Page 53 of Fallen Empire

I headed toward the door, and just like I knew he would, Ben followed.

“How bad is it?” he asked once we were outside.

“It could be worse,” I muttered.

“It could always be worse. That’s not what I’m asking.”

I let out a breath. “Nic ran the footage. Alex left the note for me, but it was before Savannah went missing.”

Ben furrowed his brows but kept pace beside me. “The night at the hospital,” he said, snapping his fingers. “Had to be then.”

I shook my head. “He should’ve been locked up.”

“He wasn’t,” he added. “Didn’t even get fingerprinted.”

I stopped cold. “What the fuck do you mean he never got fingerprinted?”

“He knew someone. Or someone knew him. Either way… you know how that shit goes.”

“Fuck…” I dragged both hands down my face, the weight of it all sinking in.

“Jax, man. Shit like that happens all the time. You should be used to it by now.”

I shut my eyes, trying to summon whatever strength I had left—because I was close to unraveling.

Ben’s voice dipped lower, deadlier. “What the fuck aren’t you saying?”

I turned toward him, met his eyes without blinking.

“Alex Cox isn’t his real name,” I said quietly. “It’s Aleksei Koslov.”

Ben froze mid-step, waiting for me to continue.

“He’s the new head of the Russian Mafia. Took control after a brutal coup—his own brother didn’t make it. Nic can fill you in on the rest.”

Silence. Heavy. Loaded.

When Ben finally spoke, his voice was flat. “Why the hell would he care about Savannah? Bruce’s operation was child’s play compared to what the Russians are running. We’ve seen it. We’ve beat it.”

I nodded slowly, the weight of what I was about to say pressing against my chest like a fucking boulder. I didn’t have to tell him about Costa. That threat hadn’t touched him. Yet.

But I had to give him the truth.

“He doesn’t care about her,” I said, my voice low. “Not directly.”

Ben’s jaw ticked. “Then who?”

“Me.”

The word was bare. Stripped of everything but the truth.

“Only he doesn’t know it yet.”

Ben narrowed his eyes. “What the fuck do you mean? And I’ll say this once—you better tell me everything. Because I’m not losing someone else because you waited until it was too damn late.”

Fair shot. I deserved it for keeping him out. For keeping Nic out.

“He wants the person who shut off his cash flow.”