Page 22

The drive to the lake house was the worst two-hour drive of my entire life. My stomach churned endlessly, and my heart wouldn’t stop hammering in my chest as I desperately prayed we would find the clue we were looking for here.

Andrei sat beside me, gripping the wheel with precision. Another car tailed closely behind us, and Dobryn and two other men were inside.

It’d been a relief to finally come clean to Andrei about Dad being a double agent and everything else he’d told me the night he came to see me.

To be frank, I’d expected Andrei to be raging mad at me as I told him everything. He’d been rightfully upset, but he’d understood me and even comforted me.

That moved something inside of me, and for the first time, I believed he truly cared about me, perhaps way more than I could ever comprehend.

I stared out the window, watching the dense forest stretch out on both sides of the winding road. The sun had gone down already, and the headlights were barely cutting through the darkness.

Andrei must’ve noticed how nervous I was because he stretched a hand out and squeezed my thigh. “Are you okay?”

I placed my hands on top of his and smiled. “I am. I’m just anxious. What if I’m wrong, and the answer we need isn’t at the lake house?”

He briefly shifted his gaze away from the road to look at me. “Then we’ll think of some other way to find it. Don’t beat yourself up too much.”

I wished it was that simple—that I could snap my fingers, and all the disturbing thoughts would go away, but it wasn’t.

Memories of my childhood flooded my mind as soon as we pulled into the driveway. They were all bittersweet recollections of Dad and I laughing as he chased me around the house and Mom calling out to let us know dinner was ready.

I missed those days.

Pain pierced through my chest at the thought that I would never again hear Dad’s voice.

Andrei got out of the car first, slammed the door, then walked over to my side and held the passenger door open for me.

I exhaled sharply to get myself ready for whatever I was going to find inside.

“Thank you,” I muttered to him as I climbed out.

He closed the door and positioned himself beside me.

We both stared at the building that held so much of my childhood.

The house stood tall and ominous against the night sky. It hadn’t changed much—dark wooden panels, a wraparound porch, the same old rocking chair swaying slightly in the wind.

Mom had made all my blankets and sweaters sitting on that chair. She would hum and tell me stories as she knitted them.

I still remembered one of those days very vividly. We’d been waiting for Dad to come home after he’d been away for almost a month. Mom had been knitting a pink, long-sleeved sweater when Dad’s car rolled in.

I’d jumped up and lurched toward Dad, throwing myself on him the minute he stepped out of the car. He’d picked me up and spun around as he peppered me with kisses.

That, too, was only just a memory now.

“Are you ready to go inside?” Andrei asked. His brows were furrowed, and his lips were pinched with worry as he looked at me.

I bobbed my head. “I was born ready.”

He smiled and pushed a lock of hair away from my face. “Good. Stay close to me, and let me know if you find anything, okay?”

“Sure.”

He gave a sharp nod to his men, signaling them to check the perimeter. They moved quickly, disappearing into the shadows with their guns drawn.

I swallowed hard before stepping onto the porch.

The old floorboards creaked beneath my weight as I reached for the silver doorknob and unlocked it.

A cough ripped from my throat when we made our way inside the house and turned on the light.

The air was thick with dust, cobwebs, and the decaying smell of old books. The white sheets covering the furniture had turned brown, and some of the wooden furniture had started to grow mold from the lack of ventilation.

The house had been abandoned for years. Neither Mom or Dad wanted to visit the place that held memories of their past, so they’d closed it down and decided to stay away.

I ran my fingers over the wooden table in the foyer, brushing away dust residues.

Andrei wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “We don’t have much time,” he reminded me gently. “We need to find what we came here for and leave before anyone else notices we’re here.”

I nodded, reminding myself I wasn’t here to relive old memories. There was plenty of time to do that later. For now, I was here to find something, and I needed to focus on that.

I moved through the house, searching for clues until I came to a halt in front of the large painting hanging on the living room wall. It was an abstract piece, with chaotic strokes of deep blues and grays, but my eyes locked onto one detail—the eyes hidden within the brushstrokes.

The typhoon’s eye holds the calm.

If this was the typhoon’s eye, then…. I racked my brain for a minute, repeating the words from the text message.

Typhoon. Eye. Calm.

I was sure there was a message here. I’d found the eyes; what remained was the calm . I narrowed my eyes on the details of the drawing, taking them in. The blue and gray strokes looked like a storm.

Suddenly, it all made sense.

My father had always told me to look for the calm within the storm. The eyes, in this case, were the calm within the storm. This was the clue I’d needed all along.

My heart raced, and an enthusiastic smile spread across my face. “It’s behind here!” I announced. “Tyfun-1 is behind this painting.”

Andrei stepped forward and observed the painting, his finger hovering over it. There was a flicker of hope in his eyes, and he didn’t ask a single question before he gestured to his men. “Take it down.”

Dobryn nodded. “Yes, sir.” He looked around. “We need something sharp to peel it out from the wall.”

“I’ll get you something.” I gingerly walked to the kitchen, picked out two knives from Mom’s cabinet, and returned to the living room. “Will this do?” I asked as I held out the knife to Dobryn.

“It should work.” He took the two knives from me and handed one to the other man.

Andrei pulled me back ,and we watched from a distance as they carefully pried the painting from the wall.

My breath hitched when a hidden door emerged from beneath the painting. I’d been right. I found the shipment at last!

Andrei’s jaw ticked, but he didn’t show any excitement. He stepped forward and twisted the door handle; then he shook his head at me.

It was locked.

I had no idea where the key was; Dad hadn’t mentioned it at all. “Maybe we could kick the door down?”

“There’s an easier way out.” Andrei and the men stepped back as he pulled out his gun from the holster strapped around his chest and pointed it at the door. He craned his neck to look at me. “Close your eyes.”

I did as he said, plugging my fingers into my ears.

He fired at the lock, the sound echoing through the house.

The door creaked open, revealing stacks upon stacks of sealed crates.

This was it—the reason my father was killed and the reason we’d traveled this far. Behold, the Tyfun-1 that had thrown the entire organized crime world off balance for the last couple of months.

Andrei exhaled, and a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. He had found what he was looking for.

“What do we do now?” I asked, peering at him.

“We move them,” Andrei answered calmly, nodding at his men to get to work.

My eyes widened. “All of them?”

There were so many of them. It would take an hour at least before we were able to move them all to the car.

I couldn’t help but wonder how Dad was able to get them all in here. Did he have any help? I didn’t think so. It must’ve taken him hours, at least, to load all of these in here.

Andrei’s phone rang just as Dobryn and the other men moved into the room with the shipment.

He answered, putting the phone on speaker.

“There’s been a problem, sir,” Dimitri said over the phone, his voice heavy with panic. “I think someone else knows the location of the shipment. I found—”

Before he could finish his sentence, the distant sound of approaching vehicles sent a jolt of panic through me.

Headlights cut through the windows, followed by the blaring of sirens.

My stomach dropped, my blood freezing to ice instantly,

“That is what I wanted to tell you,” Dimitri finally said. “The police put a trail on Giselle. They’ve been monitoring her movement since she was kidnapped.”

Andrei slid his hand into my pocket and snatched my phone. “Fuck!” he cursed. “That Romanian bastard! How didn’t I think he would try to fuck me over from his grave?”

He didn’t need to explain anything. I could tell from the rage on his face that my phone had been tracked.

Although Gavril was dead, he’d set a trap that led the police directly to me. They must’ve been watching all along, waiting for the right time to strike.

“Give your order, sir,” Dobryn muttered, reaching for his gun. “Do we fight or make a run for it?”

Andrei’s body tensed, but the rage on his face vanished. He remained calm—plotting and calculating.

A loud knock rattled the door, reverberating the entire house. “This is the police! Open up now!”

A shiver ran down my spine, and panic flared in my chest. “We need to get out of here.”

Andrei shook his head. “It’s too late. We’re already surrounded, and we’ll be arrested the second we step outside that door.” He heaved a sigh, and I honestly wondered how he managed to remain so calm. “Whose name is this house under?”

My brows drew together in confusion. I didn’t see how that was important in this situation, but I answered anyway. “It’s under my name.”

It was transferred under my name after Dad died—this house and the other assets he’d left behind.

“The police are here for one thing, and that is Tyfun-1.” Andrei peered at me with all seriousness in his expression and tone. “You’re already a suspect, solnishko . If they find these here, you’ll not be able to escape getting a sentence. Finding the drugs in your house is proof that you hid it away, and that is all they’ll need to lock you away for as long as possible.”

My bones trembled with fear and unease. He was right. Why hadn’t I thought of that before?

If they managed to burst through that door and found these, I was finished. There would be no getting out of this. No bail. No plea deals. Nothing.

My vision blurred as I turned to Andrei. “What do we do?” My voice cracked, barely above a whisper.

The police pounded again. “This is your final warning! Open the door, or we’re coming in!”

Andrei contemplated for a minute. When his gaze met mine again, his eyes were dark, and something lingered inside. It was the same look I’d seen the night Gavril kidnapped me—that need to protect me against all odds. “Burn it.”

I blinked, my jaw falling open with shock. “What?”

Dobryn’s head snapped up. “Andrei….”

It was the first time I’d heard him call Andrei by his first name. The first time I’d seen him question his orders. This was serious, freaking serious.

Andrei gave Dobryn a sharp stare. “Do I need to repeat myself a second time? Burn everything and make sure there are no traces.”

The room fell into stunned silence.

I stared between the two men, my own mind racing with a million thoughts.

The shipment was worth millions, at the very least. Burning it meant all that money would be gone just like that. Coming here, my father’s death—everything would have been for nothing.

His men hesitated, looking at each other, waiting for him to take back the order.

Andrei’s expression remained stone cold. He wasn’t taking back his order; he wasn’t even going to allow anyone to convince him to.

I thought of what it would mean for the Bratva, if that would put him at odds with the Pakhan and the other members. The last thing I wanted was for him to sacrifice something important just to keep me safe.

He’d risked everything to save me; maybe I could try to make him change his mind.

“Andrei,” I breathed. “You can’t—”

He turned to me, his blue eyes locking onto mine. “Don’t even think about it, solnishko ,” he said, cutting me off. “I’m not letting them take you.”

My throat tightened, my breathing louder.

Dobryn swallowed hard before pulling out a lighter. “Yes, sir.” He flicked it open, the small flame dancing in the dim light. Then, with a nod from Andrei, he tossed it onto the nearest crate. The fire caught instantly, spreading like a hungry beast.

The smell of burning chemicals filled the air as smoke began to rise. The flames licked at the wood, devouring the Tyfun-1.

The police outside grew impatient. “Open the door!”

Andrei grabbed my wrist, pulling me close. “We have to go. Now.”

I could hardly move, my mind reeling. He had just burned everything. For me.

But there was no time to process it. The flames grew higher, the room filling with thick smoke. The police would break in any second.

Andrei yanked me toward the back door, his men close behind.

“We can’t outrun them,” I gasped, still looking back as the flames consumed the drugs.

“They’ll be too distracted trying to put out the fire. We need to leave now,” Andrei said, already dialing a number on his phone. “Trust me.”

Within seconds, an explosion rocked the house. The fire had reached something combustible. The walls trembled, and the windows shattered from the pressure. The police outside shouted in confusion.

The distraction was all we needed.

Andrei dragged me into the woods behind the house, his grip firm and unyielding. My heart pounded as we ran, the sound of sirens and shouting growing distant behind us.

We didn’t stop until we reached the hidden SUV waiting on the other side of the forest. Andrei shoved open the door, pushing me inside before climbing in himself.

Dobryn and the others piled in, and before I could catch my breath, we were speeding away from the inferno we had left behind.

I turned to Andrei, my hands trembling. “You…you really burned it.”

He looked at me then, his expression softer than I’d ever seen it. “I told you, Giselle. I won’t let them take you.”

Tears pricked my eyes, but I forced them back. I had no words. Only the overwhelming realization that, no matter the cost, Andrei would always choose me.

Even if it meant losing everything.