“She knows,” I say flatly. “She planned it.”
Ian’s jaw tightens. “Then you need to be smarter than her.”
“Iamsmarter than her.”
“No. You’re more desperate than her. And desperate makes you stupid.”
The words land like a slap. I feel them in my teeth.
Ian steps closer, voice dropping. “Look, I get it. You want to protect her. I want that too. But right now you’re running hot, brother. You cannot—and I can’t stress this hard enough—slip the fuck up like you did in Prague. I dunno what it is, if she has this magic fucking link into your mind, but Valeria knows you. My God, does she know you. She knew you’d lose your shit when she handed you that Novák prick.”
“You say that like I don’t already know.” I start descending the stairs, Ian trailing behind.
“I know you know. I’m just saying it out loud for shits and giggles. Listen.” He grabs my elbow, and I snarl as I whip around, glaring at him. “That bitch is going to throw every goddamn curveball your way waiting for that one time you’resloppy. Novák? He’s a drop in her bucket of party tricks. And if you go off the rails every time she pulls a goddamn rabbit out of her hat,” he stops, pressing his lips together, “it’s no longer just Mary anymore, man. It’s Sophia too.”
There’s a huge motherfucking part of me that wants to wring his neck, but I’ve known him long enough to know every word is coming from a place of loyalty.
“Reth, if there ever was a time for you to tell those demons inside your head to fuck off, it’s now. Because if you don’t, Valeria is going to sweep right in. So do what you do best—think like the cold, calculated bastard I know you can be. If you go off half-cocked right now, you’re not protecting Sophia. You’re handing Valeria the map straight to her.”
I stare at him, chest tight, the old rage and the new fear twisting together until I can’t tell which is which. “You think I’m going to let Valeria take that from me?”
“I think if Valeria finds a sliver of weakness, she will cut it open and not stop until she has another tighter, spiked leash around your neck. You’ll be a whipped Pinocchio, my friend.” He taps my cheek, and I growl. “Granted, a good-looking one.”
“What the fuck is your point, Ian?”
“Do not pull another stunt like today. Stay the fuck sober because one wrong move and Valeria will have Sophia in a hole somewhere. And you, my dear pussy-whipped puppet, will be forced to watch on live feed while Valeria makes you choose which piece of her to lose first.” Ian steps up to me, our eyes level. “Say you’ll never touch that stuff again. Swear to me.”
The silence between us is ugly, heavy, and full of old bones. I inhale. Not a shallow breath, not a liar’s trick of oxygen, but along one, down to the bottom where shame becomes sediment. “I swear.”
“Good.” He smirks. “Now that that’s out of the way?—”
I pivot. “We move first.”
“What? No.”
“It’s the only way to beat her. To stay one step ahead.”
“Is that what you got from that? I give you the speech of the fucking century, and somehow your bright idea is suicide?”
“It’s not suicide. It’s strategy.”
“It’s the same thing when you’re the one executing it.” Ian drops onto the bottom step, elbows on his knees, and looks up at me with the expression he gets when he’s decided to stop arguing and start reasoning. The dangerous one. “Walk me through it.”
I never thought the day would come when I’d even consider what I’m about to tell him. Everything I’ve ever done was to make sure this never has to happen, protecting what’s most important. The cost? My soul. But now I’m backed into a corner, and there’s no way out without risk.
“We go to Samuel.”
Ian blinks. Blinks again. Leans back with his elbows on the stair behind him. “Well, that’s a very solid, very robust…fuck no.”
“I can’t speak to you when you’re like this.” I stomp over to the kitchen and grab a beer from the fridge. Ian follows.
“Well, honey, I’m afraid you’re going to have to, because that’s how a marriage works.” He points at me. “You come up withshitty ideas.” Places his palm on his chest. “And I tell you that you have shitty ideas.”
I pop the beer and take a large swig, leaning against the counter. “You have any better ideas…love?”
“Fuck yeah, I do. You harden this position. You bring in your entire team. You make this house the last place on earth Valeria wants to send a team. That’s the play.”
“Meanwhile, Sophia is stuck here forever, and Mary’s still out there while Samuel has no fucking clue.”
