Page 70 of Fallen Empire

“He’s not a fucking idiot,” I said, scanning the windows for movement. The parking lot outside was still. Too still. “He knows. Or he’s about to.”

The cafeteria door swung open hard enough to make the hinges scream.

Nic stormed in, eyes blazing, and slapped a folder on the table hard enough to draw stares.

“Hope you’re ready,” she muttered. “Because this—this is a goddamn mess.”

Neither of us moved.

She didn’t wait.

“You already know Koslov’s a monster. You know what he did to his brother.” Her voice dropped. “But what you don’t know... is what he was supposed to get for it.”

Ben tensed.

I didn’t breathe.

“He wasn’t just trying to prove something to his father,” she said. “He was promised Sinclair Holdings.”

“What?” Ben snapped.

Nic nodded. “It was arranged—Savannah, the inheritance, the company. It was all supposed to be his. But after the... display... Mikhail pulled the plug. Said Aleksei was too unstable. Too brutal to lead something so public. So he pulled the deal.”

“And Walter?” I asked.

“He was pressured to pick someone else. Someone easier to control. Someone who wouldn’t ask questions. Walter knew there wasn’t a ton of money left in just dealing drugs anymore. But he had enough connections to keep his money funnelingin as long as he wanted. Seems like he wanted out. Wanted someone else to carry on his legacy. His name.”

Her eyes cut sharp to me.

“Bruce.”

Of course.

“But Aleksei wasn’t letting go that easily. He found another way in. Bribed Bruce. Offered him payouts, skimming percentages off every profit margin the Sinclair name touched. Showed him how to filter money through shell corps and LLCs like a goddamn magician. Bruce didn’t care where the money came from. He just cared it came.”

Ben leaned forward. “Bruce became the placeholder.”

Nic nodded. “Exactly. Koslov pulled the strings from the shadows. Bruce got his hands dirty, did the deals, ran the numbers. And Koslov? He sat back and raked in the cash.”

Her jaw tensed.

“But then you—” she looked at me “—cut him off. Froze the lines. Blocked the transfers. You didn’t just shut down Bruce’s operation. You shut down Aleksei’s entire pipeline. You took his money. His leverage. And worse? You took his cover.”

My stomach tightened.

“You killed the one person willing to wear blood so Koslov could stay clean,” she said. “And now, he’s not just pissed... he’s exposed.”

She looked between us.

“He’s not coming for revenge. He’s coming to reclaim what you stole—what he believes rightfully belongs to him. And Savannah’s the last thread still holding it together.”

Ben’s jaw tightened. He didn’t like hearing her name said like that—like she’d been property. A pawn.

“So what the fuck do we do now?” Ben snapped.

I’d known him for years, been through hell with him on more missions than I could count, and not once had I seen a look on his face as lethal as the one he wore now.

“I’ve got eyes on him,” Nic said. “He’s got a place not far from The Murray. Likes to rotate a few different women through during the week. We may need to send someone in, scope the place out, see if he’s vulnerable.”