That afternoon, Artem heard a knock at the door. He shuddered, mind fluttering back to the night when his other half had been so suddenly whisked away. He didn't move from the couch.
The doorbell chimed, accompanied by a man's voice. "Mr. Takaryev, this is a matter of national security!"
Well, the devils already know my name, and it's important, apparently. Better get up.
Artem yawned and rolled off the couch, approaching the door in nothing but a blue t-shirt and a pair of shorts. He pulled open the door with one pale hand, still bruised at the knuckles from having a window shut on them, not to mention all the enraged wall-punching he'd done in the wake of Ravil's absence.
"Hello." Artem said, blinking. He took a moment to get a good look at this guy.
The man at the door was tall, with slightly tanned skin and jet black hair. Stubble lined his chin, and he peered at Artem with a gleaming brown gaze.
"Afternoon, sir." The man at the door flashed a shimmering badge. "My name is Everett O'Donnell, and I'm with the FBI."
Artem felt his face pale. Were they deporting him?
"You're not in any kind of trouble, Mr. Takaryev." He said, pocketing the badge once Artem had gotten a good look at that, too. "May I come in?"
"S-Sure," Artem said, stepping away from the door and offering Everett a seat on the couch.
"It has come to our attention that you are the significant other of Ravil Galkin. Is this true?" Everett asked. His head was held high, and his entire body language conveyed confidence. He expected an answer.
Artem wanted to say that Galkin wasn't Ravil's real last name, but he figured that that wouldn't be a very smart thing to do, so instead he just said, "Yes, I am."
"Very well." Everett replied. "Are you capable of speaking Russian, Mr. Takaryev?"
"Kak ad ya mogu. I svobodno, tozhe." Artem said.
"Zamechatel'no." Everett answered, grinning. "So let me offer you a proposal. But before I do that, I suppose it would do a great amount of good to brief you on the situation, da?"
YOU ARE READING
Otkroveniye Complex // Book 1 of the Takaryev Series
Mystery / ThrillerRavil Galkin doesn't have much of a past, but as far as he's concerned, he's a completely normal person. Sure, he's a college drop out and basically a shut-in, but that's alright with him. But there's a whole different depth to the situation. An oc...
