Keeping my hand on Jonah’s back, I guide him across the cracked floor toward the bar. Lev walks the outside line, close enough that his arm brushes mine. White and red light cut through the dark, strobing across the room. The sound takes over first. Bass pounds through the packed floor, the vibration crawling up my legs and settling in my ribs. Voices blur. Laughter and shouts are swallowed by the music, making it loud enough to hide footsteps. Bodies press close under the strobe.
Vesper sits in the heart of our zone. Yet Sokolov still made it onto my block. The motherfucker even managed to shoot me. My ribs tighten at the memory—a dull echo under the music that doesn't fit.
Vadim stands behind the bar. When he sees me, his mouth falls open, nearly dropping the glass he’s polishing. “Viktor Morozov. You… Didn’t you?—”
“Die?” Nikolai deadpans.
Vadim’s eyes flick from him back to me. Snapping out of it, he reaches for a bottle. “Let me get you some shots. On the house.”
Lev grins. “Sounds like a good plan.”
After we down two rounds, I turn my back to the bar and scan the crowd. “Do you see anything that doesn’t fit?”
Nikolai’s gaze sweeps the room, sharp. “No. Sasha just confirmed the outside cameras are functioning. Nothing is out of order.”
“Then how the fuck did Sokolov get past our perimeter and make it right outside this place?” Lev’s voice hardens. “This whole neighborhood is ours. He shouldn’t have made it within a block.”
“I agree. Someone cleared a path for him.”
Nikolai frowns. “For Sokolov? Why risk that level of betrayal for a disposable trigger?”
“Someone who wasn’t working for him.” I lower my voice and let the words settle between us.
Jonah’s grip tightens, ice clinking once against the side of the glass. He doesn’t speak, but his shoulders draw in a fraction as if he understands exactly what that means. Only a handful of people know every guard shift and every blind angle near this place. Only a handful know when I slip out the back door. Fewer still could erase their own footprints without raising suspicion.
Lev watches my face. “You think it was someone inside.”
I don’t answer right away.
Nikolai exhales slowly. “Motherfucker. Look.”
Turning toward the crowd, I find that before I can even begin my scan, the bodies begin to part.
“You were always so easy to find, Viktor,” a voice cuts through the thumping bass. “When the house feels too small, you always come back to the cracked floors and the cheap vodka.”
Something in my head snaps into focus. That unnatural calm that never belongs in chaos. My breath stutters. I know that shape. I know who moves like that. Lev’s hand tightens on my arm. “No. It can’t be.”
Doctor Andrei Petrov steps into the light like he owns the floor. His coat is buttoned to the chin. His posture is straight. His gaze sweeps the room with the detached calm of a man who has already decided half the people in it are not worth saving.
“Of fucking course.” Nikolai exhales through his teeth.
Petrov’s eyes find us at the bar. He smiles politely, as if this is a yearly checkup and not the scene of my almost-death. Adjusting his glasses, he steps around two drunk men without breaking stride. He stops exactly one arm’s length from me.
“Evening, boys. I hope I’m not interrupting.”
The bass thunders behind him. My pulse answers it. Jonah goes still at my side. Lev’s hand drops to the hem of his jacket. I meet Petrov’s eyes. “You are the last person allowed here.”
He smiles, looking amused. “Your uncle sent me. But you already knew that.”
“Oh. Did he now?”
“You don't think you can walk out of your prison, kill Sergei’s loyal dog and then pretend life continues untouched.” Petrov’s smile widens. “My reputation opens doors. Your uncle wants to see how you intend to close them.”
“I’m reclaiming what’s mine.” My voice is a low growl. “I am removing those who stole from me.”
Petrov laughs. “You always were the funny one. No offense.” His gaze slides past me to Jonah, looking him up and down with clinical detachment. “And you kept your pretty nurse. If you need someone to warm your bed tonight, Vitya, there’ll be volunteers. You don't have to settle for the help.”
Something in my chest snaps. “You motherfucker.” I shove him hard, the impact sending him back a step.
