Chapter 11 - Misha
I woke up before him.
For a moment, I did not move. I lay there in the quiet, aware of the steady rise and fall beneath my cheek, the solid warmth of Kliment’s chest under my hand, his arm still wrapped around me in a hold that had tightened sometime during the night.
It did not feel possessive or controlling but simply protective.
The realization settled somewhere deep and uncomfortable, making me feel things I wasn’t sure I should be feeling.
I turned my gaze to glance at his handsome face, my gaze falling on his lips. The kiss rushed back to me, turning me crimson with everything I had refused myself to feel in so long. Being near Kliment had already been difficult, and I had only made it even more problematic for me after last night.
I shifted slightly, careful of my side and my foot, and of everything else that still ached beneath the surface.
His arm loosened immediately as if on instinct, even in sleep.
That alone told me more than anything else had.
Kliment Romanov did not sleep lightly. He slept ready.
Even if someone came at him with a gun in the night, Kliment would wake up, overpower the man, and take control of the situation in less than three strides.
That was the man he was, and strangely enough, all of it only made him even more attractive to me.
I pushed myself up slowly, ignoring the pull of healing stitches and the dull protest of my foot as it found the floor. The brace held steady, yet pain was still there, but it no longer dictated my movement.
Good.
I went around the room, freshening up and changing clothes, and by the time he woke, I was already dressed.
I was wearing my signature black again. It was going to color when I needed clarity, and today was one of those days.
To my surprise, Kliment had arranged an entire wardrobe for me on just the second day of me being here, and a lot of the clothes looked exactly like the clothes I had been wearing on the day of the docks.
I chose a fitted long-sleeved top with dark cargo trousers, and my hair pulled back cleanly.
It was functional and controlled, and worked to limit distractions which was exactly what I wanted.
I was standing at the small kitchen counter, pouring coffee, when I felt his presence behind me.
“You’re up early today.” His voice was rough with sleep, but alert. Always alert.
“I’ve been up for a while,” I replied, without turning around to look at him.
He already looked irresistible to me more than half the time, and I could only imagine how he would look in his half-asleep state.
Kliment Romanov was beginning to make an impact on me, and I did not know what to do about it.
A part of me wanted to do nothing about it, enjoying every single minute of his presence.
Silence stretched for a moment before I felt him step closer.
Not crowding. Not imposing. Just present.
“You shouldn’t be on your feet like that yet, Misha. I told you that last night as well.”
I let out a quiet breath, finally glancing over my shoulder at him. Fuck. He had taken his soiled shirt off and was standing bare-chested before me, his injury clearly visible in the morning light. “And you shouldn’t be taking bullets for no reason, but here we are.”
A flicker of something akin to amusement or irritation, or maybe both, crossed his expression before it settled back into that composed, unreadable calm he wore so well.
“Fair,” he said.
I turned fully then, leaning back lightly against the counter, studying him the same way he studied everything else.
“I have something I need to ask of you. You can consider it a favor or a request of sorts.”
“I am listening,” he replied, growing attentive while continuing to pour himself a cup of coffee.
There was no hesitation in what I said next. I had already thought it through. “I need to bring my team here.”
I did not add any preamble in order to manipulate or convince him.
I simply needed him to see it for what it was.
Last night, when I had told him about my plan and my intentions, he had been nothing but supportive.
I had been surprised to see how proud he looked of me in that moment, and I was no longer afraid of showing him my real self. Strategy did not wait for comfort.
His gaze sharpened immediately.
“Your team?” he asked.
“Yes. My girls. Since I can’t walk until my brace comes off, I figured they could come here so we can go over things together. The operations have been halted long enough because of me.”
He did not answer right away. He just watched me, assessing and calculating. I could practically see the layers of consideration moving behind his eyes. Someone like him would consider everything. The risk, exposure, and control.
“This isn’t a request,” I added calmly. “It’s the only way this plan moves forward, and I am asking you to help me go through with it.”
“And you think I’m just going to open a Romanov safe house to people I’ve never met?”
“I think you understand that what I walked into at the docks was bigger than both of us. That this mission I have started is bigger than everything else,” I said evenly. “And I think you know I won’t stop. Not now.”
That landed. I saw it in the slight shift of his posture.
“And you trust them?” he asked.
“With my life.”
“No hesitation.”
“None at all.”
He held my gaze for a long moment, then nodded once. “Fine.”
That was it. He did not force me to draw out a negotiation and did not pose any unnecessary resistance. His tone was firmer now.
“Make sure that they come in clean. I don’t want any tails or unknown variables. This safe house is hidden even from my own brothers, and I want it to remain hidden. Viktor will run perimeter sweeps before and after. Anyone who steps into this house answers to me as well as you. Understood?”
“Understood.”
Another pause.
“And Misha,” he added quietly.
“Yes?”
“If this goes wrong, it doesn’t just affect you. I hope you realize I am a part of this, too, now.”
“I know.” That sounded like silent support.
Our eyes held for a second longer before something unspoken settled between us. This wasn’t just my operation anymore. This was shared ground, and Kliment Romanov was a worthy ally.
***
By evening, the house no longer felt like the place I had been using to recover for the past month.
It felt like war. I was already in the main room when the first knock came, adrenaline rushing through my system.
Now that things were beginning to start again, I felt alive in a way I hadn’t since I had left my house to go to the docks all those days ago.
Kliment was standing near the far wall, arms crossed, and posture relaxed in a way that was anything but.
He was watching. Always watching. The door was opened by the housekeeper, and Sera walked in first. For half a second, I just looked at her, relief flooding my system.
She was alive and unharmed. Completely intact right in front of me.
Her gaze roamed over the house before it settled onto me, a small smile appearing on her face as if her disappearance had been a joke.
“You disappeared,” I said, my tone accusatory. She should know I had been worried.
She smirked faintly, stepping fully into the room. “I just went quiet. There’s a difference.”
“You weren’t answering your phone, and Diane told me she hadn’t seen you in days.”
“I was busy not getting killed,” she replied dryly.
I crossed the room before she could say anything else and pulled her into a brief, tight hug. Every single woman in my team was a sister to me. I loved them just as much as I love Elisse and Zhenya.
“You’re late, though,” I muttered against her shoulder.
“I missed you too,” she murmured back with a small laugh.
When we pulled apart, her gaze flicked past me and stilled.
I already knew who she was looking at. Kliment.
The room shifted instantly, and tension snapped tight like a wire.
Behind Sera, Diane stepped in next. They must have all arrived separately, I was sure, since I had instructed them to keep their tails clean and stay as low as possible.
We could not risk revealing this location, especially right now with my brothers looking for me.
I wasn’t ready to go back home.
Diane walked in calmly, her eyes controlled but observant.
Her gaze moved across the room once before settling on Kliment, sharp and assessing.
She did not greet him and did not even acknowledge him beyond that look.
I already expected that. None of them were supposed to trust Kliment.
Just the way I wasn’t supposed to trust a Romanov either. But I did.
The other three followed shortly after, the safe house quickly turning into my operation’s headquarters.
Alina was a small woman and remained mostly quiet, but she had eyes that missed nothing.
She was in charge of surveillance in the group.
Marina, on the other hand, had a stronger build, and her posture always remained defensive but grounded.
She was the one who always took care of logistics.
And Katya was the still one. She was composed of the kind of stillness that came from surviving something and refusing to break again.
All of them had seen it. They were past survivors of the very same network we were trying to dismantle, and they were lucky to have escaped.
As they gathered inside, each of them paused as their eyes fell on Kliment.
It was my fault. I knew I should have warned them beforehand, but it felt dangerous to do so even on a burner.
If anyone hacked into our calls, it would only be a problem for Kliment, and I did not want that.
Not after everything he was doing for me.
Kliment was standing in the same room as us. He was unarmed, but somehow still the most dangerous presence there.