by AK Leigh
‘The first reason is your police background. The second reason has to do with your three-times great-grandfather.’
Her ancestor had married a native Djabaguy woman, causing a scandal at the time.
Her brow furrowed, ‘What about him?’
‘You don’t know this, but your real surname isn’t Farris, it’s … Fareeva. Your three-times great-grandfather was Russian.’
‘No he wasn’t. He was German.’
He shook his head. ‘He arrived at a time in Australian history when there was a lot of hostility towards Russians. He was fluent in German as well as Russian, so he pretended to be German.’
‘Why would he have done that? I assume the attitude towards Germans must have been just as bad?’
‘I can’t say. He might have picked what he thought was the best choice out of bad ones.’
Something Andrei was familiar with.
‘How do you know all this?’
He glanced at the file. ‘You will find his birth certificate and other evidence in here.’
‘For the sake of argument, let’s say I believe you about his heritage. What has that got to do with me?’
‘The FSB track a number of people with Russian ancestry, and those they consider to be good targets for working for us are approached. You have strong connections to your history, and are involved in police work, so they thought you might agree to come and work for us.’
‘What specifically does an asset do?’
‘There is a lot of undercover work involved, but other than that it’s similar to police work. Investigating, finding evidence, that sort of thing.’
‘How were you able to work for them with your criminal record?’
He wasn’t sure which of them was looking more shocked.
He blurted, ‘You know about that?’
She nodded.
‘How?’
‘The AFP looked into you.’
The hope Lizzie had filled him with when she’d encouraged him to come and speak to Nina deflated. She hated criminals. There’s no excuse for it. He looked down, ‘Oh.’
There was nothing left to say.
‘What’s wrong?’
He looked up and forced himself to smile, ‘Nothing.’
She frowned, ‘You said you were going to tell me the truth.’
He inhaled, and licked his bottom lip. ‘Okay, but you won’t like it.’
‘I don’t care. Please tell me.’
He took a second to brace himself for what he was about to say, then let it tumble out. ‘You would never want to be with me.’
‘Why would you think that?’
‘You told me you could never be with a criminal.’
‘When?’ Her tone sounded incredulous.
‘In Russia.’
She exhaled, ‘Oh, Andrei. I was young and grieving. My parents’ murder was still fresh. Wait, is that what you meant about not being a good man?’
He nodded.
‘Andrei.’ She reached out and squeezed his hand. ‘I know the crimes you committed were to help you survive on the streets. I don’t hold any of that against you.’
He wanted to pause this moment in case it turned out he was hallucinating. To make sure he wasn’t, he said, ‘You don’t?’
‘Of course not. You were a child.’
He smiled. Her hand on his warmed. He glanced at it.
She quickly removed it and continued, ‘From what you’ve told me, I can guess you’ve helped a lot of people. There’s only so long you can keep punishing yourself for the mistakes of your past.’
An unspoken question showed on her face.
‘Please, ask me anything you want.’
‘How did you come to work for the FSB.’
‘I gained a bit of a reputation on the streets, which meant the wrong people found me. Often. When I was nineteen, I was arrested. The police sent my file to the FSB, who offered me a deal. I work for them for a set period and work off my debt to society.’
‘And then?’
‘And then I was free to leave.’
‘Which you have?’
‘Yes.’
He caught something in the way she looked at him when he answered. Hope. He was sure that’s what it was. He knew hope better than most. But what was she hopeful for?
She pulled him from the thought by asking, ‘How are you so good at biathlon? That can’t be part of every agent’s training.’
He smiled, ‘It’s not. I saw it in a magazine and started taking lessons in my free time. When the FSB found out how good I was, they used it to their advantage.’
There was still one thing left unsaid.
‘I lied to you Nina.’
‘When?’
‘That day, when I said I never loved you.’ She looked down, but he wasn’t finished. He wanted her to know everything. It was time. ‘I was still under obligation to the FSB back then. They found out I was in love with you and warned me what would happen if you learned the truth about why I’d been planted at the Olympics. I would have been thrown into a Siberian jail. They made me break it off with you and told me to make sure you believed it.’
She grunted, ‘Oh, I believed it!’
He saw the pain of the memory flash over her face.
Going with the urge to comfort her, he put the file on the bed, and sat beside her. He grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze, ‘I’m so sorry.’
* * *
She took a few moments to let it all sink in. Her ancestor was Russian, not German. Their last name was Fareeva, not Farris. Andrei was a former FSB agent, not a spy.
He’d lied about not loving her.
He was holding her hand, and sitting close to her, and looking like his heart was about to break if she didn’t say something soon.
She glanced up and caught his concerned gaze, ‘Thank you for telling me.’
‘I’ve wanted to tell you for so long.’
A realisation hit her. ‘Hang on. That day in the shuttle bus … that was a plant, wasn’t it?’
‘It was … and before you ask, the plan was to get friendly with you so I could decide whether you would be open to recruitment. Falling in love with you was an unexpected by-product. What I felt for you was real. What I still feel for you is real.’
A tango danced across her chest.
It turned into a charleston when he turned to face her and said in Russian, ‘I love you, Nina Fareeva.’ In English, he added, ‘I always have and always will. Please, give me another chance.’
Chapter 40
Nina’s heart was thumping by the time she raced over the finish line during her turn in the mixed relay. The crowd behind the barriers were cheering. A couple of women at the front were jumping up and down. She grinned when she recognised them to be her sisters. Beside them, grinning like a proud boyfriend, was Andrei.
She skied over to them. Her sisters enveloped her in a hug at the same time.
Lizzie screeched, ‘I think you did it!’
Carrie whispered, ‘You did great.’
After they released her, it was Andrei’s turn. He pulled her into a hug and said, ‘I’m so proud of you. If you haven’t got the gold, I’ll eat my snowsuit.’
She laughed.
He stared at her, with the love in his eyes showing; then, even though she knew the media was there and they were probably taking photos, she let him lean down and kiss her. When they parted, she smiled at him.
He smiled back and said, ‘They’re announcing your score, you’d better turn around.’
As she faced the screen where the information would be displayed, her heart began to thump. This was it. Everything she’d wanted her whole life would be accomplished or failed—again—in a matter of seconds.
The screen flashed up with her scores.
The numbers took a second to process. The excited shouts behind her didn’t.
‘You’ve won!’ Carrie, Lizzie, and Andrei had shouted it together.
That made her laugh as she turned a
round to let herself be hugged by all three at the same time. After all these years, she’d finally won gold. For herself, for her country, and for her parents. She couldn’t speak. It was like a dream that was playing out while she was awake: impossible to believe.
Marcel bolted up to her, grabbed her around the waist, and lifted her into the air as he shouted, ‘I knew you were the star!’
After the congratulations, hugs, cheers, and requisite media round, she was walking hand-in-hand back to the Olympic Village with Andrei.
He turned to her and said, ‘After the mixed relay heats, I guess we’ll be heading home?’
It was a rather obvious question, which is why she sensed there was more to it.
She looked up at him and asked, ‘And where’s that?’
He grinned, ‘Cairns.’
Her heart throbbed with the hope she’d felt during their conversation he day before. ‘I would love it, but how will you live? Where will you live?’
‘I have savings that can last me until May … which is when I start my new position as head ski instructor at The Snow Globe. Free lodging comes with the role.’
She knew her face glowed when she asked, ‘Are you serious?’
‘As serious as a couple starting a relationship in winter.’
She chuckled, ‘What does that mean?’
His expression turned serious. ‘There’s an old Russian joke proverb that says any couple who start their romance in winter can outlast any trial that comes their way.’
She smiled and pulled him close to her. ‘Who would have thought those Russians could be so wise?’
He laughed then locked her gaze and said, ‘Thank you for giving me another chance. I will never keep things from you again and you will know every second of the day that I love you.’
She went up on her tiptoes to kiss him. When she pulled away, she smiled and said, ‘I know.’
‘Yeah, how?’
She grinned mischievously, ‘Because my sisters will make sure it looks like suicide if you don’t.’
He laughed, ‘I have no doubt about that.’
‘And no doubts about us?’
He shook his head, ‘None. I love you … Neens.’
The nickname slithered down her spine, but this time, there was a pleasant sensation involved. That made her smile as she said, ‘I love you too, Andrei.’
He tugged her into him for a kiss.
The moment was ruined by Carrie groaning behind them, ‘Ugh. Do you have to do that in public?’
Nina pulled from him and smiled, ‘Afraid so.’
Lizzie came up and wrapped an arm around their middle sister. With a wink she said, ‘Don’t worry little sister. It’s your turn next.’
Carrie rolled her eyes, ‘Oh God. Get me out of here before my head explodes.’
They all laughed as they walked from the arena.
Thanks for reading Triple Terror. I hope you enjoyed it.
You’ve just read a book in my Farris Triplets series. The other books in this series are Triple Threat and Triple Trouble (out May 2019).
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Bestselling Titles by Escape Publishing...
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Triple Threat
A. K. Leigh
They’re beautiful, accomplished, and they have identical interests...
In their spare time, identical triplets the Farris sisters work together to solve cold cases. Lizzie uses her skills as a Criminal Profiler, Nina her Scenes of Crime Officer experience, and Carrie assists through her work as a both a Forensic Scientist and Forensic Anthropologist.
Romantic and idealistic, Lizzie is picky about men. But despite the good-natured teasing of her sisters, she refuses to settle for anything less than ‘The One’. She loves her life, her job as both a profiler and a university lecturer, and her sisters, and won’t make changes for anything less. If that makes her unrealistic, then so be it.
Gabe Montcoeur has just moved across Australia from Perth to Cairns and starts a job as a journalism teacher at Cairns University: the same university where Elizabeth Farris works. On the surface, the move seems innocent, but he has an ulterior motive. Gabe wants to elicit the aid of the Farris sisters in solving the murder of his family members, and the only way to circumvent their notorious ‘no contact’ policy is to reach out to them in person.
But when Gabe meets Lizzie for the first time, the attraction is instantaneous—and mutual. The deeper they fall into each other, however, the more guilty Gabe feels about his real motivation for getting close. Lizzie wants the real deal, the one, true love—can Gabe ever offer her the future she deserves if he keeps holding on so tightly to the past?
Find it here.
And keep an eye out for the third book in the Farris Triplets series, Triple Trouble, available May 2019 …
Triple Trouble
A. K. Leigh
Only one Farris sister is left unattached and fancy-free. But when a mysterious new co-worker seems to be more than he appears, Carrie’s interest is piqued. And as the triplets work through a cold case that is very near to their hearts, Carrie finds herself opening up to the possibility of loving again.
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ISBN: 9781489271358
Title: Triple Terror
Copyright © 2019 by A. K. Leigh
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