Sergei
Kirill and I are on our way to one of the Baranov warehouses when my phone vibrates. I glance at the screen and see Nelson’s name.
He’s on Sofia tonight. Everything in me goes still. If the Ghost got to her… I don’t let the thought finish forming.
I ignore the rush in my ears and the pounding in my chest. Deep breath. Control.
“Talk,” I answer.
“Shooting. Drive-by. Outside the club on West 28th.”
My palms go slick. A wave of nausea rolls through me.
“Ghost?”
Kirill jerks the wheel and hits the brakes, his eyes on me.
“Don’t think so.”
“Dead?”
“No.”
I nearly drop the fucking phone. Relief so strong it would have taken me to my knees if I wasn’t sitting.
I hate that one word about Sofia can put my heartbeat in my throat.
“Get to her. Get her inside.”
And then my call waiting beeps. I check the screen. It’s her. She’s calling me.
“That’s her. Get to her. Now.”
I end the call and answer Sofia.
And then Kirill is running up on sidewalks and driving like a madman. He knows. He understands the urgency. Nelson is good, but he needs backup.
Of all the goddamn places in this city, she picks that one. Not my club, but I know the owner. I know the layout. I know the neighborhood’s been simmering the last three months.
And she walked right into the middle of it.
Kirill drives while I stare out the window, jaw clenched so tight my teeth ache.
“Not him,” Kirill says. “He wouldn’t miss.”
“This time.”
“Old hit is still out there. The woman has a fucking bounty on her head.”
“She won’t survive.”
I don’t say it to be dramatic. It’s the truth. It doesn’t matter that I hate it. She will die.
“Nelson’s good. He’ll keep her safe until we get there.”
I don’t respond. I’m too busy having an internal conversation with a ghost. Not the Ghost, but the other one that’s been haunting me for too damn long.
You said she was smart, I tell Elena silently. You said she’d be careful.
I can almost hear her laugh.
She’s my daughter. She’s got my stubbornness and Mikhail’s pride. Did you really think she’d make this easy for you?
No. I didn’t. But I also didn’t think keeping her alive would be a full-time job.
Elena had been soft in ways Sofia never learned to be. Sofia doesn’t bend. She tests every boundary like she was born expecting the world to try to box her in.
When I made that promise eight years ago, I thought it would be simple. Watch from a distance. Keep her protected. Step in only if absolutely necessary.
I had no idea she’d turn into the kind of woman who looks danger in the face and treats it like a dare. She runs the same route twice a week after two assassination attempts. She refuses to hide behind walls and guards like any sane person in her position would.
And now she goes to a club. Of course she does.
She’s just like you, Elena’s voice whispers in my head. That’s why you’re so frustrated.
I push the thought away. I’m nothing like Sofia Baranova. I’m careful. Calculated. I don’t go looking for edges just to prove I can stand on them.
Kirill has to park a block away. The street is chaos—police cars, ambulances, crowds of people being questioned. Crime scene tape has the area blocked off.
“This is going to be complicated,” Kirill mutters.
I spot Detective Morrison near one of the police cars. He’s been on my payroll for three years. Not completely corrupt, but practical enough to know when to look the other way.
I approach him directly. He sees me coming and flinches. His hand moves to the gun in the holster at his side.
“Mr. Sokolov. Didn’t expect to see you here.”
“I have business inside.”
He visibly relaxes and glances at the club, then back at me. “This is an active crime scene.”
“I’m aware.”
“This you?”
“No. But someone inside is under my protection.”
He looks around, then gestures subtly toward the alley. “Back entrance.”
He turns his back. Kirill and I head for the back door. It’s unlocked. I slip inside with Kirill right behind me.
The club is quiet. I walk to the office. Nelson had texted and let me know where they were.
She’s going to have questions. Nelson texted a simple message: she knows.
She’s going to be angry that I’ve been watching her.
I push open the door. Nelson is leaned against the desk. Sofia is sitting on a leather couch.
Her dress has blood on it. Her hair is slightly disheveled. Her knees are scraped, blood trickling down her shins. I have a visceral reaction to seeing her blood. Fury floods through my veins. I want to find the person that tried to kill her and cut him a thousand times.
But what strikes me most is her face.
She’s shaken. Pale. Wide eyes. But she’s composed. Fighting to maintain control.
“Miss Baranova,” I say.
She looks up at me. Relief? Anger? Fear? Maybe all three.
“Mr. Sokolov.”
Nelson doesn’t ask. He walks into the hall with Kirill and closes the door behind him.
“Are you hurt?”
“No. The blood isn’t mine.”
“Good.” I move to the desk and stand where Nelson had been. I’m purposely keeping distance between us. She needs space right now. “This is the third attempt in two weeks.”
“I’m aware.”
“Your guards didn’t show up tonight.”
Her jaw tightens. “I noticed.”
“Which means either they’re dead, compromised, or someone gave them orders to stand down.”
She doesn’t respond, but I see her process the implications.
“You have a problem, Sofia. A significant one. And it’s not going away.”
“I know.” I hear the crack in her voice and despise the part of me that knows it gets me closer to yes.
“You have two choices.” I cross my arms, watching her carefully. “You accept my protection formally or you wait for the next attempt. And the one after that. And the one after that until eventually, they succeed.”
“That’s not much of a choice.”
“It’s the only choice you have right now.”
She sets down the water bottle and stands. She’s wearing heels. And a short dress. I haven’t seen her heels or a dress like that since that night.
She notices me looking and pulls at the hem of her dress.
“Why?” she asks. “Why do you care if I live or die?”
The question deserves the truth. She’s not getting it from me tonight.
“Because your death destabilizes the city. Because a war between you and Yuri costs me money and resources. I’d rather negotiate with you than with your cousin.” All true. None of it the real reason.
She studies my face, looking for the lie.
“You’ve been watching me,” she says. “For how long?”
“Long enough.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the answer you’re getting tonight.”
Her eyes narrow. “If I agree to this—if I accept your protection—what does that cost me?”
“Nothing you weren’t already prepared to lose.”
“My independence.”
“Your independence was gone the moment Yuri landed in this city.”
She flinches slightly. I’ve hit a nerve.
“I need time to think,” she says.
“You don’t have time.”
“Your protection is marriage. I have to be your wife.”
“Yes.”
“Why can’t we just be allies?”
“I have allies. Marriage or nothing.”
She sucks in a breath. I can see her need to push back. I want to see it. Her fight is the only thing keeping her alive.
“You really know how to sell it.”
“I’m not trying to be romantic. This is business. For you, it’s your life. You will be dead soon, Sofia. He won’t miss again.”
She frowns. “Yuri?”
I don’t answer. “You’re out of time.”
She wraps her arms around herself. A defensive gesture. Vulnerable.
“I’ll consider your proposal.”
“That’s a yes.”
Her head snaps up. “I said I’ll consider— “
“You called me,” I interrupt. “When you were in danger and you needed help, you didn’t call your father. You didn’t call your guards. You called me. That’s already a yes. You just haven’t admitted it to yourself yet.”
When she was scared, she called me. I don’t think she understands what that means to me. Maybe it’s better if she doesn’t.
That was a choice. She’s already made her decision.
I see the anger flash across her face. Good. I’d rather have her furious than frightened.
“You’re arrogant.”
“I’m realistic.” I push off the desk. “I’m leaving. You can come with me now, or I can have Nelson escort you. Either way, you’re going to accept my protection. It’s either that or you wait for him to finish what he started. And I guarantee you he will.”
“You’d let someone try to kill me just to prove a point?”
“My point has already been proven. How many more bodies will it take for you to see it?”
She’s quiet for a long moment. I watch her think. Watch her calculate. She’s running through options, looking for another way out.
She won’t find one.
“I’ll consider it,” she says finally.
I open the door. Kirill and Nelson are waiting.
“Take her to the safehouse.”
“No! You don’t get to decide where I go.”
I exhale slowly and turn back to face her. “You think your father is going to protect you?”
She considers that. “I can protect myself. I need to see if Gregor is there.”
“You actually think he will be?”
“I don’t know. I’m going home.”
The woman is infuriating. But somehow, I expected nothing less. She called me, I remind myself. The decision is already made even if she hasn’t accepted it.
“Kirill, give me your weapon.”
“The Glock or the Sig?”
I look at Sofia who’s now staring at me with wide eyes.
Good. Let her be afraid. She needs to learn I’m not one to be defied.
“Glock,” I say with my gaze still locked on Sofia.
Her chin rises. She’s not backing down.
Kirill places the gun in my hand. I don’t bother checking the magazine. He wouldn’t carry it if it wasn’t loaded.
I take a few seconds, letting her sit with her panic.
And then I spin it around, the barrel pointing at the ground. “I know you know how to use it. That little thirty-eight won’t do much. This will. Shoot to kill. No hesitation. And then you call me. My men will be to you in thirty seconds.”
She hesitates.
I wait.
And then she reaches for it, checking the safety and popping the magazine out before popping it back in.
“Thank you.”
I’ve watched her at the range. She’s a good shot. The Glock is a little bigger than she’s used to, but I know she’ll handle it fine.
“You’ll have protection—real protection—starting tomorrow. Tomorrow, we’ll also discuss terms.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything.”
“You will.”
I turn to leave, but her voice stops me.
“Sergei.”
She says my name, and I feel it in places I don’t like admitting exist. I’ve imagined it before. Hearing it is worse.
I have to fight the urge to touch her.
She knows I’m here. I’m her only option. This will happen, and I’ll be ready for it.
“Yes?”
“Thank you. For coming.”
I look at her over my shoulder. She looks young. Vulnerable. Nothing like the fierce woman who walked away from my proposal the first time.
“Don’t thank me yet,” I say. “You haven’t seen my terms.”
I leave before she can respond.
“Get her home,” I tell Nelson. “Get the other two. All three of you. Thirty seconds, Nelson. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Where the hell is her bodyguard?”
Nelson shrugs. “Never saw him.”
“Stay on her.”
“Yes, sir.”
Kirill and I leave out the back door.
“Well?” he asks.
“She’ll agree.”
“You sound certain.”
“I am. I want eyes on her in that house every second until we formalize this arrangement.”
“And if she refuses?”
“She won’t.”
You owe me, I tell the ghost that lives in my head. This is way more complicated than you made it sound.
Kirill glances at me. “You good?”
“Fine.”
We get in the SUV, and he pulls away from the curb. I scan the street looking for the threat. I can’t see it. And that scares the hell out of me.
Somewhere out there, the Ghost is watching Sofia. Planning. Waiting for his moment.
He won’t get it.
I’ll make sure of that.
She can hate me all the way to the altar. Hate is survivable. Dead isn’t.
I made a promise. I will honor that promise no matter what it costs me.