Her weaknesses.
Proof. Names. Places. Deals.
The kind of information you don’t just sell.
You trade it for survival.
It makes me feel sick knowing Lily has been wearing this around her neck. Not knowing it’s a target. Not knowing it’s the reason Tatiana’s eyes followed her like a hungry tiger.
I lock the safe, seal the panic room behind me, and head for the kitchen.
Lev is already there, standing at the counter, hands braced like he’s holding himself together.
He turns the second I step in, and his eyes land on the necklace in my hand. “What the fuck are you doing with that?”
I don’t respond, I just step closer and lay it gently on the counter between us anyway.
Not disrespectful. Not careless. Just… final.
“We need to gut it,” I say.
Lev’s nostrils flare, anger flashing like a match. “No.”
“Lev.” My voice is steel. “Yes.”
His eyes snap to mine. “You made a deal,” he says, the words spitting out. “You promised Tatiana you’d give her that if the Preacher comes to the peace talks.”
“I did,” I confirm.
“Then why the fuck are you holding it like it’s yours to touch?”
Because it was around my girl’s throat. Because she trusted it. Because she didn’t know it was a loaded gun.
But I don’t say that.
Instead, I lean in slightly. “Because I’m not handing Tatiana the keys to the kingdom,” I say quietly. “I’m handing her a message.”
Lev’s jaw ticks. “A message,” he repeats like it’s an insult.
“Yes.” I tap the necklace lightly. “You told me that it’s an encrypted drive. It holds your whole damn life.”
Lev’s eyes darken. “Everything I’ve learned.”
“Everything that could end Tatiana,” I say. “And she knows it.”
Silence stretches, then Lev’s voice turns quieter, more dangerous. “And we can’t let her have that information.”
I don’t blink. “Correct, old man.”
That earns the faintest grin from him. “So what’s your plan, Drago? You replace what’s inside with what?”
“With Enzo’s warning.”
That stops him. Not because Lev suddenly respects Enzo’s theatrics, but because he understands the language of power.
He understands chess.
“Tatiana doesn’t fear guns,” I continue. “She fears humiliation. Losing. Being outplayed. We both know her web of lies runs deeper than we do. I think Enzo knows the parts we don’t.”
