"Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you right now," he says quietly.
The metal is cold against my skin and my heart is beating so hard I feel like I may pass out, but somehow, I manage to keep my voice steady when I respond.
"Because if everything I've told you is a lie, killing me changes nothing. You go back to your alliance with Yaros, you continue doing business as usual, and life goes on." I meet his eyes without flinching, drawing on every ounce of strength I have left. "But if everything I've told you is true, then you've been partnered with a man who murdered his own sister and has been lying to your face for months."
The gun doesn't move. Kolar's finger rests on the trigger. I stare into his cold eyes and plead with whatever higher power there is for mercy.
"Take me to the Gravitch estate," I say. "Let Yuri show you the proof. If I'm lying, you can kill me there just as easily as you can kill me here. But if I'm telling the truth, you'll have the chance to make this right. To choose the winning side before it's too late."
Seconds tick past, feeling like an eternity. Then, slowly, Kolar lowers the gun and tucks it back into his jacket.
"If you're lying to me," he says, his voice soft and dangerous, "I won't just kill you. I'll kill everyone at that estate. Every Gravitchsoldier, every family member, everyone who was part of this deception. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
"I understand."
"Good." He turns toward the door and gestures for his bodyguard to follow. "Then let's go see this proof of yours."
27
LEV
Iwake to the sound of Yuri's voice somewhere beyond my bedroom door, talking to someone on the phone. My body feels like it's been run through a meat grinder and reassembled by someone with no medical training. Every breath pulls at the wound in my gut and sends fresh waves of pain radiating through my core.
I swing my legs over the edge of the bed and force myself upright, ignoring the screaming protest from my midsection. The wall becomes my crutch as I make my way toward the door with one hand pressed flat against the cool plaster while the other clutches the bandages wrapped around my stomach. My vision swims with every step, but I grit my teeth and keep moving. I have to know if there's news about Vivika. I haven't even checked to see if Rurik got to her at the station.
The walk to the living room takes forever because I have to stop every few steps to catch my breath and let my gut rest. But when I finally make it to the door, I see Yuri leaning on the mantel with the phone pressed to his ear. His back is to me, and he doesn’tlook up when I stagger in, but I get the sense that whatever is going down isn't good.
"What's happening?" My voice scrapes out rough and a little slurred thanks to the heavy medication they have me on.
Yuri spins toward me, surprised. "You should be in bed. The doctor specifically said?—"
"The doctor can go to hell," I grunt while I lean heavily against the doorframe. Never in my life have I been so weak. "Who's on the phone? Is it about Vivika?"
Yuri presses a button on his screen and holds the phone up, but all I hear is a crackling of the phone breaking up. He shakes his head, scowling at me, and grunts, "Rurik… That foolish woman has gotten herself in deep now."
He stomps over to the window and peeks out through the curtains, spying something outside as I limp closer to him, stopping at the arm of his leather sofa to rest for a moment.
"What's going on?" The only foolish woman he could be talking about is Vivika, but she's in Moscow, right?
"Kolar is here." Yuri's eyes snap to mine as he reaches into the sideboard and pulls out two guns, tossing one to me. I miss it, and it bounces on the couch next to me as he chambers a round in his and scowls. "She brought him right to our door. Rurik is with them and they're coming in heavy."
None of this makes sense. Vivika is supposed to be safely tucked hours away from this city in some Moscow hostel, not here in St Petersburg with Luka Kolar. "She's here?" I ask as I check the magazine, ignoring the screaming pain that shoots through my abdomen at the movement. The news isn't good.
If Kolar walks right into Gravitch territory with intent to harm us, how will our limping forces ever withstand that war? "How many men do we have on the grounds?"
"Four. Maybe five if Ruslan made it back from his assignment." Yuri tucks his own weapon into his waistband and grabs a second gun. "Everyone else is still recovering from the warehouse or out on other assignments."
"Then we hold the entrance and hope to God he wants to talk before he starts shooting."
He moves toward the front door while I heave myself off the couch and grip my side. Twice I have to stop, hunched over, and clutch my side, but I make it about the time I hear car doors outside shutting.
Yuri stands on one side of the door and I step up to the other, leaning against the wall because standing unsupported is beyond me right now. But my gun's raised and ready and I'm waiting for the fireworks to start. If they've taken Rurik and Vivika, they're not going to go down easy now.
I peek out the door which stands wide open and watch. But the first person to emerge isn't Luka Kolar. It's Vivika.
She steps out onto the gravel drive with her chin lifted and her shoulders squared, every line of her body projecting the confidence and authority I spent weeks drilling into her. She's wearing the same wrinkled suit, but somehow, she carries herself with grace anyway. She holds the door open behind her and her eyes rise slowly and catch me there staring out at her.
She's exquisite. I thought I'd never see her again, but there she is and driving up to our territory in the enemy's car like she owns him.
