We arrive in a convoy of three vehicles. Andrei's in the lead car with me, Viktor driving. Two more cars follow with armed men—insurance, Andrei called it. Men positioned to respond if things go wrong. My father won't see them unless something goes very badly. I tried to argue, but he told me that my father will almost certainly do the same thing.
I don't know if that's true, but he seemed very sure of it. I've always thought my father was a man of his word—that if we said to come alone and he agreed, he would. But these last weeks have shown me that I don't know him as well as I thought I did.
The cabin comes into view as we turn down a potholed access road. It's exactly what I expected—small and nondescript, a bit run down. Viktor pulls the car to a stop about fifty yards from the main entrance. The other vehicles disappeared from view a while ago, taking whatever positions they were ordered to.
"He's not here yet," Viktor says, checking his phone. "We're five minutes early."
Andrei nods. His hand finds mine in the space between us and squeezes once. "Remember what I said. You stay close. You run if I tell you to run."
"I remember."
We wait. The minutes stretch out, each one feeling like an hour. I watch the entrance to the cabin, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. My palms are sweating. My mouth is dry.
Please let this work.Please let him listen. Please let this end.
A car appears at the far end of the access road. Then another. And another. My stomach drops. "That's more than one car," I say quietly.
Andrei's jaw clenches. "I see it."
The cars approach slowly. They're expensive—black Mercedes SUVs with tinted windows. They pull up to the cabin entrance and stop.
Doors open, and men emerge. Lots of men. Armed men in tactical gear, moving with military precision to form a protective perimeter around the vehicles.
"Fuck," Viktor mutters. "That's at least fifteen men."
"He wasn't supposed to bring anyone," I say, my voice rising with panic. "The agreement was just him and Andrei and I. No guards. No?—"
The rear door of the center SUV opens and my father steps out.
Even from this distance, I recognize him. Alexander Baumann, billionaire businessman, my father. He's dressed in an expensive suit, his silver hair perfectly styled, his posture radiating the confidence of a man who's used to getting exactly what he wants. But he's not alone.
Another man emerges from the same vehicle–older, maybe sixty, with a hard face and cold eyes. He's dressed similarly to my father—expensive suit, polished shoes—but there's somethingabout him that screams danger. Something that says this man has killed people and will kill again without hesitation.
"Who is that?" I whisper.
Andrei's face has gone completely blank. "Dmitri Volkov," he says quietly. "Head of the Volkov family."
The name means nothing to me, but the way Andrei says it tells me everything I need to know.
This is bad. This is very, very bad.
"He brought anotherpakhan," Viktor says, his hand moving to his weapon. "This is a setup."
"No." I grab Andrei's arm. "No, maybe my father just—maybe he thought if he brought Volkov, then we could all negotiate together. Maybe?—"
"Liesl." Andrei turns to look at me, and the expression on his face breaks my heart. "Your father didn't come here to negotiate. He came here to end this."
"You don't know that."
"Yes I do." He reaches up and cups my face, his thumb stroking across my cheekbone. "But we're going to try anyway. Because I promised you. And you need to see for yourself what kind of man your father is."
Before I can respond, he's opening the car door and stepping out. I follow, my legs shaking, my heart racing so fast I feel dizzy.
The space between our vehicles and theirs feels impossibly wide, like a battlefield. My father sees me and his expression shifts—first surprise and then relief, before it hardens again into a calculated coldness.
"Liesl," he calls out. His voice carries across the empty space,. "Thank God. Are you hurt?"
"I'm fine." My voice sounds steadier than I feel. "But this wasn't what we agreed to, Dad. You were supposed to come alone."
