Chapter 24
Daria
The voices have stopped.
I flatten my ear against the bedroom door, straining to hear anything, but there’s only silence. Kira is curled on the bed behind me, clutching her stuffed dinosaur and watching me with wide, frightened eyes.
“Mama? What’s happening?”
“I don’t know, baby. Just stay quiet for me.”
The silence is worse than the yelling. At least when they were arguing, I knew Pyotr was alive and still fighting for us. But now there are no footsteps or voices, just the sound of the refrigerator down the hall and the pounding of my heart.
I count the seconds. Ten. Twenty. Thirty.
Maybe they killed each other. Maybe they’re both lying on my living room floor right now, bleeding out while I hide in here like a coward. Maybe I should have gone out there, faced Alexei, and told him the truth before Pyotr risked his life to defend me.
A soft knock sends me stumbling backward from the door.
“Daria.” Pyotr’s voice is muffled. “You can come out.”
My fingers are clumsy and uncooperative, and I fumble with the lock. When I crack the door open, Pyotr is standing in the hallway. Something has changed in his eyes. The coiled readiness I saw earlier has loosened.
“What happened?”
“Tony came through. He found the proof we needed.” He reaches for my hand and squeezes it. “You’re clear.”
The words don’t make sense at first. I’ve spent so long bracing for the worst that I don’t know how to process anything else. Clear. The word bounces around my skull without finding purchase.
“I’m clear?” I repeat stupidly.
“Alexei wants to talk to you. He’s in the living room.”
I glance back at Kira, who’s sitting up on the bed, watching us with her dinosaur smooshed against her chest.
“Bring her,” Pyotr prompts. “It’s safe. I promise.”
I scoop Kira into my arms and follow Pyotr down the hallway. My legs are unsteady beneath me, like they might give out at any moment. The apartment looks the same as it did an hour ago, but everything feels so charged.
Alexei is sitting on my couch, looking comfortable as can be. He looks up when we enter, and his eyes move from me to Kira and back again. Taking measure. Noting details.
“So,” he begins. “You look like hell, cousin.”
“It’s been a difficult few weeks.”
“I imagine so.” His mouth quirks into a smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. “And this must be Kira.”
Kira buries her face against my neck. “Mama, I don’t like him.”
“Kira, that’s not polite.”
“She’s right not to like me.” Alexei stands and crosses the room until he’s in front of us. “I came here to do something terrible to your mother. I was wrong. Bogdan Lebedev made a mistake when he decided to use you. He thought he could hide behind your name, and no one would notice. He was wrong.”
I don’t know what to say. The man who was ready to kill me just minutes ago is now speaking to me like we’re allies.
“The evidence Tony found clears you,” Alexei continues.
“Dmitri will have it within the hour. The federal investigation will shift to Bogdan, and your name will be removed from their files. But that doesn’t mean you’re safe.
Bogdan still has resources, and he’ll lash out when he realizes that his empire is crumbling.
You and Kira will be his first targets.”
“What do you suggest?”
“Kira needs to be somewhere secure. Somewhere Bogdan can’t reach her.” He glances at Pyotr. “Moscow. With family.”
I tighten my arms instinctively around my daughter, pulling her closer to my chest. “You want me to send her away?”
“It’s the only way to ensure she’s safe.” Alexei’s voice softens slightly. “Mila and my daughter are at the family compound. It’s the most secure location we have. Kira would be protected around the clock by people who would die before they let anyone touch her.”
“I can’t just—” My voice breaks, and I have to swallow hard before continuing. “She’s five years old. She doesn’t understand any of this.”
“Which is why she needs to be somewhere safe while you help us dismantle the man who’s been terrorizing you both. I’ll escort her. She’ll be on a private train car with me and two of my best men. No one will get near her.”
I look at Pyotr, desperate for him to tell me there’s another way that I haven’t considered. But his face tells me what I already know.
“He’s right,” sympathy saturates Pyotr’s voice. “Bogdan will panic when he realizes what’s happening. Kira can’t be here when that happens. And honestly, neither can you, but I know better than to suggest you leave.”
Kira squirms in my arms. “Mama? Am I going somewhere?”
I close my eyes and breathe through the pain threatening to split my chest open. Every instinct screams at me to hold onto my daughter and never let go. But keeping her close means keeping her in danger, and I’ve already put her through too much.
I bend down and set her on her feet so I can look at her face. The beautiful, innocent face that shouldn’t know anything about men with guns and threats, and mothers who cry in bathrooms when they think no one can hear.
“Remember how we talked about Aunt Mila and Uncle Alexei’s house in Moscow? With the big garden and all the toys?”
Kira nods, still clutching her dinosaur.
“You’re going to go stay there for a little while. Just until Mama finishes some important work.”
Her lower lip trembles. “I don’t want to go without you.”
“I know, baby. I know.” I pull her into my arms and hold her tightly, memorizing the smell of her shampoo and the way her fingers curl into my shirt. “But you’re going to be so brave, aren’t you? My brave little girl.”
“Will Pyotr come?”
I look up at Pyotr, and he crouches beside us. His presence at my side steadies something inside me.
“Not this time, malyshka. I need to stay here and help your mama.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a coin, worn smooth with age. The markings are barely visible. “But I want you to take this with you. It’s a special spy coin. Do you know what spies do?”
Kira shakes her head, her eyes widen with curiosity despite her fear.
“Spies have secret missions. And this coin is part of our secret mission together.” He places it into her palm and closes her fingers around it.
“Every night before you go to sleep, I want you to hold this coin and think about me and your mama. And every night, we’ll be thinking about you, too.
That way, even though we’re far apart, we’re still connected. Can you do that?”
She examines the coin with serious concentration, turning it over in her small hands. “What if I get scared?”
“Then you squeeze the coin three times.” He demonstrates, folding her fingers around it. “One, two, three. And then you say, ‘Pyotr is coming.’ Because no matter where I am or what’s happening, if you’re scared, I will find a way to get to you. That’s my promise.”
“Pinky promise?”
He hooks his little finger around hers, their hands looking absurdly different in size. “Pinky promise.”
Kira clutches the coin to her chest like it’s the most precious thing she’s ever owned. “Okay. I’ll be a spy.”
I have to look away, so she won’t see the tears streaming down my face. Pyotr’s hand finds my shoulder and squeezes gently.
The next hour is filled with activity. I call Mila, who answers on the second ring, and her voice is reassuring as she tells me that Kira will be welcomed and protected and spoiled rotten by Sofia, who’s been asking for a playmate for months.
I pack Kira’s bag with her favorite clothes, her dinosaur collection, the worn copy of the bunny book she can’t sleep without, and the sparkly hair clips she picked out at the secondhand store last month.
I brush her hair and braid it the way she likes, taking extra care with each section, drawing out these last few minutes together.
Alexei makes phone calls in the corner, arranging security details and travel logistics. Pyotr keeps Kira occupied with a card game I don’t recognize, teaching her the rules with patience that makes my heart ache.
And then, it’s time to go.
The train station is crowded with afternoon travelers, but Alexei’s men have cleared a path to the private platform.
Kira holds my hand on one side and Pyotr’s on the other, with her spy coin carefully tucked in her pocket.
She keeps looking up at the high ceilings and the pigeons roosting in the rafters, momentarily distracted by the novelty.
“Remember,” Pyotr tells her as we approach the train. “Three squeezes.”
“One, two, three,” she recites solemnly. “Pyotr is coming.”
“That’s my girl.”
The train car is elegant and private, with plush seats and curtained windows. One of Alexei’s men is already inside, checking the compartment. He nods to his boss.
“All clear.”
Alexei crouches to Kira’s level, and his voice goes surprisingly gentle. “You and I are going to have an adventure, little one. Have you ever been on a train?”
Kira shakes her head.
“I’ll show you how to watch the countryside go by, and when we get to Moscow, my daughter, Sofia, will be waiting to meet you. She has a whole room full of toys she wants to share.”
“Does she have dinosaurs?”
“I believe she does. Several, in fact.”
Kira considers this, her small face scrunched in thought. “What about tea sets? I like tea parties.”
“I’m certain that can be arranged.”
She nods solemnly, apparently satisfied with these terms. “Okay.”
I kneel and gather her into my arms one last time. I hold her so tightly that I’m afraid I might hurt her, but I can’t make myself let go.
“I love you so much, baby. More than anything in the whole world. You know that, right?”
“I know, Mama.” Her small arms wrap around my neck. “I love you, too. All the way to the moon and back.”
“Be good for Aunt Mila. Eat your vegetables. Brush your teeth before bed.” I’m rambling now, saying anything to delay the inevitable. I kiss her forehead, her cheeks, her nose, and her chin. “I’ll see you soon. I promise.”
“Pinky promise?”
I hook my finger around hers, the same way Pyotr did. “Pinky promise.”
Alexei lifts her gently and carries her onto the train. She doesn’t cry. She’s being brave, just like I asked her to be. Braver than I am, standing here on this platform with tears running down my face and my heart ripped from my chest.
The train whistle blows. The conductor calls for final boarding. And then the wheels begin to turn, slowly at first, then faster.
Kira appears in the window, her face pressed against the glass. Alexei’s hand rests on her small shoulder. She holds up the coin and squeezes it three times, her lips moving silently.
One. Two. Three.
Pyotr is coming.
I squeeze back, even though she can’t see it. Even though it doesn’t matter. I squeeze until my nails dig into my palms.
And then the train disappears around the bend, and my daughter is gone.
Pyotr’s hand settles over mine. I didn’t realize I was shaking until I feel the warmth of his palm steadying me.
“She’s safe,” he whispers. “Alexei will protect her with his life.”
“I know. I know.”
He leans in close. “Look at me,” he murmurs. “Trust me.”
I do. He steps back.
We stand there on the empty platform as the sound of the train fades into nothing. The station feels too quiet now. Too still. Like the world has lost something essential and doesn’t know how to keep turning without it.
“Now, we finish this.” Pyotr turns me toward him. “We take everything Bogdan built and burn it to the ground. We clear your name, eliminate the threat, and bring Kira home.”
“And Bogdan?”
His eyes go cold. “Bogdan learns what happens when you target a Kozlov.”
I think about my daughter’s face pressed against the window. I think about the spy coin clutched in her small hand. I think about three years of terror, running, watching over my shoulder, and jumping at shadows.
No more.
I have a monster to destroy. And my daughter’s future depends on it.
“Then let’s get started.”