Chapter 17 Deeper Into Darkness
Chapter seventeen
Deeper Into Darkness
Mikhail
She's been different since the meeting with Harrison. Quieter. Even though this is necessary and she asked to do it, I know this is eating at her.
"You're staring again," Mariana says from the couch, not looking up from the files she's studying.
"You haven't eaten dinner."
"Not hungry."
I set down the surveillance photos Boris brought—images of the Riverside warehouse where we're supposed to meet Harrison's "contact" tomorrow night—and move to sit beside her.
"The baby needs nutrients."
"The baby is the size of a poppy seed."
"A poppy seed that needs a healthy mother." I push the files aside, forcing her to look at me. "What's really wrong?"
"Harrison's words keep echoing in my head. About you working for Pavel."
"You know that's a lie."
"I know. But what if there's some truth mixed in? The best lies always have a kernel of truth."
I pull her onto my lap, ignoring her half-hearted protest. "What truth could there be? Pavel Volkov tried to kill my family. I would never—"
"But he's still alive, isn't he? At Pier 17, you told me about him surviving three years ago. And now he jumped into the water—they never found his body."
She's right. Pavel's ability to escape death is becoming legendary. "Yes. He's probably alive. And Harrison probably helped him escape. Think about it—who better to help someone disappear than a corrupt federal official?"
"You think Harrison has been working with Pavel since the beginning."
"The trafficking network, the witness sales—Harrison is in it for the money, and Pavel is in it for personal revenge, plus it helps him expand his power and reach."
"So when Harrison says you work for Pavel—"
"He's projecting. Telling you his own truth but putting my name on it."
“But that still implicates Pavel. Why would he do that?”
“Probably because he's confident we'll never get to him, so he doesn't need to protect him. Or it could also be that if he somehow manages to get rid of Pavel, Harrison genuinely thinks he can take his place.”
She's quiet for a moment, processing. Then: "Tomorrow's trap isn't just about catching us. It's about Pavel."
"Probably."
"He'll be there. Harrison will try to kill two birds with one shot, and if he fails there will simply be nothing to point to his betrayal, so Pavel will never know."
"Possibly."
"Mikhail." Her voice carries a warning. "If Pavel's there tomorrow night—"
"I'll control myself."
"Will you? The man who tried to kill Mila's parents, who's been hunting us, who Harrison's been working with?"
"I'll control myself because you'll be there. Because keeping you safe matters more than revenge."
"Promise me you won't kill him on sight."
"I promise I won't kill him unless he threatens you."
"That's not—"
I silence her with a kiss, deep and possessive. When I pull back, her eyes are glazed.
"That's cheating," she murmurs.
"I would rather call it strategy." My phone buzzes. Boris again. "Yes?"
"Problem. Rodriguez is sniffing around. He already knows about Mariana’s meeting with Harrison and about tomorrow night."
"How?"
"Unknown. But he's for sure going to interfere. We need to act on him now."
I look at Mariana. "Your partner is becoming a liability."
She takes the phone. "Boris? It's Mariana. Don't hurt him."
"Mrs. Kozlov, he's compromising the operation—"
"I know. But there has to be another way. Do what you can to redirect him, give him false information, retain him."
"I’ll do it. But if he still shows up tomorrow—"
"I'll handle it."
She hangs up and immediately starts dialing.
"What are you doing?"
"Calling Rodriguez. He needs to hear from me that I'm okay."
"That's dangerous—"
"It's necessary."
Rodriguez answers on the first ring. "Mariana? Jesus Christ, where are you?!"
"I'm safe, Rodriguez."
"Safe? You were in the building and you left alone, without protection, without telling me! Why did you come back with that criminal? Why didn't you tell me?—"
"It's part of the deal. I have to stay with him.”
“He is a killer! If he finds out, he is going to kill you!”
“No, he won’t. He saved my life. Multiple times. He wants me, and that makes him trust me."
"He's manipulating you. Stockholm syndrome, it's textbook—"
"Daniel." Using his first name stops him. "I need you to listen. Really listen. Tomorrow night, stay away from the Riverside warehouse."
Silence. Then: "How did you know I—"
"Because I know you. You're predictable when you're being protective."
"Mariana, whatever he's planning—"
"Harrison's planning it, not Mikhail."
"What are you talking about? Harrison's trying to save you!"
"Harrison's trying to use me. There are things you don't know, corruption that goes all the way to the top."
"Has that criminal brainwashed you into thinking that?"
"Please, Daniel. Trust me. If you're really my partner and you know me, trust me. When this is all over, you'll know the whole truth. I'll tell you everything. Just stay away tomorrow."
"I can't do that."
"Then you'll die." I take the phone from her. "Rodriguez? This is Mikhail."
"You son of a bitch—"
"Shut up and listen. Tomorrow is a trap, but not the kind you think. If you show up, if you interfere, Harrison will kill you without hesitation."
"Harrison's a decorated—"
"Harrison's a trafficker who's sold thirty-nine witnesses who were under supposed protection of the FBI.
Mostly women, and the true number is still uncertain.
We have evidence of everything. He's working with Pavel Volkov.
And if you get in his way, he'll put a bullet in your head and blame it on me. "
"You're lying."
"Check the files yourself. Start with Anya Kozlov, my sister, twenty-three years ago.
Follow the money, the witness relocations that went wrong, the pattern of disappearances.
And if after that you still think I'd work with my sister's murderer, then you're not nearly as smart as Mariana says you are. "
"Why would I believe anything you say?"
"Because despite your feelings for Mariana, you're a good agent. And good agents follow evidence."
I hand the phone back to Mariana.
"Daniel, please. Just look into it. Be careful, they are watching you. And whatever you do, stay away tomorrow."
"Mariana—"
She hangs up before he can finish.
"He won't listen," I say.
"No. He won't." She looks exhausted. "He's going to show up tomorrow and ruin everything."
"Or provide an unexpected distraction."
"Mikhail—"
"I won't let him die. Even though he's in love with my wife."
"He's not—"
I give her a look.
"Okay, maybe he has feelings. But that's not his fault."
"No, it's not. You're very easy to love."
My phone buzzes again. This time it's Alexei. "We have a problem."
"Another one?"
"Surveillance shows Pavel's men moving into position around the warehouse. At least twenty."
"Twenty? That's excessive for a meeting."
"It's not for a meeting. He's planning to hit us with everything."
I look at Mariana. "Change of plans."
"What kind of change?"
"The kind that means that we bring an army of our own."
Later that night, I can't sleep. Mariana is curled against me, her breathing deep and even, but my mind won't stop running through tomorrow's variables.
About the possibility of Pavel being alive and coming for us again. The man who kidnapped Mila's parents, who Mila and Alexei shot multiple times three years ago but somehow survived. The man who jumped off Pier 17 into the Hudson rather than be captured.
And I promised not to kill him on sight.
"You're thinking too loud," Mariana murmurs against my chest.
"Sorry."
"Do you want to talk about it?"
"Tomorrow. Too many unknowns."
She props herself up on an elbow. "We could call it off."
"And lose our chance at Harrison?"
"I can tell him it's too soon, that I need more time to regain your trust. There'll be other chances."
"Not like this. Not with him fully believing he has the upper hand."
"But?"
"But I'm terrified something will happen to you. Pavel is unpredictable, violent. He has nothing to lose. Nobody to protect but himself."
"He has everything to lose. His partnership with Harrison, his rebuilt empire."
"Empire." I snort. "If you can call that to a business built on trafficking women and destroying lives."
"That's not what all Bratva do though, right? Look at Alexei—he built something powerful, maybe did illegal things, but he's reformed now. He and Mila built something legitimate and now live to protect it."
"Alexei never trafficked innocents, even in his darkest days. He had lines he wouldn't cross. There's nothing Pavel has that he can't get again, a thousand times over. Nothing is irreplaceable to him. He is a different kind of predator."
"And you are a protector who uses predator methods." She traces a scar on my chest. "That's why Alexei trusted you, isn't it? Even when you were Ghost, he knew you had principles."
I pull her closer. "Yes. And I’m afraid that tomorrow he'll try to use that difference against us."
"We'll win. I have no doubt about it. I trust you so much that I feel there's no other possible outcome because you'll make it happen."
There’s a moment of silence, as if she were using my words to shelter herself from her own uncertainty.
"Mariana?"
"Yes?"
"Whatever happens tomorrow, I want you to know—these past days with you, this baby, this insane family we're building—it's been worth it."
"Don't talk like you're saying goodbye."
"I'm not. I'm saying thank you. For choosing me. For trusting me and giving me everything you've given me these past few weeks."
I roll over, pinning her beneath me. "We're going to survive tomorrow. Both of us. We're going to expose Harrison, deal with Pavel, and then go home and argue about baby names."
"Russian names?"
"Or Spanish names."
"We'll compromise."
"Since when do you compromise?"
"Since I married a stubborn FBI agent who refuses to be controlled."
"Former FBI agent."
"Current pain in my ass."
"Current pregnant wife carrying your child."
"My favorite kind of pain in the ass."
She laughs, and the sound eases something tight in my chest. Tomorrow will come with all its dangers and uncertainties. But tonight, she's here, with me, safe.
"Mikhail?"
"Hmm?"
"Tell me about what happened three years ago. With Pavel and Mila's parents."
I'm quiet for a moment, remembering. "Pavel kidnapped them to get to Alexei. Used them as leverage. Mila and Alexei raided his warehouse to rescue them."
"And?"
"They shot him. Multiple times. Mila put at least three bullets in him, Alexei more. The warehouse caught fire in the shootout. Everyone thought he was dead."
"But he survived."
"Somehow. And at Pier 17, rather than be captured, he jumped into the Hudson. Probably had a boat waiting."
"He's like a cockroach."
"Harder to kill. So tomorrow we have to finish this. We can't let him escape again."
Tomorrow this ends, one way or another.