Federal custody.
Controlled access.
A way back into the system.
One of the agents who escorted me from the house sits across from me now, watching me with an expression that’s a little too calm for someone conducting an arrest.
Something about it feels…off.
Finally, he exhales slowly.
“Ms. Carver,” he says.
His voice is relaxed.
Too relaxed.
He reaches up and removes the badge clipped to his jacket, turning it in his fingers before slipping it into his pocket like it suddenly means nothing.
Then he looks at me again.
“My name is Viktor.”
I blink, my stomach tightening.
The car continues moving, the city sliding past unseen behind the dark glass.
“I’m not law enforcement,” he says.
My pulse spikes. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m a liaison.” The word lands heavily in the small space between us. “A liaison working for Katerina Morozova.”
For a moment, the air disappears from my lungs.
The realization crashes into me all at once.
The warrant.
The extraction.
The agents.
Every careful step we thought we controlled.
It was never federal custody.
It was never the government.
I stare at him, the truth settling into my bones like ice.
I didn’t surrender to justice.
I walked directly into the enemy’s hands.
Chapter 24 – Mike
The moment the vehicles leave, something in my gut twists the wrong way.
