Demyan didn’t look up from his tablet. “The perimeter is already compromised,” he said, his voice mild, almost bored. “Three shooters, west and south line. You’re not hiding as well as you think you are, Markov.”
Katya’s eyes snapped toward him, but I caught the flicker of surprise in hers. She hadn’t known about my men. My lips lifted in the slightest of smirks at her realization.
“Interesting,” I said. “Seems we’re at an impasse.”
Viktor’s grin widened. “A Mexican standoff.Finally.I always wanted to be in one of those.”
Grigor ignored Viktor and narrowed his focus on me. “You should have come here alone.”
“I get lonely,” I replied snidely.
Katya took a careful step forward. “Roman,” she began. “You don’t want to do this here.”
“Then tell me where they are.”
“They’re alive.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“I can’t?—”
“Try harder.”
Grigor’s expression didn’t change, but his hand lifted. Somewhere in the shadows, the Dragunovs’ men shifted position. My own team responded in kind, scopes tracking, the red dots from their sights cutting through the dark like tiny pinpricks of malicious intent.
The yard became geometry: angles, ranges, and fatal trajectories. One move the wrong way and everything would ignite.
“Enough of this,” I snapped, stepping forward. “You wanted a conversation, fine. Here I am. But you’ll bring my brother and the girl out here now. I need proof that they’re still breathing.”
Katya hesitated, but I cut her off with a glare cold enough to stop the excuses before they even started. I must have been channeling Dmitri. He’d be so proud.
“I’m not negotiating blind, sweetheart. Proof of life. Now.”
She pressed her lips together, defiance flashing across her face. “This isn’t how we do things.”
“This isn’t your show anymore.”
Viktor stepped in front of her, his stance suddenly far more serious, maybe even protective. “No. Stop it right there. You don’t get to give her orders,” he snarled. “You’re standing onourground. You want something, you asknicely.”
“Fine,” I said, keeping my tone calm and controlled. “Then I’m asking you, Viktor. Bring them out.”
“Tell me something, Roman,” he said, pacing a slow half-circle in front of me, hands buried in his pockets. “You always walk intoother people’s business this confident, or is tonight just extra special?”
Behind him, Katya shifted, clearly impatient with his games. Viktor caught the movement and flashed her a wolfish smile. “Don’t scowl,dorogaya. He came all this way to talk, let him enjoy himself.”
“Charming as your company is, I’m not here for enjoyment,” I said. “I’m here for my brother and the girl. Nothing else.”
That made him laugh. “See? That’s the trouble with you Markovs. No pleasantries, just business, business, business. Everything’s a deal or a dead body.”
I smiled without humor. “That’s rich, coming from a Dragunov. Last I checked, you built your empire on both.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Touché. Maybe we’re not so different.”
“Just bring them out.”
The grin faded just a little at that, replaced by a serious, more assessing edge. “You’ve got balls, Roman. I’ll give you that. You walk in here like you’re untouchable, knowing half the city’s got rifles aimed at your head.”
I tilted my head, letting a slow smile pull at my mouth. “Please. Half the city’s been trying to kill me since I was old enough to shave. The rest just want to see if I’ll flinch.”
