Page 146 of Blood & Snow

Hands grip my arms, forcing them behind my back as zip ties bite into my wrists and I shudder and shake, my knees going weak as they begin forcing me to move.

"Transport her to the secondary location," the man orders.

"Notify the old man that we have acquired the asset."

I'm carried into winter darkness, toward a future I cannot see and cannot escape.

Somewhere in this city,Xander will discover my disappearance and realize his enemies have claimed the one thing that might break him completely.

A woman who knows all of his secrets.

The woman he called his little bird, now caged by those who seek his destruction.

25

XANDER

After finishing the warehouse job and eliminating all but a few last Sokolov scum I don't waste any time procrastinating.

My update to the boss comes first, and then I rest.

Besides, it's the best way to keep my mind from straying toward things I don't want to try to process right now, like the fact that this is the first job I've ever sent Nadya to alone.

She'll do fine, and I trust her work now, but it feels wrong.

Markov is standing at the windows of his high-rise office, watching traffic below out the window when I enter.

His assistant has long gone for the night, and the two of us are alone, which means no one to hear me scream if he doesn’t like my news.

But I'm so close to deadline and so ready to end this entire thing.

My zeal alone will show him that I'll finish by his deadline.

"Job done, boss," I tell him as I approach where he stands.

"Just a few men left and Sokolov himself…" I stand with my hands clasped in front of my body, chest puffed out slightly.

If he asks about Nadya I'm not sure what to tell him.

Fornow I think I just have to play along with her being the cleaner, but I know with how she's feeling it won't last.

Markov will see through it, end things the way he made me with the previous cleaner, or he'll do it himself.

Leonid nods and lifts his glass of vodka and drains it in one swallow.

But his stern expression rarely changes.

His eyes search the horizon now, resting bitch face permanently engraved in his features.

He's a hard man to please and I never know when he's happy or even content with what I've done.

"You've done well, Xander."

His tone carries approval, a rare gift.

"I doubted you would deliver this fast. I was wrong."

I say nothing.