“No. You listen to me. This ends today.”
“Viktor Petrov has been?—”
“Viktor’s been our intelligence source for years. He told me that little witch in there has you all twisted up. Forgive me, but I trust him over her. Your paranoia doesn’t change facts.”
Every attempt I make to explain gets cut off. My brother isn’t here for explanations. He’s here to eliminate what he sees as a threat.
“She’s still government,” Alexei continues. “She’ll always be government. And she’s made you weak.”
I clench my free hand. “I’m not weak.”
“This ends today,” Alexei repeats, pulling his sidearm. “Either you eliminate the threat, or we do it for you.”
“Over my dead body,” I reply through gritted teeth.
My brother shrugs and says, “If necessary.”
The finality in his voice makes me go cold. My brother is prepared to kill me to get to Katya.
He checks his watch. “You have sixty seconds to make your choice, Dmitri. Family or the spy.”
I look back at Katya, who’s moved to cover the kitchen entrance. Her face is calm, focused, and ready for violence. This is Agent Sidorov, not the confused woman I tricked into loving me.
“Thirty seconds.”
Anya catches my eye and nods toward the service elevator. We could run, but Alexei’s men would cut us down in the hallway.
“Time’s up.”
Alexei signals to his men, and I hear weapons being readied in the hallway. My brother is about to order an assault on my home.
“Wait.” I remove the door chain and step into the hallway, hoping to buy time.
“I’ll come out, and we can discuss this.”
“Nothing to discuss.” He keeps his weapon trained on my door. “The spy dies today.”
“Her name is Katya.”
“Her name is irrelevant.”
“She’s my wife.”
He laughs. “She’s your obsession. And it’s going to get our family killed.”
I take a step forward with a hand out. “Alexei, you’re my brother. We can work this out.”
“No, we can’t. You’ve chosen her over everything. Over the business, over family loyalty, and over basic survival.”
“I’m protecting someone who needs protection.”
“You’re siding with our enemy.”
“If you’d just listen for five minutes?—”
“I’m done listening.” He raises his weapon, and his index finger moves to the trigger. “Time for action.”
Alexei aims at my doorway, where Katya is now standing in the opening. Everything slows. My brother is about to execute the woman I love.
