Chapter 50 Konstantin
KONSTANTIN
The silence stretches between us like a taut wire, ready to snap. Ivy's face has gone pale, her blue eyes wide with something that looks like fear mixed with resignation. She knows I know. The question is whether she'll try to lie to me or finally trust me completely.
Her hands fidget in her lap, and I can see the pulse jumping at her throat.
I lean back in my chair, studying her face.
Even now, even caught, she's breathtaking.
The late morning light streaming through the office windows catches the gold in her blonde hair, and I have to fight the urge to reach across the desk and touch her.
Instead, I open the top drawer of my desk and pull out her purse, setting it on the polished wood between us with a soft click.
"I found it in your purse," I say. "The purse I brought back from Vadim's."
Viktor shifts slightly in his position by the door but remains silent. He knows this conversation needs to happen, knows that trust can't be built on half-truths and hidden secrets.
Ivy stares at the thumb drive like it might bite her. "You know what's on it?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper.
I nod once, keeping my expression neutral even though my heart is pounding. This moment will define everything between us. Either she chooses me, chooses us, or she doesn't.
"Then why not just take it?" The question comes out stronger now, with a hint of the fire I love so much about her. "Why ask me to give it to you?"
I lean forward, resting my forearms on the desk. The dragon tattoo on my throat feels tight as I swallow hard. "Because I need to see you give it up of your own free will, Ivy. I need to know you're choosing me. Choosing this life. Choosing us."
The words hang in the air between us, heavy with meaning. This isn't just about a thumb drive full of evidence. This is about trust. About loyalty. About whether the woman I've fallen completely and irrevocably in love with can accept who I am and what I do.
She stares at me for a long moment, and I can see the war playing out behind her eyes. The good girl who was raised to do the right thing, to follow the law, is battling against the woman who's learned to love a man who exists outside those boundaries.
Finally, she reaches into her purse with trembling fingers. The small device looks even tinier in her palm as she extends it toward me. "Here," she says simply.
The relief that floods through me is so intense it's almost painful. I take the drive from her, our fingers brushing, and the contact sends electricity shooting up my arm. Even now, even in this moment of ultimate trust, she affects me like no other woman ever has.
"Thank you," I say, and I mean it more than she'll ever know. I slip the drive into my jacket pocket, but I don't break eye contact with her. "You have no idea what this means to me."
"I think I do," she says softly, and there's something in her voice that makes my chest tight. "I love you, Konstantin. All of you. Even the parts that scare me."
The sound of a throat being cleared draws my attention to Viktor. He glances at Ivy, then me.
“I have another problem to discuss with you,” he says hesitantly.
I look at Ivy and with no doubt in my heart, tell Viktor, “You can speak freely in front of my wife.”
Viktor straightens, his expression growing serious. "I've identified the FBI informant. It's Agent Cole."
The name hits me like a physical blow. She has been feeding information to the enemy for months, maybe longer. How many operations has she compromised? How many of my men have been put at risk because of her betrayal?
“She’s the last hitman we needed to identify?” I ask.
Viktor nods, shooting a wince at Ivy.
"How long?" I ask, my voice deadly quiet.
"At least six months, possibly longer. She's been careful, but not careful enough."
Ivy looks between us, confusion clear on her face. "Agent Cole? But she was one of the agents protecting me. She seemed…"
"Seemed trustworthy?" Viktor's laugh is bitter. "The best moles always do."
“She was really going to kill me?” Ivy asks, her blue eyes filled with disbelief. “But she could have done so when she snuck in my room and gave me the thumb drive. If she was really going to murder me, she had the perfect opportunity.”
I feel the familiar cold rage settling over me, the same feeling I get before I have to make the hard decisions that come with this life. But then I look at Ivy, see the concern in her eyes, and the rage transforms into something else. Something protective and fierce.
"She won't be a problem much longer," I say simply.
Viktor nods, but there's a heaviness to the gesture that makes my chest tighten. "There's something else, Boss."
The way he says it makes my blood run cold. Viktor has been with me for years, has delivered bad news more times than I can count, but there's something different in his tone now. Something that speaks of betrayal so deep it cuts to the bone.
"What is it?" I keep my voice steady, but my free hand instinctively moves to rest on Ivy's thigh beneath the desk. She's wearing one of those soft sweaters that clings to her curves, and even in this moment, I'm acutely aware of the warmth of her skin through the fabric.
Viktor's jaw works for a moment, like he's chewing on words too bitter to swallow. "The family traitor. I know who it is."
The room goes completely silent except for the pounding of my heart. Ivy's hand finds mine across the desk, her fingers intertwining with mine, and I'm grateful for the anchor she provides. Her touch grounds me when everything else feels like it's spinning out of control.
"How long have you known?" I ask, though part of me doesn't want the answer.
"I've had suspicions for weeks," Viktor admits, his voice rough. "Little things that didn't add up. Information that leaked when only certain people knew it. Timing that was too convenient for our enemies."
I study his face, reading the conflict there. Viktor's loyalty has never been in question, but I can see this discovery is eating at him. "Tell me everything."
"The pattern became clear," Viktor continues.
"Every single breach traced back to one person.
Someone who's been with us for years. Someone I trusted.
" His dark eyes meet mine, and I see something there I've never seen before.
Regret. Sorrow. And underneath it all, anger that burns as hot as my own.
Ivy's thumb traces across my knuckles, and I have to resist the urge to pull her into my lap, to bury my face in her neck and forget about traitors and blood oaths and the weight of leadership that never stops crushing down on my shoulders.
"Who?" The word comes out as barely more than a growl.
Viktor's hands clench into fists on his knees. "It's Maksim."