“That Pavel was here to kill you instead of extract you? Because I’ve been investigating Viktor’s off-the-books operations for six months. Our dear handler has been eliminating agents who’ve become inconvenient.”
Pavel tries to reach for his dropped weapon, but Anya puts another round in his shoulder that makes him scream and roll away from the gun.
“Stay down, Romanov, or the next one goes in your head.”
“You fucking traitor,” Pavel gasps through gritted teeth. “Viktor will have you executed for this.”
“Viktor will have to catch me first. And considering he’s been selling FSB intelligence to the highest bidder, I don’t think he’s in a position to threaten anyone.”
I stare at my best friend, trying to work out what she’s telling me. “Viktor’s corrupt?”
“Viktor’s been running a side op with FSB resources. Nightfall wasn’t about destroying Dmitri; it was about clearing the way to take his territory.”
“That’s impossible.”
She cocks her head. “Think about your mission parameters. You were ordered to seduce Dmitri, not just gather intelligence. You were supposed to make him vulnerable, emotionally compromised, so Viktor could manipulate him through you.”
The pieces click into place. Viktor never wanted me to destroy Dmitri's organization; he wanted me to hand him the keys.
“When you started questioning those orders, when you refused to sleep with your target, Viktor realized you’d become a liability instead of an asset.”
“So, he ordered my elimination.”
“He ordered Pavel to set up the gallery bombing with the Borisenkos,” Anya says. “You were supposed to die there. Clean, no loose ends. Dmitri’s saving you forced Viktor to improvise.”
Pavel coughs up blood and glares at both of us. “You have no idea what you’re interfering with. Viktor’s operation is bigger than one criminal organization.”
“Big enough to commit treason?” Anya asks. “Because that’s what selling government intelligence to foreign buyers is called.”
“You can’t prove anything.”
“Actually, I can. I’ve been documenting Viktor’s activities for months. I’ve got enough evidence to bury him and everyone who helped him.”
Anya pulls out her phone and shows me a screen full of encrypted files. “Including evidence that Operation Nightfall was never authorized by FSB leadership. Viktor created the mission using forged documentation.”
“Jesus Christ. So, what happens now?” I ask.
“Now, you need to go back to Dmitri and try to build something real out of the wreckage. It’s the only shot you have.”
“That’s my only option?”
“It’s the only option that ends with you breathing. Viktor’s network has people everywhere. Staying in Moscow as Agent Sidorov means staying a target.”
I think about Dmitri’s face when I told him I hated him. The way his voice cracked when he admitted the revenge plan had become something else. The look in his eyes when I said I’d never forgive myself for falling for him.
Will he even want to help me?
“If I go back to him, what about my FSB career?”
“Your FSB career ended the moment Viktor decided you were expendable. This is your chance to become whoever you want to be, wherever you want to be. Clean identity, financial support, and freedom to reinvent yourself. But you’ve got to get away from here first. Viktor won’t stop looking for you.”
Pavel groans as he applies pressure to his chest wound. “You’re both making a mistake. The FSB doesn’t forget traitors.”
“The FSB doesn’t tolerate corruption either,” Anya replies. “And when the full scope of Viktor’s operation comes out, anyone associated with his network is going to be too busy covering their own asses to worry about hunting down dead agents.”
She turns back to me. “Dmitri’s the only one who can protect you now, Katya.”
I trace my crescent moon tattoo while I consider what she’s telling me. My only chance of survival is returning to the man who kidnapped me and made me fall in love with him.
