Page 49 of Twisted Pact

Three days without him here will give me time to clear my head. I won’t have to see his face or hear his voice or deal with the constant push and pull between wanting him and hating him.

Maybe the distance will help. Maybe without him here, I can think clearly about what the hell I’m doing.

Or maybe I’m just lying to myself again.

14

Alexei

This safe house reeks of smoke and unfinished business.

I stare out the grimy window at Moscow’s industrial district. Warehouses and shipping containers stretch in every direction. It’s the perfect place to disappear for a few days while law enforcement loses interest in last night’s operation.

My phone vibrates with an incoming message from Dmitri.

Irina and the baby are stable. Leonid wants to meet with you to express gratitude.

Tell him I’ll be in touch when things cool down.

He’s insistent. Says he owes you a debt.

Tell him his other daughter has paid it in full.

I stuff my phone in my pocket without elaborating as I return to looking out at the city below. Somewhere out there, Mila’s lying in my bed thinking about what happened between us last night and the things I said.

The memory of her texts hardens my cock. The way she admitted she couldn’t stop thinking about me. How wet she was just from our conversation. The sounds she made when she came.

“Focus,” I mumble to myself.

The door opens behind me, and Boris Smirnov enters with one of his officers trailing behind. The captain has dark circles under his eyes and a wrinkled uniform like he’s been working double shifts to cover for our operation last night.

“Tell me the damage,” I prompt without turning around.

Boris drops a folder on the table. “Could be worse. Federal investigators are asking questions about the Novikov compound. Nothing that connects back to us, but they know something happened.”

“How long until they lose interest?”

“Two weeks, maybe less if we’re lucky. They don’t have the resources to pursue every kidnapping case that resolves itself.”

“And the Novikov response?”

“That’s where things get interesting.” Boris opens the folder and spreads photographs across the table. “Maxim Novikov has been making calls. Reaching out to families we don’t normally worry about. Smaller operations. Regional players.”

I walk over and inspect the photos, including surveillance footage of Maxim sitting down with men I recognize from various territories around Moscow.

“What’s he selling them?” I ask.

“Fear. He’s arguing that a Kozlov-Andreev alliance controls too much territory and that we’re positioning ourselves to dominateshipping routes and eliminate competition. He’s convincing them that stopping us now prevents future problems.”

“Smart. Turn competitors into allies by making us the common enemy.”

“Very smart. And it’s working. We’ve identified at least six families who’ve agreed to coordinate against any formal alliance between you and Leonid.”

I pick up a photo showing Maxim Novikov sitting across from Matvey Vasiliev. Two families who normally compete for the same contracts breaking bread together.

“How serious is the threat?” I ask.

“Depends on whether they move from talk to action. Right now, it’s just gathering intelligence and strategic positioning. If Maxim can hold the coalition together, they have enough combined resources to make things very difficult for both families.”