“Yes,” I agree. “And he just confirmed something else.”
“What?” Ronan asks.
“He doesn’t know how much I already know,” I say. “And now he doesn’t know how muchyouknow.”
Ronan steps closer, hands framing my face.
“You should have stayed a journalist,” he murmurs darkly.
I meet his gaze. “I will always be a journalist
His thumb brushes my cheek, grounding, reverent.
“We’ll move Markovic into a controlled channel,” Aaron says. “Let him think he’s invisible.”
Ronan nods once. “Do it.”
Then he looks back at me.
“You just made yourself a primary asset.”
I don’t flinch.
“Good,” I say quietly. “Because that means he’ll make mistakes.”
Ronan leans his forehead against mine.
“Stay exactly where you are,” he says. “Every move you make now echoes.”
I smile faintly. “So does his.”
Outside, the ocean crashes endlessly against the shore—unaware that the watcher has been unmasked.
And somewhere far away, Viktor Malenkov is about to learn a dangerous truth:
He didn’t brush past my life.
He walked straight into it.
46
Viktor Malenkov
Location: Secure Operations Cell — Unknown
Time: 0411 Hours
Iknow the moment Ilya is compromised.
Not because he misses a check-in.
Not because he panics.
Ilya Markovic does not panic.
I know because he becomesperfect.
His signal cadence smooths out—too smooth. His location data stabilizes into neat, predictable loops. His background noise disappears.
