him.” Drake gestured to the coffin.
    Andrej gave a tight nod and let Drake steady him when it was time to leave the gravesite. Drake should have expected it, because Oksana had brass balls the size of meteors, but he was still taken aback when her entourage approached them.
    “Andrejechka.” She put her red-painted claws on his face and kissed him. “How we will miss your father. He was the light of the neighborhood.”
    “Thank you, Babushka Oksana.”
    Despite the circumstances, Drake’s lips twitched at her reaction. Oksana didn’t see herself as a grandmotherly figure. But she let go of Andrej’s face before she scarred him with her nails and turned to Drake.
    “And you, Drago? What are you going to do about this?”
    “We will catch the killer and bring him—or her—–to justice.”
    Oksana snorted. “Thieves killing respectable businessmen. It’s an outrage.”
    “I’m shocked it happened on your watch,” Drake said.
    She was too shrewd to take the bait. Instead, she gestured and asked, “You remember my son, Stefan?”
    Stefan was literally the golden boy. Slavic blond and ice blue eyes, he didn’t have to work for much in his life, even without his mother’s money and influence. He’d tried his hand at the Olympics, but didn’t make the final cut. Drake recalled that he worked at a gym somewhere in New York.
    Stefan shook both Andrej’s and Drake’s hands. “I’m so sorry for your loss. I didn’t know Nikolai well, but I’ve been to the bar a few times.”
    “Who is your friend?” Andrej said, looking at Pam.
    “Doctor Pam Krupin, this is Andrej Bobrov, Nikolai’s son, and Detective Sergeant Drake Logan. He was Nikolai’s godson.”
    “I’m so very sorry, Andrej,” she said, “Your father was one of my patients. He was a wonderful man. I will miss him. He would brag that you were the best animal doctor in the world.”
    Andrej blinked back tears and pulled Pam in for a gruff hug before kissing her loudly on both cheeks. He set her back down when she cleared her throat.
    “I don’t know if you remember me?” Pam said to Drake. “We met at Tea Time?” She held out her hand, but let it drop when Drake just stared at her. “Nikolai spoke very highly of you too. He was proud you were a detective.”
    Drake realized he was clenching his jaw and forced himself to ease up before he ground his teeth into powder. He couldn’t manage a thank you without his voice cracking, so he nodded instead.
    “Thank you,” Andrej said. “You must come