Chapter 22 – Mike
I wake to the soft brush of lips on my face, gentle and deliberate. My eyes flutter open to see Ellie moving carefully, planting kisses along my jaw, my temple, the side of my neck.
I chuckle, stretching my arms around her. “What’s all this?” I ask, amused and cautious.
She tilts her head, eyes bright and serious. “I want to talk to you,” she says softly.
I sit up, alert. Last night’s conversation still lingers in my mind—the tension, the vulnerability, the promises. There’s a thread of apprehension weaving through me.
“I woke up in the middle of the night,” she continues, her fingers tracing the line of my collarbone, “and I thought more about Katerina’s video. I realized…the best thing to do is respond and request a meeting.”
I frown. “What?”
She meets my gaze, steady and determined. “I’ve responded. I’ve requested a meeting with Katerina. She sent an address.”
I run a hand down my face, trying to steady the knot of tension coiling in my chest. Fury wants to rise—hell, it screams—but it’s not the first thing I feel. Fear comes first.
Fear for her. Fear for what could happen if she steps into Katerina’s world alone. Fear for the one variable I cannot control.
“You’ll never go,” I say, my voice low, unyielding. “I won’t let you meet her.”
Ellie tilts her head, eyes sharp and unwavering. “Mike…strategy requires proximity. You can’t fight shadows from afar. She’s not a warlord. She’s a negotiator. Face-to-face is the only way to extract information.”
I swallow hard, my chest tight. Her logic is sound, infuriatingly so. And yet…the idea of her walking into that lion’s den makes my blood run cold.
“I can protect you there,” I say, each word heavy with conviction. “Every step. Every second. I won’t let you go.”
Ellie’s lips curve, a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Mike…I don’t need a bodyguard. I need a partner who trusts me to think.”
Her words cut through the fear, but they don’t erase it. My grip on the edge of the couch tightens. She’s right—she’s brilliant, capable—but the idea of Katerina, that calm, calculating predator, sitting across from her…I shiver despite myself.
“That’s why I told her you must come with me. I won’t go there without you.”
I blink at her, incredulous. “And…she agreed?”
Ellie nods, steady and calm. “Yes.”
I don’t hesitate. I slip out of bed, pacing as adrenaline kicks in. “I need to talk to my brothers. We need a plan. We can’t go in there blind. I don’t trust that woman for a second.”
She watches me, eyes soft but sharp. “What kind of plan?”
I take a deep breath, letting the words fall carefully. “Neutral ground. Layered contingencies. Snipers positioned, escape vehicles mapped, encrypted comms loops established. Every angle covered.”
Ellie frowns, ever the strategist herself. “She may not agree to that.”
I meet her eyes, unflinching. “Then we don’t meet her. I won’t let you walk into that room knowing I can’t protect you.”
Her lips press into a thin line, but she doesn’t argue.
The trust in her gaze steels me. Together, we’ll face this.
But I make no mistake—Katerina isn’t just a threat.
She’s a storm, and we’re about to step right into it.
Still, if I don’t let Ellie do this, I risk losing her entirely.
This risk…this calculated risk…is the best option.
To my surprise, Katerina agrees to our terms. She even accepts the new neutral address we select, demonstrating a respect for strategy that borders on unsettling.
When the meeting finally takes place, the first time I see Katerina Morozova in person, she’s every bit as formidable as her operations suggest. The warehouse is stark, dimly lit, and she stands perfectly centered, waiting.
Her presence commands the space without raising her voice, her posture a precise calculation.
Up close, there’s something familiar about her face, but I can’t place it yet. Her eyes meet mine, sharp and assessing, then slide to Ellie. I see the recognition there—respect, almost reverence—for what Ellie represents.
She greets Ellie with warmth that feels deliberate. “I’m glad to see you again, my friend,” she says, her voice smooth, almost conspiratorial.
Ellie doesn’t flinch, doesn’t play the game. “Don’t call me friend,” she says, steady and cold. “We’ll never be friends.”
Katerina tilts her head slightly, curious. “And why is that?”
Ellie’s voice hardens. “Because you shot my husband. That’s why.”
A scoff escapes Katerina, casual, almost amused. “Don’t you see? Your husband is an outdated model of power. You, Ellie, you are the evolution.”
“What are you talking about?” Ellie asks.
I keep silent, letting Ellie take the floor.
I’m only here to protect Ellie, not because I have anything to say.
I don’t negotiate with people like Katerina, because in the end, they’re evil and only want one thing—power.
Ellie hasn’t been in this world like I have, so she thinks she can talk her way out of this.
She’s going to be grossly disappointed in the end.
Katerina leans slightly forward, eyes sharp.
“Sergei, Anya, and Samantha were assets, yes, but they were never the architects. The real objective has always been your software, ARGO. With it, entire global supply chains—legal and illegal—can be optimized beyond anything currently possible. Efficiency, control, influence—all in our hands.”
“Our?” Ellie laughs, sharp and defiant. “You’ll never get your hands on it.”
Katerina’s lips twitch in a faint smile. “Never say never.”
Then she turns to me, her gaze piercing. “Step aside. Publicly distance yourself from her. Allow her to reclaim her academic life under my supervision. In exchange, the federal charges disappear.”
I refuse without hesitation. “No,” I say flatly, voice steady. “There’s no step aside. Not now. Not ever.”
Katerina tilts her head, expression unreadable. “Okay, then there’s nothing else to talk about.”
I turn to Ellie. “Let’s go,” I say, sliding my hand into hers.
Katerina’s voice cuts after us, smooth and taunting. “Think about it, Ellie. I’ll give you the world.”
Ellie doesn’t even glance back. “Keep it,” she says firmly.
She takes my hand, and we head to the car. I let her go in front, watching her back like a hawk, muscles taut, senses alert. I don’t relax until we’re safely inside the vehicle, doors locked, engines running, moving away from that place and the shadow of Katerina’s presence.
The drive is silent. Neither of us speaks until we reach the suite back at home.
Ellie finally turns to me, voice cautious. “Do you…know her?”
I shake my head. “No. Why?”
She frowns. “Because the way she acts…the way she talks…it’s like she knows you.”
I shrug, letting my fingers tighten around hers.
“She does look familiar, maybe. But I’ve met a lot of people in this world, and I can’t recall everyone.
” I study her face for a moment, then shake my head slightly.
“What I do know is that you’re underestimating the psychological warfare at play here. ”
Her eyes flash immediately. “And I think you’re underestimating my autonomy.”
I straighten, tension tightening through my shoulders. “Autonomy has nothing to do with it. That woman has been manipulating events for months—years, probably. She positioned people around you, around us. You think this meeting was about negotiation? It was about planting seeds.”
“And you think I can’t see that?” Ellie fires back, stepping closer. “Mike, I’m not fragile. I’m not some hostage you need to guard every second.”
“You’re the target,” I snap. “That changes the equation.”
Her chin lifts. “No. It changes how you see me.”
The room grows tight with tension, the space between us shrinking until we’re standing almost chest to chest.
“You’re acting like I’m a variable you have to control,” she says, her voice low but fierce.
“And you’re acting like the woman who tried to destroy our lives is someone you can outmaneuver with logic alone,” I shoot back.
Her breath catches, but she doesn’t step away. If anything, she moves closer.
“You don’t get to cage me because you’re afraid,” she says quietly.
“And you don’t get to walk into traps because you want to prove you’re stronger than them,” I reply.
For a moment, we just stare at each other, the air between us tight and volatile.
Then Ellie exhales sharply and turns away from me. “I’ll take a shower.”
The bathroom door closes a moment later, leaving the room thick with everything we didn’t finish saying.
I rake a hand through my hair, still wired from the argument. My phone rings on the bedside table. For a second, I almost fling it across the room.
But the screen lights up with a name that stops me.
Timofey.
I answer.
“Hello?”
“Mike?” His voice is tight. He sighs before continuing. “One of your offshore accounts has been frozen. We’re working to restore it, but it’s locked down tight.”
I close my eyes and drop onto the edge of the bed.
Of course it is.
This isn’t random pressure. It’s a strategy.
Katerina’s syndicate isn’t just attacking reputations. They aren’t just framing Ellie.
They’re dismantling the Rusnak empire from the inside out.
I stare at the ceiling, jaw tightening as the reality settles in.
This isn’t just a war anymore.
It’s a siege.
They’re backing me into the wall until I give Ellie away.
Little do they know, I’d rather lose everything than let that happen.