A message followed.
UNKNOWN:
He has until tonight.
Then another.
UNKNOWN:
Debt plus loss. Or I collect differently.
The bathroom water kept running.
My hand went cold around the phone.
Vadim came out with a towel in one hand. He saw my face and crossed the room before I spoke.
I handed him the phone.
He read the messages.
Vadim’s face went still, and the warmth left his eyes until only the dangerous man remained.
“He can see Petya,” I said.
Vadim studied the photo, then the window behind Petya, then the angle of the street. “This was taken before Lev moved him.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.” He turned the phone enough for me to see the edge of the awning above Petya’s head. “That was the first building. He is not there now.”
My breath came back too fast and not deep enough. “But Gennady had eyes on him.”
“For a few minutes.”
“That is enough.”
“Yes.” Vadim’s voice went colder. “It is.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means Kask had someone close to the first location before Lev changed the phone. Either they followed Petya before my men reached him, or Petya’s old contact gave up the wrong address fast enough to be useful.”
“Petya promised he wouldn’t leave.”
“He didn’t leave.” Vadim’s gaze lifted to mine. “This is not on him.”
I nodded once, but fear still gripped the base of my throat.
Vadim looked back at the message. His thumb hovered near the screen, not deleting, not answering.
“We’re not letting Petya walk into this,” I said.
“No.”
“And you’re not hiding me in this bedroom while men trade threats over my life.”
“No.”
