Page 20 of Fallen Empire (The Fallen Trilogy #2)

Jaxson

I wasn’t ready to leave her, but I couldn’t protect her if I stayed.

Not like this.

Not when the walls were already closing in and we hadn’t even begun to count our enemies. We had to figure out a plan. It would be a matter of days before Savannah was released, and I sure as fuck wasn’t letting that happen with the threat of Koslov looming.

He may have left the note for me before she went missing, but Nic seeing him here wasn’t just a coincidence. I hadn’t been able to shake it since she’d told me.

I pulled out my phone before the door clicked shut behind me and called the one person I knew could give me answers.

Nic picked up on the second ring. “Tell me you’re not calling to check in.”

“You find anything yet?”

“Yep. I’m on my way to you now.”

“Nic—”

She cut me off. “Save it. You’ll want eyes on this.”

The line went dead.

Ben stood ahead in the hallway, posture tense but quiet. He didn’t look up when I stepped forward, just nodded once like he was waiting for me.

“Coffee?” I asked.

He kicked off the wall and led the way to the elevator.

We didn’t say anything as the elevator took us to the ground level. The silence wasn’t uncomfortable, it was practiced. Both of us had seen too much to waste energy on small talk.

We stepped into the cafeteria, a place that felt too bright, too sterile, too normal for the kind of conversation we were about to have. Ben walked over to grab us coffee. I found a corner table tucked against the far wall, away from cameras and curious ears.

“She’s on her way,” I said, nodding to the empty seat across from me. “Nic.”

He nodded, eyes scanning the space. “She say why?”

“She wouldn’t over the phone. I have a feeling whatever it is isn’t good.”

Ben leaned back, exhaling through his nose. “You think it’s about Koslov?”

“I know it is.” I looked down at the table. “He was here. At the hospital. Nic saw him.”

Ben froze, his fingers curling around the cup. “He what?”

“She spotted him when she was getting food yesterday. Said he didn’t recognize her, but she knew it was him. He was calm. Like he belonged here. Like he’d already gotten what he came for.”

“Jesus.” Ben shook his head. “That means he got past every level of security we had in place. Me. Reaper. Cameras. Everyone. Why the fuck didn’t you tell me?”

“Did you want me to spill it in front of Millie and Savannah?”

I shook my head. “Nic said he’d left that note before Savannah went missing.” My voice dropped. “But showing up again? That wasn’t just for Savannah. He’s up to something.”

“Why now?” Ben asked. “Why even surface again?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” I paused, jaw tightening. “It’s not just vengeance. He’s acting like a man with orders.”

Ben narrowed his eyes. “You think he answers to someone?”

“I think…” I hesitated, then shook my head. “I think he’s not in control the way he wants us to believe. But until Nic gets here with whatever she found, it’s all speculation.”

Ben leaned forward, voice low. “You think he’s working with Costa?”

I didn’t answer.

Because the truth was, I couldn’t be sure he wasn’t.

And that meant I’d eventually have to tell Ben everything. About what I saw. What I did. And what I’d become just to get close to Costa.

Ben knew pieces, but not the whole picture.

Not the part where I’d vanished off-grid for over two years. Not the part where I was handed a mission so buried in red tape that even saying Costa’s name in the wrong room could get you blacklisted—or worse.

We all came from the same machine. Some of us just walked away with more blood on our hands than others.

Ben wasn’t even supposed to know who Costa was.

When we went under together—to track down someone’s missing daughter—I let them believe I was just the tracker. The one running point. The one with sharp instincts and lucky guesses.

Because I’d already tracked him before. For the same government that made us carbon copies of whatever monster they needed most that day.

The same government that turned a blind eye to drugs, extortion, and bodies, so long as they weren’t the ones caught in the blast radius when the truth finally hit daylight.

They’d sent me in first. Because I was the best they’d had. Deep cover. No lifeline.

All because one senator’s grandchild had vanished, despite the thousands more I’d find along the way. Ones they already knew about. But his bloodline? That was the tipping point.

Because power protected you—until it didn’t.

So, I became what I needed to be.

Either I played the part well enough to earn a seat at Costa’s table, or I came home in pieces.

I’d eaten with him. Slept under his roof. Watched him bury bodies while telling bedtime stories to the next girl on his list.

I’d been a ghost myself standing beside him.

We all came from the same machine—Nic, Ben, Reaper, all of us. Some of us just walked away with more blood on our hands than others.

But I’d lied to them. Then, and now. Because admitting how deep I went meant admitting the parts of me that never really came back.

And now? We were ripping out the roots of something we once called order.

One threat at a time. One ghost at a time. One move too late—and it wouldn’t just be Koslov coming for us. It’d be someone worse.

I just prayed we’d see him coming.

Ben was staring at me as if he could read my thoughts. Like he knew I was hiding something.

Maybe it was just the guilt. But I couldn’t afford to start doubting myself now. I forced my mind to shift. To focus.

The silence stretched between us—heavy, tense—before I leaned forward and set my coffee down with a hollow clink.

“Twenty-seven hours,” I said quietly, locking eyes with Ben. “That’s how long Koslov tortured his brother. His own blood. Just to claw his way into that seat.”

Ben’s expression didn’t move, but I saw it in his eyes. He hadn’t known. Not that part.

“And I just cut his legs out from underneath him.”

Ben’s voice came low, wary. “But he doesn’t know it was you.”

“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 funneling in 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.”

Nic looked at me hard.

“But one thing’s non-negotiable. Savannah needs someone on her at all times . He’s already come for her once. Next time? He won’t leave without ending her life for good.”

“Reaper is on security,” I said. “And we’ve got several agents on deck, watching every angle. Plus, I’m not leaving her side. ”

Ben scoffed. “Yeah. A lot of good that did. He’s already been in once.”

His voice was sharp, but I knew it wasn’t just anger. It was guilt. And it was eating at him.

I turned to Nic. “Does the team know he’s a target?”

She shook her head. “No. I was waiting to send the photos out until I had confirmation.”

“Well, you’ve got it,” I said flatly.

She nodded. “Once they know who they’re looking for, he won’t be able to get past them. Not again. Reaper sure as hell won’t let him get close.”