"All the soldiers wore it on their chests," Alexei adds. "Ivan wore his on his hand. The hand that orchestrated everything."
"I didn't tell you sooner," Maksim says, looking directly at me, "because I didn't want to trigger you. Didn't want to bring that symbol back into your life." He pauses. "And because recently, we found someone stealing from us who had that same tattoo. Too young to have been one of Ivan's original men. We still don't understand it."
I close my eyes briefly.
"I might have an answer for that."
Three pairs of eyes lock on me.
"Ramiz told me," I say slowly, forcing the words out past the tightness in my throat. "Before you arrived. He was ranting, bragging. Said he hired someone to steal from you. To cause chaos."
I force myself to continue.
"He said he also recruited Vitor."
"I never expected that from Vitor." Zakhar's voice goes cold.
"People have their reasons," I say quietly. "Reasons we don't always understand. Like Jelena."
Her name cracks something in my chest.
"She betrayed me too." My voice breaks. "I trusted her."
Alexei shifts, drawing my attention. His skin is paler than it should be. Slight tremor in his hands. Jaw tight with tension.
I know these signs.
"You need to eat."
"I'm fine." His tone is dismissive.
"You're not." I gesture to the untouched food. "Your blood sugar is dropping. We should all eat. Then rest."
"I don't need food." Alexei stands abruptly, the movement too fast, barely controlled. "I need to know if you're staying."
The question detonates in the quiet room.
"Alexei," Zakhar starts.
"No." Alexei's voice splinters. "I need to know. Are you staying? Because I love you. I love you so much I can't—I can't fucking breathe when I think about losing you. I can't—"
His voice breaks completely.
The confession is raw. Desperate. Everything Alexei usually hides beneath humor and violence, laid bare and bleeding.
His entire body trembles now. Not just from low blood sugar. From fear.
From the very real possibility that tonight broke something we can't fix.
I look at him. At all of them.
These men who came for me. Who saved me. Who love me with a ferocity that should terrify me but doesn't.
Who I love.
It's been building for months, brick by brick, touch by touch, argument by argument.
But tonight stripped away every last defense.
