I looked down at my phone, at the number that had left the message about Lev and pulled my shoulders back.
I could do this.
Iwoulddo this.
I hit call back.
The line rang twice before the voice answered.
“Mr. Markov,” the British man said pleasantly, as if we were old friends discussing business over tea. “I was wondering how long it would take you to call us back.”
“You have my brother,” I said, not wasting time on nonsense.
“We do,” he replied. “He’s well. For now.”
“For now,” I repeated, my jaw tightening. “What do you want?”
“The same thing we told you before,” he said. “We’d like to arrange a meeting to discuss the return of our agent.”
“Kara Lennox.”
“Yes. You can bring her. We would prefer that, but it’s not required at this time.”
“Where?”
“You’ll receive the coordinates tomorrow morning,” he said. “No weapons, no tricks. I’ll call at ten. The meeting will be at 18:00. That should give you plenty of time to prepare.”
I laughed, the sound loud and abrupt in the quiet surrounding me. “You think you can dictate terms to me?”
“Mr. Markov, we already have.”
The line went dead.
Viktor looked up from his drink, exhaling smoke through his nose. “Well?”
“They’re calling tomorrow morning with the meet-up coordinates,” I said. “Meeting at 6:00 p.m.”
Viktor leaned back in his chair. “Lovely people. So, what’s the plan?”
I didn’t answer him. My eyes had already found Dmitri, who was standing near the hallway that led to the bedrooms. He’d been watching Kara.
She looked exhausted, her eyes shadowed, her body drawn tight from too many hours of adrenaline. She was shivering in the cool, conditioned air of the penthouse apartment, still wearing a bikini that seemed to be holding itself together by mere threads at this point.
Dmitri nodded once, silent communication passing between us the way it always did.
“She needs some rest,” I said quietly. “And the two of you need a shower.”
He didn’t argue. He never did when it came to orders that made sense.
Kara started to protest, but I cut her off before she could get a word out. “You’ll need your strength tomorrow. Don’t fight me on this.”
She hesitated, glancing between us, then sighed, pouting slightly. “You two really enjoy ordering people around, don’t you?”
Dmitri gestured down the hall. “Come on. Don’t test me, baby girl.”
She glanced at Katya and Viktor, her cheeks blushing a little, before she stood up and walked toward my brother.
I followed them. She walked between us down the hall, barefoot on the cool marble floor, shoulders tense but no longer trembling. The hallway was dimly lit, the air heavy with quiet.
