“I want you to move into a secured apartment,” I answer. “One of my properties. Guarded. Monitored and protected.”
“You want to lock me up,” she translates.
“I want to keep you alive,” I correct. “There’s a difference.”
Rowan looks away, her jaw working as she processes the information. When she looks back, her eyes are glassy withunshed tears. “I have a life, Kiren. A job. A family. I can't just disappear.”
“You won’t disappear,” I assure her. “You’ll continue your life, but with precautions. With security that doesn’t look like security. With someone watching over you who blends into your world.”
“Who?” she demands.
“Leonid Markov,” I reply. “American-born, trained in private security. He will pose as a corporate consultant assigned by Sovarin Biomedical to ensure your safety after the accident. Your colleagues won’t question it.”
She crosses her arms again, hugging herself. “And what do I tell my brother? My mother? They’ll ask questions.”
“Then we’ll give them answers,” I assure her. “Answers that are close enough to the truth to be believable but vague enough to avoid panic.”
Rowan's eyes narrow. “What answers?”
I straighten and move back toward my desk, giving her space to breathe. “We’ll them that the accident wasn’t random. That there are credible concerns about targeting. That Sovarin Biomedical has corporate security involved because of unrelated threats, and that they offered you temporary housing until the situation is resolved.”
She considers this, her expression skeptical. “Ethan will hate it.”
“Ethan will accept it if you frame it correctly,” I counter. “If you tell him yourself. Insist that you feel safe. And if he meets Leo and sees real security measures in place.”
Rowan rubs her temples, exhaustion evident in every line of her body. “And my mother?”
“You tell her there were security concerns after the accident,” I continue. “That Sovarin Biomedical has corporate housing for consultants and physicians involved in sensitive work. That you’ll be there for a few days while everything gets sorted out.”
She drops her hands and meets my gaze. “A few days?”
“Or however long it takes to neutralize the threat,” I amend.
Rowan laughs, but the sound is hollow. “You make it sound simple.”
“It’s not simple,” I admit. “But it’s necessary.”
She looks toward Mikel, who has remained silent throughout the conversation. “Does he agree with this plan?”
Mikel's expression doesn’t change, but his eyes dart to me briefly before returning to her. “Thepakhan'sdecision is final.”
“Pakhan?” Rowan's mouth twists, understanding dawning in her eyes. “That's not an answer.”
“It’s the only answer that matters,” Mikel replies firmly.
She turns back to me, frustration radiating from her posture. “I don't want to be kept anywhere against my will.”
“Then agree willingly,” I suggest. “Because the alternative is watching you die while I stand by, powerless to prevent it. And I won’t do that.”
Rowan's expression softens fractionally, and for a moment, I see the same woman who allowed herself to be vulnerable in my arms.
Then the walls go back up, and she nods once. “Fine. But I need to call Ethan first. And my mother. I need to explain this myself.”
“Agreed,” I reply. “But you’ll do it from here, where I can ensure the calls are secure.”
She exhales slowly, then moves toward the chair I offered earlier and sinks into it. “This is unreal.”
“It’s very real,” I correct gently. “And it’s the only way to keep you alive.”
