Split Love

CHAPTER 35

His words together that formed a question made no sense in Jasmine's mind. They danced and shuffled, but they didn't fit together.

- Wh- what?

- Did you know he is the son of the Russian mafia boss? - He asked again, slowly. His voice reached a harsher tone.

- No. - She whispered and shook her head. She blinked a few times and when her eyes focused on the man in front of her, her world reduced to a tunnel-shaped field of vision, which only captured his face. Suddenly her stomach somersaulted. Getting up in an instant she ran to the nearest trash can and dumped the contents of her stomach, which wasn't much.

She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before straightening up. Her mouth felt dry, but she felt like she could puke more. With a glance behind her, she saw Agent West returning to the table with a glass of water in hand. He placed the glass in front of where she was sitting a few seconds before and sat back down.

- You are lying. - She said keeping her distance.

- I knew you wouldn't believe me, - He opened the fold, took out some papers, and dragged it on the table. Jamie couldn't see exactly what it was from where she was standing, but it appeared to be photos. - So I brought some evidence.

-No. - She shook her head a few times, in disbelief at everything she was hearing. And she turned to the window. She opened the blinds and looked at the empty street. - You are lying.

- Jasmine,

- No.

- He lied to you! - Agent West slammed his hand on the table, making her jump. - He tricked you and you don't want to see it!

- You don't know what you're talking about!

- I don't know? - He stood up, dragging the wooden chair behind him. He took one of the photos and slammed it on the table. - You never suspected the injuries?

- He likes to fight with his cousin.

- Oh, come on. You are smarter than that! What about his visits that sometimes took days?

- He was busy working. - She crossed her arms in front of her and kept her chin high.

- You are correct on this one. - He threw a photo on the table, away from the others. - But you were wrong about his profession. - Taking the photos, Agent West began pointing out each one while listing them. - Cargo theft, purchasing stolen weapons, drug trafficking. Oh, have you seen this one? - He lifted one of the photos but she only saw a black and gray blur from that distance. - I bet you didn't expect that one. Prostitution.

She swallowed. Keeping her arms crossed in defense, she studied him. Agent Logan West, where did he come from? How did he know about her? Despite the way he questioned her, Jamie knew she wasn't suspected of anything. The agent was alone and she had not been called to the police station. She could refuse to answer any question, but did she want to? Well, she didn't have anything she could refuse to answer because she didn't even know what was going on.

- I looked you up, Jasmine. - He started talking, catching her attention. - I know you had enough scores to get into at least two Ivy Leagues. You could have dropped everything and gone to Hartford with your ex-fiance and gotten a great job. But no, you gave up everything to take care of your grandmother. You are a good person.

- And...?

- And either you are one of the brains behind the Russian mafia operations, or you are just an innocent who fell for Roman's bullshit. And I bet all my chips on the latter.

Roman.... is that how he's known in NY? Roman... Romanov.

With one last look at him, Jamie took slow steps approaching the table she was sitting at before. Eight photos were spread across the table. And Jamie held her breath before taking a photo in hand.

Her eyes ran across the dark photo that was in her hands and suddenly everything slowed down. Her body fell onto the chair and Agent West assumed an underwater movement, with his mouth moving in slow motion and no sound being produced. The photo was pixelated, appeared to be taken from a cellphone and zoomed in, and showed two men negotiating weapons. One of them was clearly Micah. He was wearing black clothes, as usual, but unlike every other time she had seen him, he was holding a gun. There were some men a little behind him, but with the poor quality, it was not possible to identify them. Maybe doing security for the mafia boss's son.

- He was buying a shipment of stolen weapons that day.

Jamie blinked as the world regained lost ground and started again in real time. The noise of his voice came back to her, as did his movements at normal speed.

Placing that photo on the table, her eyes reached the others and her fingers pushed them one by one, revealing the ones below.

Most of them were cellphone photos or even images from security cameras. In some she recognized her boyfriend's face, in others, it could be someone else. But there was the evidence. Micah buying weapons, Micah handing a black briefcase to another man, Micah pointing a gun at the head of a man kneeling in front of him. That photo made Jamie feel the hot liquid from her stomach burning her throat, but she quickly drank all the cold water that the agent had brought earlier, trying to delay that sickness.

Three of the eight photos were of the two of them together. These photos were already high quality and even had a date in the lower left corner. One showed them walking in the Salisbury Hotel, another of them in front of the library, and the last. The last photo Jamie took showed them swimming in the waterfall.

- It was you. - She murmured, remembering the black sedan parked on the bridge.

Holding all the photos in her hands, Jamie placed them on the table and pushed them toward the FBI agent. But then, he dragged another photo in front of her that was far away. A photo she hadn't seen. As in a checkmate.

Sedated, Jamie's eyes reached the last photo. All the photos surprised her, but this one made her heart twist in pain.

- I need you to help us catch him. - She heard him say, but couldn't look away from the picture. - We've been trying for years but he always manages to escape.

- You have enough evidence.

- They are not clear enough for a judge. You know it. I need an ambush.

That's what he wanted. Agent West wanted to open her eyes about who Mikhail Romanov was, and he did. But his plan was always to make her hate him and thus help them capture Micah. And he saved "the best for last."

Check Mate.

With her heart torn, Jasmine placed the photo on the table. She didn't want to look anymore. She no longer wanted to look at Micah standing in front of a nightclub with his arm around a woman. She no longer wanted to see his mouth next to her ear, probably saying something. She definitely didn't want to see the mischievous smile on her face or her hand holding his.

But what she looked again to tattoo on her mind was the date. That photo had a date just like the ones taken of them.

June 1, 2019.

1 month ago.

Just 5 days after they swam in the waterfall and after he said he missed her and had never been so happy before.

Son of a bitch.