Chapter 19 Lev
LEV
"We need to move her," Yuri says, spreading a map across the table and tapping a location on the north side of the city.
"The townhouse is compromised. Yaros knows where you live, so it's only a matter of time before they try again.
" Vivika ran out the door, but I didn't chase after her.
She's not going to run because she knows the risks, but sitting here while I know she's out there angry and hurt makes me feel tense.
"The safehouse on Krestovsky Island?" Fyodor leans forward to study the map. "That's isolated enough to be defensible, but close enough to the city center for quick movement if we need it."
"That's what I was thinking." Yuri traces a route with his finger. "We move her tonight, under cover of darkness, and keep her there until this situation resolves."
I look at the small dot and scowl. We've used it for very sensitive operations before, but not often.
It's a good choice—surrounded by water on three sides, with only one road in and one road out.
But keeping Vivika locked up in another cage won't make her any more compliant, and they'll find her there eventually.
"What about the plan?" Dimitri asks, but he's still using that edgy, tense voice. He hasn't liked this operation since the beginning and he's starting to get on my fucking nerves. "Are we still moving forward with Kolar, or has this new information changed things?"
"The plan moves forward." Yuri straightens up. "In fact, this new information makes it more urgent. If Yaros is planning to have Vivika killed publicly and blame us, we need to get to Kolar first."
"How do you propose we do that?" I ask. Staying annoyed with Dimitri will only distract me from what I'm supposed to be doing. That would put Vivika at risk, and I can't have that.
"A private meeting." Yuri's gray eyes meet mine. "Just you, Vivika, and Luka Kolar somewhere neutral. Bring her in as Ana Veche, and fictionalize things a little… Spin it as how Ana knows Yaros has been after her to kill her and take her empire, see what Kolar does."
I can't help it but I scoff. "Kolar won't believe that for a second. We'll need some sort of proof to back it up."
"Then we provide proof." Yuri picks up a folder and slides it toward me.
"Everything my source has gathered about Ana's death, Yaros's conspiracy, the orders to eliminate the woman he claims is his sister.
Combined with Vivika's testimony and her resemblance to the real Ana, it should make Kolar question everything. "
I flip through the folder, scanning documents and photographs that paint a damning picture of Yaros Veche's treachery.
If even half of this is accurate, he's been playing everyone for months.
And if Kolar sees this evidence, he'll believe it too.
But that doesn't answer what we'll do with Vivika when Kolar is sold and turns on Yaros.
He'll think Vivika is the real Ana, but there's no way in hell she'll be able to really lead that family. They'll see right through her.
"He'll break all agreements," Fyodor says, following my train of thought. "Kolar's always been loyal to Ana personally, more than to the Veche family as an institution. If he believes Yaros killed her, he'll walk away from everything they've built together."
"And when he walks away, Yaros's house of cards collapses.
" Dimitri's skepticism has shifted into something more calculating.
I look up at his face and see the expression of contempt fading.
He doesn't like it but he's starting to see how this plan could work.
"Without the Balkan Syndicate, Yaros loses the southern routes.
His captains look for alternatives, his allies question their loyalty. "
"That's the idea." Yuri looks at me. "But it all depends on Vivika. She has to be convincing enough to make Kolar believe she's really Ana, and she has to deliver the story in a way that makes him want to act on it. Can she do that?"
The question isn't whether Vivika can do it, but if she will. I've seen her be tough as nails, but now that she understands the risks, conquering her fear will be the real problem. Then the lingering questions of what we'll do when Kolar decides he doesn't like our tricking him with a fake Ana.
"She can do it," I say. "I'll make sure of it." But I'm not happy about this. I'd voice my concern right now except that Vivika is out there somewhere and I feel antsy about leaving her unsupervised.
"Good." Yuri nods. "Move her to the safehouse tonight and continue her training there. We'll arrange the meeting with Kolar for the end of the week, which gives you four days to prepare her. Don't waste them."
The meeting breaks up after that, and I head out to find Vivika in one of the sitting rooms, curled up on a couch with Inessa beside her and a cup of tea growing cold in her hands. Her eyes are red from crying, but when she sees me her face softens and she looks more relaxed.
"We need to go," I tell her gently. "I'll explain everything in the car, but right now, we need to move."
She looks at Inessa, who gives her an encouraging nod, and then she rises from the couch, leaving her mug behind, and walks toward me without question, trusting me to keep her safe even though everything in her world has just fallen apart.
I take her hand and lead her out to the car. Rain has started to fall while we were inside, a steady downpour that drums against the roof and blurs the city lights into smeared streaks. I pull out of Yuri's driveway and head toward my townhouse, where we'll need to pack before relocating.
"What's happening?" Vivika asks quietly. I can sense the fear in her tone. "Where are we going?"
"Somewhere safe." I reach over and take her hand again, needing the contact as much as I suspect she does. "The townhouse isn't secure anymore. We're moving to a safehouse on the north side of the city, somewhere Yaros can't reach you."
"And then what?"
"And then we end this." I squeeze her fingers gently. "There's a plan, Vivika. A way to bring down Yaros and protect you at the same time. But it requires you to do something difficult, something that will demand everything you've learned since I took you."
"What is it?" Her fingers are trembling, but she's not pulling away.
"A meeting with Luka Kolar, head of the Balkan Syndicate. You'll play Ana one more time, tell him everything Yaros has done, and convince him to break all ties with the Veches." I glance over at her. "It's risky. If something goes wrong—"
"I'll do it." That fast response is something I wasn't ready for. "If it means ending this nightmare, so I can stop looking over my shoulder every second of every day, I'll do whatever you need me to do."
Hearing her confirm again that she's not quitting on me makes my confidence soar.
Whatever Inessa told her about things must've helped.
The Vivika who ran out of Yuri's war room was a shattered mess, but she's not giving up yet.
I squeeze her hand and accelerate. If Yaros has put out orders to kill her, we really do have to get away from here and into that safe house where I can control things better.
The rain intensifies as we approach my street, sheets of water cascading down the windshield faster than the wipers can clear them.
I slow down as I turn onto my block, and my instincts prickle with a warning.
Something feels wrong—the street’s too quiet, the shadows too deep, like something's alive and hungry. I’d say I'm just paranoid, but Yuri did warn me the Veches are coming for her.
Then I see the car parked in front of my townhouse that doesn't belong on this street at all, and every nerve prickles. I have to grit my teeth to stop myself from swearing out loud.
"Stay low," I murmur to Vivika, pulling past my house and parking around the corner where we're hidden from direct view. "We have company."
"Company?" Her voice rises with fear. "Lev, what—"
"Listen to me carefully." I turn in my seat and take her face in my hands, holding her gaze with an intensity I hope conveys the seriousness of what I'm about to say.
"I'm going to put you somewhere safe they can't see you, and then I'm gonna deal with whoever's inside my house.
You stay hidden until I come for you. Do you understand? "
"You want me to hide in the rain?" She sounds incredulous, almost offended. "Lev, that's insane, I should stay with you—"
"Vivika." I cut her off with a firm shake of my hands that jars her head. "The car is a target. The house is a target. The only safe place right now is somewhere dark and hidden where nobody thinks to look. I need you to trust me on this."
My chest is heaving as adrenaline prepares me for what I might be facing. Who knows if it's a single hitter or if Yaros sent a team? I know they'll be professional, which makes it more risky, and I know Vivika waiting in this car is a stupid idea. She'll be a sitting duck.
Her eyes plead with me not to let this happen, but she nods and lets out a shaky breath. "Okay. Okay, I trust you."
I guide her around the back of the property, staying low and using the rain as cover, until we reach a thick hedge that runs along the fence line.
Far from ideal—she'll be soaked and cold and terrified—but it's better than the alternatives.
I push her gently into the shadows behind the hedge and cup her face one more time.
"Stay here," I whisper against her forehead. "Stay quiet. I'll come back for you."
Then I turn and move toward the house, pulling my gun from its holster and letting the rain wash away any sound my footsteps might make.
The back door has been forced open, the lock hanging loose and useless, and I slip inside with my weapon raised and my senses straining for any sign of the intruders waiting in the darkness.