“How many men can we field immediately?” I ask.
“Fifteen, maybe twenty if we pull everyone off other assignments.”
“That’s not enough if they’re bringing military-grade equipment.”
“No, it’s not. But we have advantages they don’t.”
“Such as?”
Alexei leans forward despite the obvious pain in his shoulder. “We know the city better than they do. We have resources they can’t access. And most importantly, they think we’re still fighting each other instead of working together.”
“What are you suggesting?”
“Just that we give Viktor’s people what they’re expecting: a divided organization that’s easy to pick apart. Let them think their intelligence is accurate while we coordinate a response they won’t see coming.”
Sasha grins, and for a moment, she looks just like our father when he was planning something particularly devious. “A trap.”
“The best kind. They think they’re hunting wounded prey, but instead they’re walking into an ambush.”
I think about the plan while I look at my brother. This is the first time we’ve worked together on anything in months, and despite everything that’s happened between us, falling back into tactical partnership feels natural.
“If Maxim’s intelligence is accurate, they’ll move tonight. Which gives us about six hours to prepare.”
“Six hours to coordinate a counteroperation that could save our family or get us all killed.”
“Exactly.”
I look at Katya, who’s been listening to this conversation with growing concern. “What do you think?”
“I think Viktor’s people have been planning this for weeks while we’ve been fighting each other. They have advantages we don’t understand and resources we can’t match.”
“But?”
“But they also don’t know the full extent of what I remember. And they definitely don’t know you and Alexei have reconciled.”
Alexei grins from ear to ear. “So, we have surprise on our side.”
“We have surprise, tactical knowledge, and home-field advantage. Plus, one very pissed off former FSB agent who has personal reasons for wanting Viktor’s network eliminated.”
“Is that enough?”
Katya’s smile is cold and predatory. “It’ll have to be.”
37
Katya
Katya
I once thought this estate was a romantic paradise. Now I see it for what it really is: a battlefield.
Back then, Dmitri brought me here under the pretense of a peaceful getaway. I thought it was a retreat from the city. In reality, I was his captive, kept compliant, confused, and blind to who I was.
Now, the estate crawls with Kozlov soldiers, cameras, and enough weapons for a small war.
Every room that once felt intimate has been turned into a tactical post. The bedroom where he swore we were husband and wife is stacked with ammo. The kitchen is a communications hub, with wires and radios everywhere.
“Perimeter secured,” Boris reports as he steps into the living room—once Dmitri’s seduction headquarters, now a commandcenter. “Twenty-two men around the property. Backup in the forest. Charges set at every access point.”
