Chapter 48 Aleksandr
ALEKSANDR
"Katya just made her move." The words taste like ash in my mouth as I watch Lena's face drain of color.
"What kind of move?" Her voice is steady, but I see the way her hand drifts to her stomach, protective and instinctive.
I guide her back into her room, closing the door behind us. The guards take position outside, and I'm grateful for the privacy. "She sent a message through an intermediary. Wants to meet tomorrow night at midnight. Neutral territory, just the two of us."
"That's a trap." She doesn't phrase it as a question.
"Obviously." I move to the window, looking out at the grounds where more vehicles are arriving. My men, responding to the alert Danil sent out. "But it's also an opportunity."
"An opportunity to get yourself killed." She crosses her arms, and the gesture pushes her breasts up.
"An opportunity to end this." I turn to face her. "Katya's been planning this for months. Maybe even years. She's patient, she's smart, and she won't stop until one of us is dead. This meeting gives me a chance to control the circumstances instead of waiting for her next move."
Lena's jaw tightens. "You're really going to walk into an obvious trap?"
"I'm going to turn her trap against her." I cross to her, my hands finding her hips. "Trust me."
"I do trust you. That's what terrifies me." Her hands come up to rest on my chest, and even through my shirt, her touch burns. "What if something goes wrong?"
"Then Danil takes over. You'll be protected, provided for. I've made arrangements."
Her eyes narrow. "What kind of arrangements?"
"The kind that ensure you and our baby are safe no matter what happens to me." I lean down, pressing my forehead against hers. "But nothing is going to happen. I've survived worse than Katya Rostova."
"Have you?" Her voice drops to a whisper. "Because from where I'm standing, this feels different. More personal. More dangerous."
She's right, but I don't tell her that. Instead, I kiss her, slow and deep, tasting the fear on her tongue mixed with resignation. When I pull back, her eyes are wet.
"I need to meet with Danil," I say quietly. "Plan this properly. Will you be okay?"
She nods, but I see the lie in her eyes. Neither of us will be okay until this is over.
Danil waits in my office with Ronnie and two other captains I trust with my life. Maps are spread across my desk, and the warehouse location is marked in red.
"It's perfect ambush territory," Ronnie says, pointing to the building's layout. "Multiple entry points, high ceilings for shooters, limited escape routes."
"Which is exactly why she chose it." I study the map, my mind working through angles and possibilities. "She expects me to come in heavy, surrounded by men. That's what she's prepared for."
"So we do the opposite," Danil says, catching on immediately. "You go in light. Make her think she has the advantage."
"While you position men in every building within a three-block radius." I trace the surrounding structures with my finger. "Snipers on the roofs, teams ready to move in on my signal. She thinks she's setting the trap, but we're the ones controlling the board."
We spend the next three hours planning every detail. Escape routes, communication protocols, contingencies for every scenario I can imagine. By the time we finish, dawn is breaking outside my windows.
"Get some rest," I tell them. "We move at eleven tomorrow night."
After they leave, I pull out my laptop and open the file my lawyer prepared.
My will, updated to reflect Lena's existence and our child's future.
She'll have access to legitimate businesses, clean money that can't be traced back to criminal operations.
Enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life without ever needing to touch the darker side of my empire.
The day passes in a blur of final preparations. I meet with my captains, review security protocols, and make sure every contingency is covered. But my mind keeps drifting to Lena, to the way she looked at me this morning like she was memorizing my face.
By the time night falls, I can't stay away any longer.
Her door is unlocked, and I find her curled up in bed, staring at the ceiling. She doesn't look surprised when I enter, just turns her head to watch me approach.
"Couldn't sleep?" I ask, already knowing the answer.
"How can I sleep when you're about to walk into a death trap?" She sits up, and the sheet falls away from her chest. She's wearing one of my shirts, and the sight of her in my clothes makes something primal roar to life in my chest.
I strip off my shirt and pants, leaving them in a pile on the floor, then climb into bed beside her. My hands find the hem of the shirt she's wearing, and I pull it over her head slowly, revealing inch by inch of smooth skin that I've mapped with my tongue a hundred times.
"Aleksandr." Her voice is breathless, needy.
"I need you." The words come out rough, desperate.
She pulls me down to her, and the kiss is fierce, almost desperate. I need to be inside her, need to feel her wrapped around me, need to remember what I'm fighting for.
I enter her in one hard thrust, and we both groan at the sensation. There's no gentleness tonight, no slow buildup. Just raw need and the knowledge that this might be the last time.
She meets me thrust for thrust, her nails raking down my back hard enough to leave marks. Good. I want her marks on me when I face Katya tomorrow. Want to carry her with me into whatever comes next.
"Promise me," she gasps as I drive deeper. "Promise me you'll come back."
"I'll come back to you."
Her orgasm crashes over her with enough force to make her cry out my name, and I follow seconds later, emptying myself inside her with a groan that sounds like it's being torn from my chest.
We lie tangled together afterward, both of us breathing hard, and I hold her like I can keep the world at bay through sheer force of will.
Morning comes too soon. I wake to find Lena already up, standing at the window in one of my shirts, watching the sun rise over the grounds.
"I made coffee," she says without turning around. "It's probably terrible, but I tried."
I move behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist, my hands splaying across her stomach where our child grows. "Thank you."
We drink coffee in silence, and then I head to my office to prepare. My guns are laid out on the desk, each one cleaned and oiled to perfection. I check the magazines, test the actions, and make sure everything is exactly as it should be.
Lena appears in the doorway, her eyes tracking over the weapons with something that looks like resignation. "Show me."
"Show you what?"
"How to use one." She moves into the room, her bare feet silent on the carpet. "If something happens to you, if Katya comes after me, I want to know how to defend myself."
Pride swells in my chest. "You sure?"
"No. But do it anyway."
I pick up the smallest gun, a Glock 43 that will fit her hand. "This is the safety. This is how you chamber a round. You aim for center mass, not the head. Two shots, then reassess."
She takes the gun from me, her hands shaking slightly, and I guide her through the motions. By the time we finish, she's not shaking anymore.
"Keep it with you," I say. "Always."
She nods, and I see the fear in her eyes mixed with determination.
The hours crawl by. I review the plan with Danil one more time and check in with my teams.
At ten thirty, I start getting ready. Black tactical gear, body armor under my jacket, and weapons secured in places I can reach quickly. I look like I'm going to war.
Maybe I am.
Lena watches from the doorway of my bedroom, her arms wrapped around herself. "I hate this."
"I know." I cross to her, pulling her against my chest. "But it ends tonight. One way or another."
"That's not comforting."
"It's honest." I tilt her chin up, forcing her to meet my eyes. "I love you. Remember that."
"I love you too." Tears stream down her face.
At eleven, I head downstairs where Danil and the others wait. They're armed to the teeth, faces grim and determined.
The vehicles are waiting outside, engines running. I take one last look at the house, at the window where I know Lena is watching, and I swear I hear her voice carried on the wind.
"Come back to me."