Her face stuck with him—defiant chin, wary eyes.Smart to doubt him.But smarts wouldn’t stop Mikalai.
The driver honked, dodging a truck.“Family on that bus?”
Sergei ignored him, eyes on Mikalai’s car.Surprise was his edge.
The bus slowed at a stop.No one exited.Not Keisha’s stop.
“Faster,” Sergei urged.
“Rain’s bad, man,” the driver said.
Mikalai’s car held steady.Patient.Deadly.
Svetlana’s laugh hit Sergei, then her bloodied face.
“You can’t save everyone,” she’d said.
The bus turned onto a residential street, not Keisha’s route.A shopping center.Public setting and open late.Smart.
“This is good,” Sergei said.The taxi stopped half a block from the bus.
Sergei paid, adding extra.
“Be careful out here,” the driver said, pocketing cash.
Sergei stepped into the rain, moving between cars.The shopping center glowed.There was a grocery store, a pharmacy, and a restaurant.Mikalai’s sedan idled across the street, cigarette glowing inside.
The bus doors opened.Passengers spilled out—an older woman, a teen, a worker.Then Keisha, satchel clutched, scanning the lot.
Vigilant.
Mikalai stepped out, jacket hiding metal.Sergei’s hand found his knife, pressed against his leg.
Twenty feet away, Mikalai stiffened, turning.Their eyes met through rain.His cold smile confirmed it—he’d known Sergei was here.Waiting for him to break cover.
“Lisowski,” Mikalai called.“Predictable.”
Sergei stayed silent, measuring distance, risks.
“The social worker?”Mikalai shook his head.“Dmitri said your guilt would make you sloppy.”
Dmitri.
Kryvaya Stal’s Miami boss.Using Keisha as bait.
“Walk away,” Sergei said, voice low.“She’s not in this.”
“She is now.”Mikalai’s eyes gleamed.“Thanks to you.”
Rain pounded, music fading.Sergei’s grip tightened on the knife.
Mikalai stepped back to his car.“Dmitri’s eager for a reunion, Lisowski.Your call how ugly this gets.”
The sedan growled, pulling away.Sergei stood, soaked, chest tight with failure.He’d made Keisha more of a target.
Through the grocery store’s windows, Keisha stood at checkout, shoulders tense, eyes scanning.Safe for now.But not for long.
Dmitri’s reach stretched far.Her office.Maybe her home.She’d rejected Sergei’s help, and he didn’t blame her.
