"What did you do?"
"Insurance." He flicks ash onto concrete that's probably seen more blood than rain. "Grabbed her little friend. The one Aleksandr says she's always talking to at Lush. Angel. Pretty thing. Shame what's going to happen to her ifSofiyadoesn't show." He says her name like its a slur, his evil grin remaining in place.
My mind goes into work mode, assessing my options. The predator in me recognizes a threat that needs eliminating but can't be. Not yet. Not when it would compromise everything.
"You grabbed one of Aleksandr's girls without permission?"
"I cleared it with Aleksandr. He's curious too." Anatoly's enjoying this. He gets off on the power, on being the one who solved the puzzle everyone else missed.” He gave me twelve hours before he has to report her missing to the Pakhan. If Yelena doesn't show, Angel dies. Probably have some fun with her before then.”
My hands curl into fists. The only crack in the facade I'm maintaining. "Where?"
"The old processing plant on the East Side. You know the one." He drops his cigarette, grinding it under his heel. "Want to come watch? It should be entertaining when she realizes she can't save everyone."
"I'll think about it."
"Suit yourself." He gets in his car and rolls down the window. "But if you're smart, you'll show your support. You were the one that was told to kill Yelena after all. Anyone who helped that girl is dead. No exceptions. Not even for his favorite attack dog."He drives off, leaving me standing in an empty parking garage with the weight of impossible choices crashing down like an avalanche.
Anatoly is using Angel as bait to draw Sofiya out. Sofiya will go. She's not the kind of person who lets innocents suffer or die. It’s an obvious trap but knowing that doesn't change anything.
I quickly pull out my phone to call her. But then I stop. Anatoly's telling the truth about me being the one who was supposed to kill her. The Pakhan is paranoid on a good day, even before he has real reason to be suspicious. My phone's probably being monitored, my movements tracked. Every decision I make right now will be scrutinized to see where my loyalty really lies.
And right now, my loyalty is so far from the Pakhan it might as well be in another country. The only way I can help Sofiya is if I'm still trusted. Still positioned close enough to the center as the Pakhan's loyal second instead of the traitor I've become. Which means I can't go to her or warn her directly. I can't be anywhere near her when this goes down.
The realization makes me want to put my hand through the concrete pillar next to me. Through Anatoly's face. Through the Pakhan's skull until there's nothing left but blood and bone.
But I can't. Not yet. Not when acting too soon means we both die and the Pakhan wins.
I get in my car, my mind racing through scenarios and possibilities and the rapidly shrinking options available. Sofiya's going to go after Angel. That's certain. She's brave and stupid and incapable of letting someone suffer on her behalf. It's one of the things that makes her who she is and equally what’s going to get her killed. Anatoly knows this. That's why he's set this trap. He's counting on Sofiya's humanity, her weakness for caring about people when caring makes you vulnerable.
I need to get there first and position myself as the loyal enforcer following orders, where I can secretly undermine. Ineed to keep walking this line between betrayal and duty so carefully that no one sees which side I'm actually on. My phone rings. Perfect fucking timing.
"Da?"
"Anatoly tells me he's found our ghost." The Pakhan's voice is cold as ice. "Says he was going to fill you in.”
"He has."
"What do you think?"
A loaded question, a trap wrapped in curiosity. He's testing me. Seeing if I'll defend the girl or condemn her. Seeing where my loyalty lands when forced to choose.
"I think Anatoly sees what he wants to see. The courier looks vaguely like a fifteen-year-old girl might’ve looked ten years ago. But that doesn't make her Yelena."
"But it could."
"It could. Or it could be a coincidence. A pretty face, but there are probably thousands of girls in the city right now matching that description."
Silence on the other end. He's processing, deciding whether to believe me or add me to the list of problems that need solving.
"Anatoly says he's grabbed the girl's friend and is using her as bait."
"I heard."
"I want you there when she shows. I want your eyes on this. Your assessment of whether she's really my daughter or just some unlucky bitch who looks too much like the wrong person."
"And if she is Yelena?"
"Then we finish what should've been finished ten years ago." His voice hardens. “And we do it properly this time. No half measures. No mercy. Just clean elimination of a threat to everything I've built. I want proof this time. I want her head."
