“Oh.”
“Is that what you wanted to talk about?”
“I just got off the phone with Giselle’s handler, Richard.”
“And?”
“The Canadians are aware that Sergei and now Grisha are in Vancouver, and they think it’ll just be a matter of time before they remove you from your position.” Yuri was delivering this news in a hushed tone that told me he was trying not to rile me up.
It didn’t bother me that they thought I would get ousted by Sergei. I had been warning all of them of that exact thing for weeks. But I was curious to know what the Canadians were planning. “What’s their play?”
“They’re escalating the plan to try and pull both houses down.”
Silence hummed between us as I processed that statement. “When?”
“They wouldn’t say, but I think sooner than you think.”
I was so exhausted it was a struggle to stay focused. “Got it.”
“I’ll keep pressing them for details, but in the meantime, try and get as much intel on them as possible.”
I could see Viktor walking toward me. He was right on time. “Will do, Yuri. Have a good night.”
Viktor gotinto my truck cab and looked long and hard at my face. “What does the other guy look like?”
“Not bad enough.” I was relieved that he had gotten my message. “Thanks for coming on such short notice.”
“I heard things are getting rough out there.”
I didn’t answer. I didn’t need to. My brother knew better than anyone what the streets of Vancouver were capable of. I was surprised I’d made it this far. “Can I ask you for a personal favor?”
“You don’t even have to ask.”
I handed him a thick manila envelope. “It’s a copy of my will, which covers my assets in Canada and Russia. I’d like you to be my executor. It should be easy. Everything I own I want to go to my wife, Mila.”
He frowned at the envelope. “Should I be worried?”
“You don’t have a backup plan for your wife?”
He gave a slight nod. “Point taken. Consider it handled. She’s one of us now. I’ll guarantee that.”
“One more thing. I’ve put all her documents, our marriage certificate and her passport into a safe deposit box. You havethe bank details. She’ll have the key, but for her protection, she doesn’t know which bank it’s at.”
“So if there is any coercion, they’ll have to go through me first.”
This family had controlled her previously by holding her documents, and they had basically trafficked her for her passport. I had been a part of that, but it stopped with me.
“Yes. I’ll give her the key and your phone number.”
He nodded seriously. “Tell her she can come to me for any kind of help, not just finding the bank.”
His words hit me deeper than I expected. The tension I’d been carrying between my shoulder blades loosened. Viktor was backup. Real backup. For Mila. “Appreciate it.”
He looked around the parking lot with vigilant eyes. “Watch your six.”
“You too.”
And then he was gone.
