The meeting room’s dead silent, all eyes on me. Oleg stands stiffly by the door, face carved from ice. Saveliy lounges againstthe wall, spinning a knife between his fingers. Alina’s at her laptop, fingers flying over the keys.
“Alright,blyat,” I growl, “What’s the situation with Zimniy and thatsukaElena?”
Erik raises an eyebrow. “No ‘How’ve you been?’”
I glare at him. “Shove it and give me answers.”
He chuckles, the bastard. “They’ve gone dark. Vanished like smoke. Alina’s been working her tech magic, but…”
Alina cuts in, her accent thick with frustration. “Nothing. It’s like they never existed. Someone’s erased them from the grid.”
“Yob tvoyu mat,” I mutter. “So, someone’s helping them.”
Erik leans back, fingers drumming on the table. “They can’t hide forever. This is our city.”
I nod, jaw clenched. He’s right. The Ivankov Bratva owns every shadow in this shithole.
“What’ve you got?” I ask, eyes narrowed.
Erik smirks. “A few leads. Industrial district, abandoned warehouses. Perfect rat holes for our friends.”
I grunt. Typical. “And?”
“And,” Erik continues, “we’ve got eyes on the borders. They try to leave, we’ll know.”
Alina pipes up, not looking away from her screen. “I’m monitoring all communications. Any whisper, we’ll catch it.”
Good. At least someone’s doing their job.
Erik clears his throat. “There’s… something else.”
I raise an eyebrow. “Spit it out.”
“It’s about Wren,” he says, watching me carefully.
My chest tightens.Fuck. “What about her?”
“She was used to get to you,” Erik says bluntly. “We can’t let that happen again.”
I grind my teeth, memories flooding back. Her lips on mine, then… nothing. Just gone.
“We’ve been watching her,” Oleg chimes in. “Nothing unusual. Working constantly. And…”
I glare at him. “And what?”
Oleg hesitates. “Her father. He’s… back on the streets. Drinking.”
Something hot and ugly twists in my gut. That fucking deadbeat…
“Blyat,” I mutter. “Anything else?”
Erik leans forward. “D, we need to talk about her. She’s a liability.”
I slam my fist on the table. “She’s not our fucking problem anymore.”
The room goes silent. I can feel their eyes on me, probing. Judging.
“Sure about that?” Erik asks quietly.
