Chapter 6 Alexei
Alexei
Dmitri holds up a photograph, and my brain begins making a list of people who won’t wake up tomorrow.
“When did these arrive?” I ask, eyes trained on the shot of me and Mila in the garden a week ago.
“This morning. Leonid received them first. Forwarded them with a polite note: ‘Any security issues I should know about?’”
Dmitri drops the photo on his desk. “So… do we?”
“Not that I know of.” I pick the photo back up. The angles from the trees past the garden wall. Crisp even in the dark. Professional work.
“Someone knew where to aim.”
“Or they were watching you.”
“Why would anyone watch me?”
Dmitri leans back, smirking. “Maybe because you’ve been making moves on Leonid’s daughter. People might read it as a Kozlov-Andreev rapprochement.”
“I’m not making moves on anyone.”
“This photo suggests otherwise.” He flicks the image. “Is that your hand under her dress, or am I hallucinating?”
I set the photo back down and fold my arms. “What’s your point?”
“Someone thinks a Kozlov-Andreev connection is worth logging.” Dmitri’s voice tightens. “Boris says threats against the Andreevs jumped this week. Three incidents. This reads like organized surveillance, not amateur posturing.”
“What kind of threats?” I ask.
“They name names. Attached photos. Leonid leaving his house at exact times. Whoever’s behind this has money and patience.”
I study the photo again. Mila’s face is clear. Anyone who sees will know who she is and exactly what we were doing.
“You think she’s in danger because of me,” I say.
“She might’ve been a target anyway, but your involvement turns up the heat.
” Dmitri pulls something up on his screen and spins it toward me.
“Boris ran a threat assessment. Three groups have motive to kill a Kozlov-Andreev deal. The Novikovs want Leonid’s territory.
The Vasilievs are still sore over that shipping mess two years ago.
And there’s a new player asking questions about both families. ”
The screen flashes with surveillance shots, threat letters, and timelines. It’s clean, methodical work. Whoever did this wasn’t guessing; they were hunting.
I tighten my jaw. “How bad are we talking?”
“Bad enough that Boris wants extra security for anyone tied to alliance talks,” Dmitri says. “That includes Mila Andreeva.”
The idea of Mila being hunted because someone caught us together makes something violent coil tight inside me, and it’s bullshit. I barely know her. One night doesn’t buy that kind of fury. It doesn’t explain why I suddenly want blood.
But I can’t forget the heat of her body under mine, or the tremor in her breath when I touched her. The way she looked at me afterward, like she already belonged to me and hated herself for it.
“I’ll handle it,” I tell Dmitri.
“Handle what?”
“Security for the Andreev family,” I clarify. “Personal oversight until the threats are neutralized.”
My brother cocks an eyebrow. “That seems excessive for a woman you claim you’re not making moves on.”
“It’s not about her,” I insist. “It’s about protecting our interests.
If someone’s targeting the Andreevs to prevent an alliance, we need to show we’re serious about supporting potential partners.
Besides, Leonid’s shipping routes through the Baltic ports would be valuable regardless of any personal relationships that might or might not be present. ”
The lie comes effortlessly because I’ve had years of practice hiding what I think and feel. But Dmitri knows me too well to be fooled.
“Coordinate with Boris on the security assessment and let me know what resources you need. But Alexei?” He waits until I make eye contact.
“Be careful. The Andreev family is vulnerable right now. Desperate for protection, and Mila’s young enough to confuse…
security with something a little more serious. ”
I roll my eyes. “I’m not going to hurt her.”
“I’m not worried about you hurting her intentionally. I’m worried about you offering protection she interprets as something more personal and then walking away when the situation resolves itself.”
“That won’t happen.”
“Make sure it doesn’t.”
I leave Dmitri’s office and call Boris. He picks up on the second ring.
“I need everything on the Andreev threats,” I say the second he answers.
“Give me twenty minutes. Usual place?”
“Don’t make me wait.”
The usual place is a coffee shop three blocks from the precinct. Neutral ground that’s too public for guns and too loud for wiretaps. When I arrive, Boris is in the back booth with his laptop open and a folder heavy with trouble.
He doesn’t waste words. “Three credible threats in seven days,” Boris says as I slide in. “Surveillance at multiple spots. Someone’s paying to dig dirt on Leonid.”
“Then we find out who,” I say. “Fast.”
“That’s the catch.” Boris taps the screen. “Expensive gear, still not military. Threats polished, not state-level. My read is that it’s a well-funded criminal organization with business ties.”
“The Novikovs?” I already know I won’t like the answer.
“Possibly. They’ve been expanding fast, and Leonid’s ports would open doors they can’t reach yet. The Vasilievs have motive, too. And that new player I mentioned? Could be anyone.”
“Doesn’t matter who it is. They’ll surface, and when they do, they’re done.”
I study the images on his screen. Multiple angles of the Andreev estate. Timestamps, patterns, and movement charts, every second of Leonid’s life mapped out like they’re building a blueprint for a hit.
“What’s your recommendation?”
“Same thing I told Dmitri,” Boris says. “Tighten security. Encrypted comms only. Keep exposure minimal until we know who’s behind this and can shut them down. And Mila Andreeva?” He glances at me. “She’s the soft target. The easiest way to squeeze Leonid.”
The moment he says her name, every instinct I have goes sharp. She’s not their leverage.
The suggestion makes strategic sense. Remove the most obvious leverage point and force the opposition to change their approach. But the idea of Mila being used that way makes me want to destroy something.
“I have a secure location that would work,” I think aloud.
“Your private safe house?”
“It’s clean. Off the books. No connection to any of our operations. She’d be safe there.”
Boris studies me. “Dmitri mentioned you might volunteer to handle this.”
“I’m volunteering to make sure the Andreevs have protection. That’s all.”
“Sure, you are.” He pulls up a new screen that shows detailed layouts of the Andreev estate. “I’ll coordinate with you on the security assessment. When do you want to present the recommendations to Leonid?”
“Today. This afternoon, if possible.”
“That eager?”
“That concerned about potential threats to a family we might be forming alliances with.”
Boris doesn’t argue with my explanation, even though we both know I’m being selective with the truth. He just nods and starts compiling the information I’ll need for the meeting.
Three hours later, I stand in Leonid Andreev’s study while he reads the report I brought him. The place reeks of money and control, both of which he’s about to lose.
“This is worse than I thought.” Leonid sets down the file. “Your brother mentioned you’d be overseeing security.”
“I am.” I remain standing. Let him feel the weight of it. “My job is to keep your family breathing until this threat is handled.”
He nods slowly; a gesture more cautious than grateful. “And you believe the risk is that high?”
“I don’t deal in belief,” I tell him. “Only evidence. And the evidence says someone’s watching your house and planning their next move.”
The door opens without a knock.
Mila walks in in jeans and an oversized sweater, with her hair pulled back and no makeup.
And she’s still a knockout.
“Papa, I—” She stops cold when she sees me. Surprise flickers in her hazel eyes before she shuts it down. “Didn’t realize you had company.”
“Mila.” Leonid gestures her forward. “Good timing. We’re reviewing the new security measures I mentioned this morning.”
She looks between us, smoothing her face into a polite nothing. “What’s he doing here?”
“Alexei’s offered to oversee security until the threat is handled,” Leonid says. “That includes relocating you to a secure location.”
“Relocating me?” She stares at him like he’s lost his mind. “I have classes, Papa. I can’t just disappear.”
“Your safety comes first,” he says.
“My future depends on this degree. You can’t just expect me to vanish because someone’s threatening us.” She lifts her chin. “I can take care of myself.”
“I’m sure you can,” I say, my voice even. “Professionals are watching you. That means the threats are, too. This isn’t something you can handle alone.”
Her eyes spark. “I didn’t ask for your protection.”
“Your father did. Which is why I’ve arranged for a safe house to—”
“I’m not going to hide in a safehouse because someone took a compromising photograph.”
“You’re not hiding. You’re temporarily relocating while we identify and neutralize the threats against your family.”
We stare at each other across Leonid’s study, and I can see her trying to figure out what game I’m playing. What I want from this arrangement.
The truth is, I’m not sure. Protecting Leonid’s daughter makes sense. But the way my pulse kicks up when she’s in the room tells me my motivations aren’t purely professional.
Protecting her makes sense.
Wanting to is the problem.
“How long?” she asks finally.
“A week. Maybe two, depending on what we find.”
“Two weeks away from school and research?” She presses her lips together but doesn’t argue. She just looks at her father with a silent fury in her eyes.
“Pack whatever you need for an extended stay,” Leonid says. “Alexei will escort you to the safe house this evening.”
“This evening? I need time to—”
“This evening,” he repeats with finality. “We’re not taking chances.”
She leaves without another word as I watch her go.
“Thank you for doing this,” Leonid says once we’re alone. “I know it’s an unusual arrangement, but I trust she’ll be safe with you.”
“That’s the goal.”
He smirks faintly. “Proximity has a way of changing perspectives. What starts as protection sometimes becomes something more… substantial. If that were to happen, it would only strengthen the alliance.”
I hold his gaze, reading between the lines. Permission? Suggestion? Doesn’t matter.
“I’ll keep that in mind,” I say.
An hour later, I’m outside on the Andreev estate grounds for a final sweep.
The first camera is mounted high in a tree, watching the main entrance. Professional install. Weatherproof casing.
The second covers the garage.
The third stops me cold.
It’s not aimed at the house.
It’s aimed at Mila’s bedroom window.
Someone isn’t just watching the family.
They’re watching her.
And that doesn’t sit well with me.