“His words.” I reach over and take her hand. “He sees you as leverage. A way to control your brothers while his coalition tears apart everything they’ve built.”
“Then we need to move faster than he expects.”
We spend the next two hours going over every detail of my conversation with Adrian. Sasha asks pointed questions about the organizations he mentioned, cross-referencing names against information Boris provided. We debate possible strategies, timeline considerations, and contingency plans if the operation goes sideways. She pulls up maps of London on her tablet, marking locations where Adrian might feel safe enough to expose himself.
Somewhere around the third hour, the tactical discussion fades into something else.
“I keep thinking about what happens after,” Sasha admits. She’s moved closer to me on the sofa and tucked her legs beneath her, and her shoulder is flush against mine. “Assuming we stop Adrian. Assuming everyone survives. What then?”
“I don’t know.” I wrap my arm around her shoulders and pull her closer, breathing in her scent. “I’ve spent so long thinking about the immediate threat that I haven’t let myself imagine beyond it.”
“That’s very CIA of you.”
“Former CIA,” I correct. “And yes, it is. We were trained to focus on the mission at hand. Planning for the future was considered a distraction.”
“That sounds lonely.”
“It was.” I press my lips to her hair. “Until you.”
She tilts her head to look at me, and the vulnerability in her eyes makes my breath catch. “Tony…”
“I know you’ve been dodging this conversation, Sasha, but…I meant it when I said I’m scared. Not of Adrian, not of the coalition, not of whatever violence is coming. I’m scared of losing you before we have a chance to figure out what this is.”
“You’re afraid of this?”
“Us.” I cup her face with my free hand, brushing my thumb across her cheekbone. “I didn’t expect you, Sasha. I didn’t expect any of this. And the thought of something happening to you because of Adrian’s obsession, because of my involvement in his plan…”
“Hey.” She covers my hand with hers. “I’m scared too. I’d be stupid not to be. But I trust you to have my back when things get dangerous. I trust you to choose me over whatever Adrian is offering.”
“I already have. Every day since I realized what you mean to me.”
She leans in and kisses me softly. I return it gently at first, then with growing heat as she shifts to straddle my lap. Her fingers thread through my hair, and I grip her hips to pull her closer until there’s no space left between us.
“We should probably get some sleep,” she murmurs against my mouth.
“Probably.” I don’t let go of her.
“Early morning tomorrow. Boris wants a full debrief before we make our next move.”
“I know.” I trail kisses down her neck, and she shivers against me. Her pulse flutters beneath my lips, and I feel her fingers tighten in my hair. “Just a few more minutes. Let me have this. Let me have you, just for a little while longer, before everything goes to hell.”
She answers by kissing me again, deeper this time, and I lose myself in the taste of her tongue. When she takes my hand and leads me toward the bedroom, I follow without a word.
Adrian and his coalition can wait until morning.
31
Sasha
The invitation arrives while we’re eating breakfast.
Tony’s phone vibrates against the table, and he frowns at the screen before turning it toward me. The message is brief, just a name, a time, and an address in Surrey.
Adrian wants both Tony and I to come to his estate tomorrow evening for dinner under the guise that he’s one of Tony’s “old colleagues” who’s interested in meeting me.
“Thornfield Manor.” I pull up the location on my phone and study the map. “He picked somewhere forty minutes outside the city so he can control everything about this meeting.”
Tony sets down his coffee and nods. “He still thinks I’m working for him. The cover story is meant to keep you ignorant until we’re already through his gates and it’s too late to back out.”
