Viktor’s gaze holds hers. “Yes.”
“And they wanted to see if he would respond for me,” she adds, and she doesn’t look away when she says it.
The air goes tight again, because now we are not talking about bullets. We are talking about leverage.
Mason leans back slightly, eyes flicking between Viktor and me and Anya. “Then we have the same problem,” he says. “Someone out there is watching her, and someone out there thinks they can use my club to poke the Dragunovs and see what bleeds.”
“And they are wrong,” Dmitri says flatly, and the way he says it is calm enough to be terrifying.
Mikhail’s tone stays measured. “They are also not finished.”
Mason exhales once through his nose, then looks at Viktor. “You said you got a call,” he says. “Who called you, and what else do you know, because we’re not blind here. If this is tied to Moscow politics, then we need to understand what kind of storm is coming at our doorstep.”
Viktor’s gaze moves across the room slowly. “Someone with access to information called,” he says, and he doesn’t offer more than that yet, because he is Viktor Dragunov and he does not hand out details like candy. Then he looks at me again, and his voice remains controlled. “What matters is that someone chose you as the point of contact, because you were the last known location of my daughter after the hospital.”
Anya’s jaw tightens. “They know you brought me to your house,” she says, and she isn’t asking. She’s stating it.
“Yes,” Mikhail confirms quietly, and he glances at her with something that looks almost like apology. “If they were watching, then they saw where you went, and they would have waited to see what happens next.”
Dmitri’s eyes flick to me again. “And they chose you because you are visible.”
I hold his gaze. “So are you.”
Mason shifts forward, elbows on the table now, voice cutting clean through it. “Then here’s what we do,” he says, and the room changes, because when Mason speaks like that, it becomes a plan instead of a threat. “We keep eyes on that hotel, quiet andconsistent, and nobody gets stupid. If her old man decides to flex, we’re not caught flat, and if whoever is watching decides to poke again, they’re going to find out we bite.”
Viktor’s expression does not change, but his attention stays on Mason, and that alone feels significant.
Anya stands there between all of it, and she does not look small. And I realize, in a way that hits as hard as the pavement did, that whoever started this wanted to see which world she belongs to. They are about to learn she doesn’t belong to anyone.
One of Viktor’s men steps up behind him and bends close, murmuring something in his ear. Viktor’s expression darkens instantly. He mutters a sharp curse in Russian and his gaze shifts to Anya.
She notices the change immediately.
“What?” she asks, her voice steady but alert.
He answers her in Russian, low and irritated. “We don’t need this right now.”
Mikhail, Dimitri, Anya, and I all understand exactly what he says. The rest of the room looks between us, lost, because they do not speak the language.
Viktor exhales heavily and straightens. “We will handle this in private,” he says, already moving as if that settles it.
Mason slams his fist down on the table hard enough to rattle the glasses. “Dragunov, whatever the hell is going on, you better fucking let the rest of us in on it. We’re tied together whether you like it or not.”
Silence stretches for a beat.
Viktor looks at each of his children before finally speaking. “Konstantin Orlovsky,” he says evenly. “He is here in the city with his mother and father. They are here to attend a charity gala.”
No one says anything.
“Konstantin heard that you had been found,” Viktor continues, his eyes settling on Anya. “He is requesting a private meeting with you tonight. He also expects you to attend the gala with him tomorrow evening.”
Anya does not react. She does not blink. She does not shift. She simply stands there, unreadable.
“Who the fuck is Konstantin Orlovsky?” I ask.
Mikhail and Dimitri exchange a look that makes something cold slide down my spine. It is Mikhail who finally answers.
“Anya’s fiancé.”
