“I noticed,” I ground out. “Why do you think I brought back reinforcements from Russia? It wasn’t for him and the Bratva like he assumed.”
Arman met my gaze. “Then I’m with you.”
I studied him—the watcher who’d suddenly become a warning. The man who’d seen the truth and chosen a side. Could I trust him?
“Help me finish this,” I offered, “and you walk away clean.”
He exhaled with a chuckle. “I don’t need clean. I need it done right.”
When I went upstairs, Sofia wasn’t in our room. Following my guts, I returned to the training room.
Sure enough, Sofia stood there, breathing hard, sweat-dark hair pulled back, eyes lifting the moment she saw me. She didn’t apologize. She didn’t ask if she should stop.
She waited.
I crossed the space and cupped her cheeks, my thumb brushing her cheekbone. “You were supposed to be in the panic room.”
Her voice was steady. “I didn’t need to be. I wasn’t panicking. Who was it?”
I couldn’t help but laugh at her comeback.
“Boris.”
Her eyes went wide in shock. “And the Armenians? I thought they were behind everything after the incident at Halloween.”
“Innocent,” I said. “But that’s what he wanted me to think. This was always Boris.”
She nodded, absorbing it. No tears. No fear.
Only resolve.
“I told you I wouldn’t be afraid anymore,” she stubbornly insisted as she crossed her arms.
With a half-smile, I rested my forehead against hers, pride and terror twisting together in my chest. “I know. But I will end this before it costs you more.”
She uncrossed her arms and looped them around my waist. I dropped a hand and placed it protectively over her lower abdomen. Hers settled over mine. Over our child.
“Don’t,” she warned softly. “I’m not weak. End it with me. Not around me.”
She was stronger, but this was not a life she fully understood. I closed my eyes once.
“Sofia…” I whispered, shaking my head slightly. “What am I going to do with you?”
Though she was no longer something to shield, killing someone would change her in ways she couldn’t fathom. She wasn’t brought up in my world of violence.
Yet, she was definitely a casualty in this war. She’d been dragged into it unexpectedly after doing a favor for a friend at Halloween. Now she was mine and I would do everything in my power to keep her safe.
And Boris Volkov had just made the last mistake of his life.
Chapter 10
Sofia
Christmas Eve
We agreed not to exchange gifts.
It felt ridiculous to pretend we could do something normal—wrapping paper, bows, soft smiles—when our lives were currently measured in exits and threat windows. Maksim had said it with a shrug, like it didn’t matter. I had nodded, like I didn’t care.
