“I have enough.”
“You have theories. Same as me. The difference is, I’ve spent three weeks in this apartment. I’ve seen how she lives. I’ve watched her with her daughter. I’ve heard her side of the story, and I’ve verified every piece of it that I could.”
“You’ve also fucked her, from what we’ve been told. Forgive me if that makes your verification suspect.”
The words are designed to provoke. I don’t take the bait.
“My relationship with Daria started after I’d concluded she was being coerced. I didn’t compromise the investigation. I made a choice based on the evidence.”
“Oh, you made a choice,” Alexei mocks. “That’s lovely. Unfortunately, your choices don’t override Dmitri’s orders. And Dmitri’s orders were clear: If you couldn’t produce evidence by the deadline, I was authorized to handle the situation.”
“Then call him. Right now. Ask if he still wants you to proceed based on what we’ve found.”
“I don’t need to call him. I know what he’ll say.”
“Do you? Because the Dmitri I know doesn’t execute family members without being certain of their guilt.”
Doubt flickers in his eyes. Or maybe I’m misreading it, and it’s just annoyance at being challenged.
“Daria made her choices,” he says. “She married Bogdan. She let him use her name. She fed him information for years instead of coming to us for help. Even if everything you’re saying is true, she’s not innocent. She’s complicit.”
“She’s a victim of domestic abuse who was threatened with losing her child. There’s a difference between complicity and survival.”
“Not in our world, there isn’t.”
We stand there, neither of us willing to move. I feel the weight of the gun tucked into my waistline. I see the outline of his beneath his jacket. If this turns violent, one of us isn’t walking out of this apartment.
Maybe neither of us will.
From down the hall, I hear a small sound. Kira whimpers, and Daria shushes her. The reminder of what’s at stake cuts through the posturing and the threats.
“Forty-eight hours,” I request. “That’s all I’m asking. Forty-eight hours to get you the proof you need.”
“The deadline was today.”
“And nothing has changed in the past three hours that makes killing Daria more urgent than it was yesterday. Give me two days. If I can’t deliver, you can do whatever Dmitri authorized. I won’t stop you.”
“You’ll try to stop me regardless. You’ve made that clear.”
“I’m making you a promise. Forty-eight hours. Hard evidence. If I fail, I’ll step aside.”
Alexei studies me for a long pause. I see him weighing the risks, deciding whether my word means anything. He opens his mouth to respond, but before he can, my phone goes off in my pocket.
I don’t move to answer it at first, but then it goes off again. And again.
“You should get that,” Alexei snickers. “Might be important.”
I pull the phone out without taking my eyes off him. The screen shows Tony’s name.
“Yeah.”
“Tell me you’re not in the middle of something.” There’s an energy in Tony’s voice that I haven’t heard before. “I’ve got news, and it’s the kind that changes everything.”
“I’m listening.”
“Morozova’s accounts. The ones connected to Bogdan’s network. I finally broke through the last layer of encryption.” He takes a breath. “Pyotr, it’s all there. Direct transfers to three organizations on the federal watchlist. Dates, amounts, and routing numbers. The authorization codes trace back to a single source.”
“Bogdan.”
