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I didn’t know if I was making things up in my head, or if Daniil was trying. But either way, it was both unsettling and strangely nice, and I didn’t find myself hating the idea of us reaching an actual truce.

Regardless of the heavy, unsettled things between Daniil and myself—his reluctance to let me do my part and undermining my authority, to name a few—things felt different.

I didn’t know what he was playing at, but while I was eating my breakfast, he came to me on his own and suggested we do something together for the day.

That was immediately suspicious. He hadn’t done that ever since I was brought to the house, and it seemed out of character; I didn’t know what to make of it.

Not that he entirely gave me a choice in the matter, but I agreed anyway, with both curiosity and reluctance. At first, I assumed it was going to be some poor attempt at trying to patch things up after we fought, and that it would be full of his passive-aggressive comments.

But the moment we arrived at a gun range, my intrigue was all the way up.

When we got out of the car, I lifted a brow at him.

“A gun range? This is your idea of ‘spending the day together?’”

Daniil, not at all fazed by the question, locked the car and began towards the rear side of the building, where an outdoor range was waiting for us already. “It’s always a good way to blow off some steam. It’s better than sitting around, right?”

He had a point. I was tired of trying and failing to keep myself preoccupied in the house. Plus, I had always been a busybody, and sitting around felt like a waste of time.

Not to mention, both of us could stand to blow off some steam after the last few weeks of nothing but tension and mind games.

Falling into stride with him, I glanced over. “Don’t you think that’s a little on the nose?”

He huffed out a sound that vaguely resembled a laugh. “Fitting is more like it.”

Resisting the urge to show my amusement, I followed beside him until we reached the empty ranges. To my surprise, everything was ready—the guns, the rounds, and the targets. No prep required.

It seemed he put some thought into it, and at the very least, he had some guys set everything up.

As an even greater surprise, we spent some time firing rounds, managing to talk sporadically without as much strain as usual. The lack of tension was surprising, but I didn’t find myself complaining. It was refreshing to not be at each other’s throats.

I wasn’t sure if hell had frozen over or if Daniil was being genuine, but he talked to me. Not just about the arrangement like usual, or about how I wasn’t doing what he expected me to.

Instead, he was almost teasing when one of my shots was slightly off the mark, and to my amusement, he missed his next one completely.

In some strange way, it was actually nice.

Regardless of how hard he tried to hide it, I saw glimpses of the real man underneath his roguish, brutal exterior. The part I hadn’t seen ever since he had his men abduct me.

The challenge and competition of the range brought it out, yet there was also a hint of vulnerability in the way he took the time to not be so cold. There was more depth to him than he let on, and whether it was just the hopeful part of me or not, I found myself enjoying that part of him, regardless of how it caught me off guard.

He was letting down those heavy walls he kept between us, and for the first time, I felt a touch of respect for him because of it.

Of course, it all seemed too good to be true, given how suddenly he seemed to do a one-eighty, but despite my suspicions, I didn’t want to miss out on the rare moment. It was like the slightest balm to how rough the last few weeks had been.

Without getting too comfortable, I let myself take what I could get.

When we got tired of it and he had the few guys lingering around clean everything up for us, Daniil gestured for me to follow him in a slow, almost pensive walk back to the car.

He cleared his throat, sounding more serious, yet contemplative. I couldn’t help but stare at the way his arms looked when he crossed them over his chest.

“I’ve been thinking lately…I know how much you’ve been missing everything you used to have, and I’ve decided to make things a bit easier for you,” Daniil began, glancing over at me. “I know you were making strides to mend some broken alliances with old associates, and I think it’s time you were able to continue—without me breathing down your neck.”

As his words hit me, I stopped to process them. Even though my heart skipped, I couldn’t help but assume I misheard him. “What?”

“You heard me,” he murmured with a faint chuckle. The slight curl of his lip sent a small thrill down my spine, despite how I tried to ignore it.

Regardless of how badly I wanted him to say something exactly like it throughout the past few weeks, I could barely grasp what that meant. The chance he was suddenly offering me.

“You mean that?” I asked him, mostly in disbelief. “You’re really going to let me manage things on my side? No restrictions?”

Despite the seriousness of what he was telling me, something else flickered in his eyes, and he nodded. “Yes…I’ll loosen your restrictions. You’ll be able to do whatever you need to do within reason, and your people will follow your lead. As long as everything goes well and you’re able to smooth things over with those associates, then I don’t see why not. The less bloodshed, the better.”

Though I wanted him to be telling the truth more than anything, I felt like I was going crazy—like I was making it all up in my head.

There was no way. After how stubborn he had been in his refusal to let me continue as usual, I couldn’t help but feel suspicious and a bit guarded.

What was he getting at? How did this suddenly benefit him?

While he sounded genuine, I couldn’t help but realize how this situation wasn’t entirely self-serving for once—he was actually giving me something I wanted, and seemingly, he didn’t need anything in return.

I couldn’t tell if he was being sincere, or if there was something he was hiding from me, but a part of me was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, anyway—Daniil, of all people, admitting to not wanting bloodshed. It sounded unlike him, but at the same time, it seemed like he was finally beginning to see my reasoning.

Lifting a brow at him, my hesitation crept back in. “Why decide this now?”

He let out a breath and put his hands in his pockets. “As much as I didn’t want to admit it, if you’re not the one relaying orders, your men will resist, and if that happens, it’ll all be a waste of time, money, and effort. But if you can fix things and maintain their loyalty, then it’ll help everyone involved. You will rarely hear me saying this, but…violence won’t fix things here. Strategy is more imperative.”

I was in complete shock, almost like I had been smacked in the face, I gaped at him, wondering if he was even the same man from before.

There had to be more to it than that…right? With him, reaching a compromise like that couldn’t be so simple. He wasn’t the type to give something like that up to me without benefitting himself.

Even so, it was like he was finally making room for me. Finally able to see that I had a use and a purpose beyond sitting at home as his wife. That I was more capable than he previously gave me credit for.

While suspicion and hesitance nagged at me in the back of my mind, I wasn’t going to say no. I wasn’t going to throw away the chance Daniil was finally putting in front of me.

After a moment, I nodded, letting my head wrap around it all. “Okay. If you’re serious, then I’ll do it.”

Another thought seemed to reflect in his eyes at that moment, but it was gone before I could fully read it. Like a hint of satisfaction, or potential relief. Almost like he expected me to turn the whole discussion into an argument because of his previous refusal.

But I was too caught off-guard to fight about anything.

“Even I can say it’s for the best,” he continued, actually allowing his voice to soften slightly. “Your people look to you for a reason, and if they listen to you, then there’s no point in trying to change that. Splintering your ranks wouldn’t be good for anyone involved.”

“You’re right about that,” I murmured, well aware that any kind of outrage due to changing hands would be detrimental to how everything worked—not just on my end, but even to our agreement.

Once we reached the car, Daniil leaned his forearms above the driver’s side while I walked around. “But I have one condition—two, actually.”

Curious and more willing to hear him out due to his surprisingly agreeable demeanor, I paused before I could open the passenger door. “Yeah?”

“One, you’ll be escorted by one of my drivers and a handful of guards whenever you need to go anywhere,” he said firmly, yet without any kind of anger. “That way, you’ll always have backup.”

“What about Gabriel? He usually goes with me.”

The faintest flicker of annoyance reached his features, but almost like he was restraining himself, Daniil sighed. “Yes, him included. I’ll give him clearance with the guards at the house.”

Even if he was wary of my right hand, it seemed even he could tell how important Gabriel was to my operations. I couldn’t deny how that flash of frustration intrigued me, though—how it was a point of contention despite him pushing the issue aside and giving in.

I nodded. I wasn’t going to push him any further in that respect.

“And two, you’re still expected to return to the house. No skipping out and returning to your old place. Even if I’m giving you more freedom, our pact still stands.”

There was something else in those words…something a bit demanding, as if his reasoning for that went beyond abiding by the pact. Like he did want me around, regardless of not being able to admit it out loud.

“I can do that.”

“Good. Which reminds me…you’ll be needing this,” Daniil murmured, pulling my phone out of his back pocket before he tossed it over the roof of the car at me.

Lighting up slightly at the sight of it, I caught the phone and felt a surprising sense of relief at the sight. Finally, I could reach out to whoever I needed to, whenever I needed to. No more being sheltered and isolated. Even if it was a small thing, it felt so much bigger than that. It was almost like my world was opening up again.

“I’m not making all of this up in my head, right?” I asked him, still trying to grapple with it all.

With the faintest grin, Daniil huffed and shook his head before opening the door. “No, you’re not. Don’t make me regret it.”

Without any need to protest as a giddy feeling moved through me, I opened the door and climbed in, almost savoring how it felt to have my phone back—to have that line of communication again.

For the first time in weeks, it felt like we were making actual progress. Working towards an outcome that could work for both of us.

“As much as I’m giving you the reins, both of our sides need to be on the same page,” he murmured, starting the car and placing his hand on the back of my seat while he reversed out of his spot. The flex of his bicep made my stomach warm. “If my brother says jump, you and your men ask how high. If the Levovs say to jump even higher, then we all do it. The only difference is that you get to relay that message yourself. Got it?”

While I wasn’t denying it, I couldn’t help but see how the Levovs seemed to be almost like a governing body for the Novikovs, regardless of them being notorious in their own right.

“It must bother you to have to follow what the Levovs say.”

Letting out a breath, Daniil retracted his arm and shrugged once he began driving away from the gun range. “Sometimes your opposition makes for a better ally than an enemy. In that respect, the Levovs are the best collaborator we could hope for. Besides, somehow, they quite literally became family.”

I couldn’t help but wonder if that was actually how Daniil started to see the two of us—allies instead of enemies.

Of course, my guard was still partially up, despite his gestures. It seemed like such a sudden shift in his attitude, but I was also hopeful.

If we could be actual partners, then I wasn’t going to try and stop it. There were bigger problems, and if Daniil became a lesser one for me, then I wasn’t going to complain.

Maybe, just maybe, this moment was a turning point for us.

An opportunity to put all the previous bullshit behind us.