Chapter 41
CHAPTER
FORTY-ONE
DINARA
The warehouse looms ahead as our convoy rolls to a stop. Through the tinted window, two more armored vehicles pull up beside us, flanking our position. Kirill went with maximum security today. He’s not taking chances after the last attack.
“You ready?” he asks. I glance at him, then back at the building ahead. My laptop sits beside me. Days of work compressed into code and hardware I hope is the key to saving us all.
“Talk to me. What’s going through your head?”
What’s going through my head is I’m about to walk into a room full of crime family heirs who have zero reason to believe in me. If my plan has holes, they’ll find them. If I screw this up, people die.
Kirill could die.
When did that become the thing that scares me most?
“These people have zero reason to trust me. They think you’re biased bringing me on for this mission because, well…” I hold up my ring hand to make my point.
A smirk tugs at his mouth, dark satisfaction crossing his face at the sight of his ring on my finger. It’s inconvenient as hell that he looks this good when I’m trying to stay focused, but his raven hair, strong features, and silver-blue eyes are a lethal combination.
“I spoke to each and every one of them before this meeting. They know you have mad skills or you wouldn’t be here. If any of them have a single doubt about your seat at this table, they’d better be smart enough to keep their mouths shut.”
The tightness in my chest eases and I take a slow breath.
I’d feel better walking in there as Dinara, Syndicate hacker, but no one here can know my real identity.
They wouldn’t trust a Syndicate operative to work with them.
More than that, if Ruslan or his people caught wind of who I am, things could get messy.
So I remain Evelina. Former Velour waitress, MTI student, and now Kirill’s wife.
“In a few minutes they’ll hear what you have to say and they’ll know how fucking good you are. And if anyone gives you trouble, I’ll remind them you’re my wife.”
He says it like it’s real. Like we actually have a future together. But he married me for my skills and to ensure my loyalty. It’s not love. It’s … something, but I know better than to let myself believe otherwise.
When this is over and the Ghost is dead, he’ll have a bratva to rebuild and a legacy to secure.
He’ll realize he doesn’t need me anymore, won’t want the complication of a wife from the heat of battle.
For all his talk of how real this is, I know better than to let my heart get caught up in a temporary alliance.
I clear my throat. “How can you be sure this plan won’t get back to your father?”
“Every heir in that room is sick of being told how to run shit by their fathers. They’ve got as much to lose as we do if word gets out.”
The car door opens and one of his men offers me a hand out. I step into the crisp air, and Kirill’s men immediately surround us.
The warehouse opens up into a large industrial space. Everyone’s already here, seated around a makeshift table. Matvey and Dem nod at us as we enter.
Kirill gave me a rundown of everyone here beforehand. Kirill had me study dossiers this morning before we left the penthouse so it’s easy to figure out who’s who.
Elio Valenti sits across from the Baronov brothers, every inch the future don in his tailored suit and calculated expression. Vincent Wu sits beside Gigi, his right hand. She runs logistics for the Triad. She’s got a buzz cut and a nose ring. I have a girl crush on her already.
Marcus Doyle has one arm flung over the back of his chair, looking at ease despite the tension crackling through the room. Yuki Tanaka scrolls her phone with studied disinterest.
They all look up when we enter.
Kirill’s palm stays on my back as we cross to the table. “Let’s get started.”
Elio’s the first to speak, his tone dripping skepticism. “So this is the former waitress who’s going to save us all.”
Kirill goes rigid, every line of him shifting into a lethal threat. “Watch your fucking mouth, Valenti.”
I press my hand to his shoulder before he can tear into Elio further.
To be fair, the last time Elio saw me, I was half-naked in a club bathroom after Kirill shot one of his men in the head. Today he’ll see what I’m capable of.
I set my laptop bag on the table and meet his stare. “Former waitress. MTI student. And yeah, I’m going to save you. Try to keep up.”
Marcus laughs. “Damn. I like her already.”
Vincent looks unimpressed. “Your husband makes bold claims about your capabilities. We’re here to see if you can deliver.”
I flip open my laptop, turning it so everyone can view the screen. “You agreed to help trap the Ghost. Here’s how we make sure they can’t do to us what they did at the pier.”
I pull up the packet analysis from the pier disaster and explain what went wrong.
“The Ghost had access to your communications before you arrived. See this timestamp? Their exploit went live the day before the operation. You walked into a trap.”
Gigi studies the screen. “Where’s this data from?”
“Dem’s people recovered three intact comm units. I ran the analysis.”
She scrolls through my findings. “So they pre-positioned the exploit. That explains how they hijacked the channel so fast.”
“Exactly.” I switch screens. “Which is why we’re not making the same mistake. Here’s the solution. Two separate communication systems.”
Yuki sets her phone down, attention sharpening. “In plain English please.”
“Basically, I set up an encrypted comms system the Ghost doesn’t know about—that’s what we use to communicate.
But I’ll also build a fake system, that will look like a highly secure radio channel, but I’m leaving one small, intentional vulnerability in the encryption.
The Ghost will find it and think they’ve outsmarted us. ”
Kirill watches me from across the table, fierce satisfaction in his expression making heat crawl up my neck.
Marcus frowns. “Why would we want that?”
“Because this time, we control what they hear.” I pull up the honeypot design. “We’ll make them believe the DEA is about to raid the Baronov warehouse in Red Hook, and that fifty million in heroin needs to be moved within twenty-four hours.”
Vincent leans forward. “What’s the point?”
“We move the dope to Newtown Creek where the Valenti’s have a warehouse. They’ll follow us and strike, and when they do we ambush them with five hundred soldiers from every family here.”
Gigi nods, following along “You’re weaponizing their surveillance tactics.”
“Exactly.”
Kirill crosses his arms. “When the Ghost comes for us, we need enough manpower to end this once and for all.”
Marcus drums his fingers against the table. “So we show up and kill the motherfuckers? I can do that.”
Yuki tilts her head. “What’s the contingency if they don’t bite?”
“They will. They’ve hit every major shipment for months. They won’t pass up fifty million in product.”
Vincent stands. “Forty-eight hours to pull this off. Can you do it?”
“Yes.” I’ve pulled off crazier shit before, but they won’t hear about it. “I’ll need a secure command center for me and Gigi’s team.”
Elio clears his throat. “I have a place not far from Newtown Creek that will work.” His gaze locks on Kirill. “I still don’t trust you, Baronov. But I trust the Ghost less.”
For the next few hours we hammer out logistics. There are details to finalize. Staging locations, soldier assignments, convergence timing.
I step back and let Kirill do his thing.
I’m impressed by how he reads the other heirs, knowing when to push and when to compromise.
At one point, Marcus makes a crack about letting the little lady handle the tech.
The temperature in the room drops ten degrees.
Kirill’s pale glare locks onto him with lethal promise.
Marcus raises his palms in surrender, grinning. “Just busting your balls, Baronov. She’s whip-smart.”
Once the details are locked down, the warehouse clears out until it’s just me and the Baronovs.
Matvey claps me on the shoulder. “Not bad, sister-in-law, not bad at all.”
Backing toward the exit, Dem salutes me. “You’re a welcome addition to the family. Especially if you can handle his stubborn ass.” He jerks his thumb toward Kirill.
“Very fucking funny.” Kirill flips them both off.
Once they’re gone, I exhale hard, the tension bleeding out of my shoulders.
“That went better than I predicted.”
“Vincent almost smiled at you,” Kirill says. “Coming from him, that’s high praise.”
The scale of what I need to pull off in two days is overwhelming, but I’m excited. Energized. This is what I’m good at. Give me a problem to solve, a system to build, and I’m in my element.
Working with Kirill makes it feel different, though.
Watching him command the room—negotiate with the toughest assholes in this city, knowing he’s doing this partly to save his sister—twists my heart into a knot. My feelings for him are a dangerous, tangled mess.
Sensing my thoughts, Kirill pulls me close, his hand sliding possessively around my waist. His mouth drops to my ear. “You were fucking brilliant, have I told you that today?” His grip tightens. “I can’t wait to get you alone.”
I press my hand against his chest, solid muscle beneath the fabric. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. We have work to do tonight.”
By work, I mean ambushing Abram at the club.
He cups my jaw, his thumb brushing my cheekbone with surprising tenderness given the violence simmering in his eyes. “After we’re done with that bastard, you’re mine.”