Page 25 of The Russian's Arranged Pregnant Bride

Instead, he stood, collected our plates, and walked them to the sink. “I need to shower and get to the office. You can stay here as long as you need. There’s clean clothes in the guest room if you want to change.”

“I should go.”

“Cassandra.” He turned to face me, and the intensity in his gaze made my breath catch. “Stay. Please.”

It wasn’t a command. Wasn’t manipulation. Just a simple request wrapped in something that sounded dangerously close to concern.

And maybe I was weak. Maybe I was tired of fighting. Maybe I just wanted one more moment of feeling like someone gave a shit whether I lived or died.

“Okay,” I said softly. “I’ll stay.”

***

I didn’t change into his guest room clothes. Didn’t want to blur the lines any further than they already were. Instead, I sat on his couch and tried to figure out what the fuck I was going to do.

Rafael knew something was wrong. Had noticed my mistakes, which meant he was watching me more closely than I’d realized. And if he was watching, then Vance’s timeline was fucked. I couldn’t move forward with feeding intel until I knew Rafael’s guard was down again.

But Vance wouldn’t accept delays. Wouldn’t care that I was walking a razor’s edge between exposure and survival. He’d push, threaten, remind me exactly what he could do to destroy what little I had left.

My phone buzzed. I pulled it out, half-expecting another threatening message from Vance, but it was from Drew.

Don’t go to your apartment. Don’t access anything. Don’t do anything that could be traced or monitored. We need to talk.

Ice flooded my veins.

He knew. Somehow, he fucking knew.

My hands shook as I read the message again, searching for hidden meaning, for some indication of how much he’d figured out. But it was just those two sentences. Urgent. Warning.

We need to talk.

I typed back:What happened?

The response came almost immediately:Rafael’s putting surveillance on you. Says someone’s been accessing sealed files from your apartment. I bought you time, but you need to be careful.

The room spun.

Rafael was watching me. Knew I’d been digging into the archives. Which meant my access was compromised, my cover was blown, and I was running out of time to figure out what had really happened to my father before the entire organization came down on my head.

And Drew—Drew had lied for me. Had protected me when he should’ve thrown me to the wolves.

Why?

My phone rang. Vance’s number flashed on the screen, and my stomach dropped.

I answered on the third ring, keeping my voice steady. “What?”

“We need to meet,” Vance said without preamble. “Tonight. Same place as last time.”

“I can’t. Things are complicated right now.”

“I don’t give a shit about complicated, Cassandra. You’re three weeks behind schedule, and I’m starting to think you’ve forgotten whose side you’re on.”

Fury burned through my chest. “I haven’t forgotten anything. But if you want this done right, you need to back off and let me handle it.”

“Handle it?” His laugh was cold. Mean. “You’re not handling shit. You’re playing house with some Russian pretty boy and pretending your mission doesn’t matter anymore.”

How did he know about Drew?