Page 100 of Twisted Pact

I head to the war room, a small office I’ve turned into command central. Boris is already on the secure line when I dial in.

“What do you have?”

“Visual confirmation that Leonid is alive,” he says. “They’re interrogating him for intel. It’s getting rough.”

“Has he talked?”

“Nothing useful, but they’re ramping up. We’re running out of time.”

I pull the warehouse schematics on my laptop. A fortress. Multiple entry points, all guarded. The sight lines favor defenders.

“What about the drainage access?”

“Still viable,” Boris replies. “But we need specialized gear—seventy-two hours minimum to prep.”

“Too long. What else?”

“We could go old-school with a direct assault. Accept casualties and push through.”

The thought makes my stomach tighten. Good men would die. Men with families who trust me to be smarter than this.

“There has to be another way.”

“If there is, I haven’t found it.”

The laptop chimes with a call from Dmitri, so I put Boris on speaker.

“I have news,” Dmitri says without preamble. “And you’re not going to like it.”

“What happened?”

“Novikov just released another video. He’s beating Leonid, and sending a message to everyone watching.”

My fists clench on instinct. “Show me.”

“Alexei—”

“Show me the goddamn video.”

He sends the link. I click and immediately wish I hadn’t.

Leonid is tied to a chair, with his face a ruin of bruises and blood. Two men stand behind him with their weapons ready.

Then, Novikov steps into frame. “This is what happens when families make poor choices. Leonid Andreev sided with the Kozlovs. Now he pays the price.”

One of the guards hits Leonid. His head snaps sideways, and blood sprays out.

“You have forty-eight hours to withdraw your support,” Novikov says. “Otherwise, Leonid dies, and everyone will know the Kozlovs can’t protect their allies.”

The video cuts out. I close the window before I put my fist through the screen.

“This changes the timeline,” Boris says. “We need to move within twenty-four hours if we want him alive.”

“What about tomorrow’s meeting?”

“Still on,” Dmitri answers. “Might help your case. It’s hard to argue that we should walk away after that.”

“Or it proves this is the trap he wanted.”