A few moments later, we’re still trying to settle in and Lev is still lounging in the armchair like it’s his personal throne when Niko’s phone buzzes on the coffee table. He leans forward,snatches it up, and his whole posture sharpens as soon as he sees the name.
“Kirill,” he mutters, swiping to answer.
I watch him pace toward the far window, voice low, clipped. Lev raises an eyebrow at me, mouthing serious call before pretending to zip his lips. I bite back a smile.
“Yes,” Niko says into the phone, his tone like steel. “When?” A long pause. His jaw works, tight. “Toronto.”
At that, Lev sits up straighter, all the joking gone from his face.
“What is it?” I whisper.
Niko hangs up and turns, his expression unreadable, but the tension in his shoulders is unmistakable. “Anton might be heading to Toronto,” he says flatly. “A Rusnak storage facility was hit two nights ago. Files are gone—every single one tied to our Chicago branch.”
Lev whistles low. “He’s not subtle, I’ll give him that.”
My stomach twists. “Toronto? That’s far….”
“Far,” Niko agrees, slipping the phone into his pocket, “but close enough to matter. If Anton gets comfortable there, it won’t be long before he circles back here. He doesn’t run without a reason.”
Lev leans forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “You think he’s setting up shop? Or just passing through?”
Niko’s eyes narrow. “Doesn’t matter. Wherever he stops, we’ll smoke him out.”
I swallow, glancing between them, caught between fear and relief—fear of Anton being so close, relief that these men seem to know how to handle it.
Lev’s gaze flicks to me then, softer than before. “Don’t worry, Noelle. Toronto’s not your problem. It’s ours.” He shoots Niko a sideways grin. “Though, if you’d stop hiding up here in penthouses, Niko, maybe you’d have gotten to him first.”
Niko’s glare could set stone on fire, but Lev just chuckles and sinks back into the chair, utterly unbothered.
“I’m not hiding,” Niko bites out. “I’m keeping her safe.”
Lev exhales like he’s bored of repeating the obvious and swivels his gaze to me. “No offense,printsessa, but women complicate things. Niko would have smoked out Anton by now if it weren’t for you.”
My stomach drops. The words sting more than I expect them to. I glance at Niko, throat tight. “Is that true?”
He shakes his head instantly, sharp and certain. “That’s not true.”
But Lev keeps talking, like he can’t help himself. “All I’m saying is, distractions get people killed. Anton doesn’t sit still, and he doesn’t play fair. Every day you stay above ground, he gets closer to sinking his claws in.”
“Lev.” Niko’s voice cuts through the air like a blade, low and dangerous. “That’s enough.”
Lev throws up his hands in mock surrender, grinning again, but I can feel the shift beneath it—the grain of truth in his words, the pressure building inside Niko’s silence.
I swallow hard and wrap my arms around myself, trying to push away the unease creeping under my skin. I don’t want to be the reason Niko slows down. I don’t want to be the reason he doesn’t catch Anton.
My phone buzzes on the table, slicing through the heavy silence.
I frown, picking it up. A message from a restricted number. The same number that texted me that fateful day at the clinic, right before all ofthisstarted.
My stomach knots.
You are just like your mother.
The words hit like a slap, sharp and disorienting. My throat tightens. For a moment, I can’t move, can’t breathe.
Niko notices. His eyes sharpen immediately. “What is it?”
I shake my head, clutching the phone tighter. “It’s nothing.”
