“Shedidn’t.” I hold his gaze. “She rerouted the Zurich transfer. She’s saved our asses more than once.”
Lev shifts. Luk looks up at the ceiling.
Alexei doesn’t press. “Alright. Just had to ask.”
I nod once. We move on.
My stomach is tight after seeing those photos Spalding showed me of Astrid stepping out of the clinic. I saw the way he leaned in, grinning like a hyena with a scent of blood.
Was it just bait?
I want to believe it was. But the doubt hasn’t let go.
Not yet.
Lev’s pacing again. Luk’s brow is pinched with the kind of tension that usually ends in broken noses. I’ve moved past frustration. I’m in strategy mode now.
“We can’t sit on this,” I say, voice calm but precise. “We need to run a counter-op.”
Lev raises an eyebrow. “You’re thinking a mole of our own?”
Luk nods in agreement. “Maybe find an agent to flip. Beat them at their own game. We should start looking for possible marks.”
I glance briefly at my phone then up again. “I’ll speak to Elena. Quietly,” I add. “She’ll know where to dig.” A moment of hesitation before I go on. “And I need to talk to Astrid. Alone.”
Alexei tilts his head, not challenging, just watching me closely. “You think she knows something?”
“No,” I reply. “But I need to be sure.” It’s not a lie, but it’s not the whole truth either.
Alexei doesn’t push. “Fine. But soon. We don’t have time to waste.”
My brothers file out one by one, muttering final thoughts, calls they need to make, people they plan to put eyes on.
I stay behind. The fire’s gone low. The jazz has stopped.
I think of her.
Her laugh. The look in her eyes when she asked if she could trust me.
I find myself wondering the same damn thing.
Can I trusther?
The thought makes my insides curdle. I hate it. Hate that Spalding got inside my head. Hate that I let the question even form.
But things are different now. We’re exposed. Someone cracked the walls. And if sheispregnant…
I close my eyes.
We have to move like there’s a gun to our heads.
Because there might be.
And I don’t know if she’s standing beside me or watching me through the crosshairs.
CHAPTER 22
ASTRID
