Chapter 79

Chapter 79
Deal With The Devil. 

The morning after our pact wasn’t peaceful. It was war. 
I stood by the tall windows of Damian’s study, the cityscape of Manhattan glittering beneath my feet like a kingdom I hadn’t yet decided whether to rule or destroy. 
Behind me, Damian was on the phone, issuing quiet, deadly orders in Russian. His voice was calm, controlled. But I could hear the undertone of tension the same kind that coiled in my own chest like a serpent. 
The folder with Victor Sokolov’s name sat open on the desk. My eyes skimmed the pages again. Photographs of arms deals, surveillance shots of private meetings in Berlin, and records of bribes paid to a police commissioner in Prague. 
Every page spelled out the man’s sins. But none satisfied me. Not yet. Because the only Justice that mattered to me was the kind that came with fire. 
“I’ve arranged a meeting with Nikolai,” Damian said as he ended the call and approached me. “He’s our contact in Sokolov’s circle. If we move now, we can sever two of Sokolov’s main financial arteries within seventy-two hours.”
I turned to him, arms crossed. “And then what? Cut the rest of the limbs one by one until he bleeds out?”
A slow smirk played at Damian’s lips. “Exactly.”
I wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or disturbed by how easily he spoke of dismantling a man’s empire like it was a chess game. 
“You really are the devil,” I murmured. 
“And you made a deal with me, sweetheart,” he replied closing the distance between us. “That makes you mine.”
My heart shouldn’t have fluttered at that. But it did. And I hated myself for it. 
“You don’t own me,” I snapped. 
He leaned closer, his breath brushing my cheek. “We both know I do. Just like I know you own every inch of me now.”
His words were too raw, too real. I stepped away before the heat in my chest made me betray myself. 
“We need to hit Sokolov where it hurts first,” I said, steadying my voice. “His weapons routes in Istanbul and the off-books crypto exchanges in Zurich. If we collapse both, he’ll panic.”
Damian nodded. “I already sent a team to Istanbul last night. Zurich will be trickier. One of his most loyal men controls it, and he’s protected.”
“I’ll handle Zurich,” I said sharply. “You deal with Istanbul.” 
He raised a brow. “That’s not how we work.”
“It is now,” I replied. “You said we were partners. Let me prove it.”
A pause. Then he nodded. “Fine. But you take Viktor with you.”
I scoffed. “Your bodyguard? He doesn’t even like me.”
“Exactly why he’ll keep you alive.”
We stared at each other, a battle of Wills cracking in the silence. But then something shifted in Damian’s expression. Something softer, though still layered in steel. 
“You don’t have to do this alone anymore, Claire,” he said quietly. “You have me now.”
For the first time, I believed it. But belief doesn’t erase the past. 
Or the fact that Victor Sokolov had left my father to die in a burning prison while men with Cross’s money turned a black eye. 
I couldn’t forgive that. Not yet. 
Later that afternoon, I boarded the jet to Zurich with Viktor trailing me like a shadow. The man said little, his face impassive, and his movements precise. But he never met me out of his sight. Not for a second. 
In my private cabin, I pulled out my burner phone and typed a message. It was risky. But necessary. 
To; Sofia Carter.
Status changed. New plan. Zurich first. Eyes open in Moscow. Tell Elias to wait. 
I deleted the message seconds after it was sent 
If Damian ever finds out I still had contact with my own people outside his control he’d see it as betrayal. 
But I don’t trust anyone completely. 
Not even him. 
Not even the man who kissed me like I was his salvation and held me like I was his ruin. 
Zurich was cold. Snow dusted the streets like a white veil hiding the rot beneath. Viktor and I moved through the airport like strangers, slipping into a waiting black SUV that whisked us toward a sleek glass tower in the banking district.
Inside the building was Pavel Orlov. Sokolov’s crypto man, and the gatekeeper to millions in dark money. 
The plan was simple. Get to Pavel, extract his login credentials, and erase every trace of Sokolov’s illegal funds from the offshore databases. It would cripple his operations and send a message loud enough to reach Moscow.
But nothing in my life has ever gone according to plan.
As we approached the tower, Viktor’s phone buzzed.
He frowned and then handed it to me. 
“It’s him.”
I stared at Damian’s name, then answered. 
“What?”
“You’re walking into a trap,” he said without preamble. “Nikolai just confirmed Pavel switched allegiances two days ago. Sokolov got to him first.”
My stomach dropped. 
“Then why didn’t you stop me?”
“Because you insisted on doing it your way,” he but out. “Now get out of there. I’m sending backup.”
“No,” I said coldly. “I’m already here.”
“Claire…”
“I can handle this.”
I hung up before he could stop me. 
Viktor didn’t question me. He simply handed me a concealed pistol and said, “Five minutes in and out. If we’re not out by then, we fight.”
I nodded. 
Inside the tower, everything smelled of money and polished corruption. We took the elevator to the twenty-second floor. Pavel’s office was glass-walled and empty, but the floor was unlocked. 
I stepped inside, my heels clicking against the marble floor. 
Then the light shut off. 
Viktor cursed behind me and yanked me back just as bullets shattered the glass walls. 
We hit the ground as chaos exploded around us. 
My ears rang from the sound of gunfire. Viktor returned shots with brutal precision, dragging me toward the emergency exit. Two men in tactical gear appeared, but Viktor dropped them both before they could fire. 
We burst into the stairwell, racing down flight after flight. 
My chest heaved. My side burned I’d been grazed. But I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. 
Outside, black SUVs screeched up the curb. Damian’s men. 
I stumbled into Damian’s arms the second I reached the car. His eyes went wild as he saw the blood on my coat. 
“Who the fuck touched you?” He snarled. 
“I’m fine,” I breathed. 
His hand cupped my cheek roughly, possessively. 
“You’re not fine. You’re mine. I told you..”
“Don’t yell at me,” I snapped, shoving his hand away. “You don’t get to control me.”
“I get to protect you,” he roared. 
Silence followed. 
The kind that said everything without words.
He pulled me close again, this time gently. I didn’t resist. 
“I thought I’d lost you,” he said into my hair. “I would’ve burned Zurich to the ground.”
I closed my eyes, letting myself sink into his hold for just a moment. 
Then pulled back.
“I got what we needed,” I whispered. 
From my coat, I handed him Pavel’s encrypted drive. 
Damian stared. “You stole it during the firefight?” 
I nodded. 
His mouth twitched into a stunned, wicked smile. 
“Remind me never to underestimate you again.”
My lips curled. “Don’t forget it.”
As the car sped through the icy streets, Damian reached across and took my hand. 
Not a gesture of control this time, but solidarity. 
For the first time since my father’s death, I didn’t feel alone. 
I was still walking hell.
But now…I have someone willing to burn with me.