57

Lia

The tension in the safe house was suffocating. Every minute that passed felt like a countdown to the inevitable. Diana wouldn’t stay quiet for long, not after we had started dismantling her network piece by piece. The problem was, we didn’t know where or when she would strike.

I sat at the dining table, the pile of documents in front of me feeling heavier than it looked. Nikolai was hunched over his laptop, his fingers moving so fast they were a blur. Petrik paced near the window, his posture tense and his jaw tight.

“She’s going to retaliate,” Petrik said, breaking the silence. “It’s just a matter of time.”

“We already know that,” Nikolai muttered without looking up. “What we don’t know is where or how.”

“She’s cornered,” I said. “And a cornered predator is the most dangerous kind.”

Petrik stopped pacing, turning to face me. “Which is why we need to act first. We can’t just sit here waiting for her to make her move.”

“Act how?” I asked, my voice sharper than I intended. “We’ve already warned the people on her list. We’ve started turning her allies. What else can we do without playing right into her hands?”

Petrik’s eyes burned with frustration, but he didn’t respond immediately. I could see the weight of the situation pressing down on him, the fear that no matter what we did, it wouldn’t be enough.

Before anyone could say anything else, Nikolai’s laptop beeped, and he cursed under his breath. “Shit.”

“What is it?” Petrik demanded, moving to stand behind him.

“She’s making her move,” Nikolai said, turning the screen to show us. It was a live feed from one of the surveillance systems he’d hacked—a private office building downtown. A group of armed men was storming inside, their movements precise and deliberate.

“Where is this?” I asked, my stomach sinking.

“One of the board members’ offices,” Nikolai said. “Dmitry Orlov. He’s on her list.”

“We have to go,” Petrik said immediately, already grabbing his coat. “If she’s sending people after him, she won’t stop there.”

“And what are we supposed to do?” I asked, standing. “It’s not like we can just walk in there and take them out.”

“We don’t have to,” Nikolai said. “I can access the building’s security system. If you can buy me enough time, I can lock them in, call the authorities, and make sure Orlov gets out safely.”

Petrik nodded. “Then that’s the plan. Lia, you’re with me.”

I hesitated, every instinct screaming that this was a trap. But there wasn’t time to argue. “Fine. Let’s go.”

The drive to the office building was tense, the silence in the car thick with unspoken fears. Petrik’s hands gripped the wheel tightly, his knuckles white. I glanced at him, my chest tightening at the sight of the storm brewing in his eyes.

“You can’t just rush in there,” I said, breaking the silence. “We need to be careful.”

“I know,” he said, though his tone was clipped. “But we can’t let Diana keep doing this.”

“We won’t,” I said firmly. “But we’re no good to anyone if we get ourselves killed.”

He didn’t respond, but I could see the struggle in his expression. This wasn’t just about stopping Diana anymore—it was personal.

When we arrived at the office building, the streets around it were eerily quiet. The lights in the building were still on, but the front doors were ajar, and there was no sign of security.

“She’s already inside,” Petrik said, his voice low.

“We need to move fast,” I said, pulling my phone out to check Nikolai’s feed. “He’s got them trapped on the third floor, but they’re trying to break through the security doors.”

Petrik nodded, his expression grim. “Let’s go.”

We slipped inside, the silence of the building amplifying every sound. The elevator was disabled, so we took the stairs, each step feeling heavier than the last. By the time we reached the third floor, my heart was pounding so loudly I was sure it would give us away.

The hallway was dark, the only light coming from the glow of the emergency exit signs. At the end of the corridor, I could see the armed men pounding on a set of locked doors.

“There,” Petrik whispered, pulling me back into the shadows. “What’s the plan?”

I glanced at my phone, seeing Nikolai’s message: “Keep them distracted. Police are en route. Five minutes.”

“Distract them,” I said. “We just need to hold them off until the police get here.”

Petrik nodded, his expression determined. “Stay behind me.”

Before I could argue, he stepped out of the shadows, his voice cutting through the silence like a knife. “Looking for someone?”

The men turned, their weapons raising instantly. I felt my heart stop, but Petrik didn’t flinch.

“Who the hell are you?” one of them demanded.

“Someone you don’t want to mess with,” Petrik said, his tone cold. “Now, why don’t you put those guns down and walk away before this gets messy?”

The man sneered. “You’ve got some nerve.”

As they advanced toward Petrik, I slipped further into the shadows, moving toward the side of the hallway. My hands trembled as I reached for the small stun gun Nikolai had given me, praying I wouldn’t need to use it.

Petrik held his ground, his presence commanding despite the odds. “You’re making a mistake,” he said. “Walk away while you still can.”

One of the men laughed. “You think you can scare us?”

“I don’t need to,” Petrik said, his voice steady. “You’re already trapped.”

As if on cue, the sound of sirens echoed outside, and the lights in the hallway flickered as Nikolai triggered the building’s lockdown. The men froze, their confidence faltering as they realized they’d been caught.

“Police are here,” I whispered into my earpiece.

“Good,” Nikolai said. “Get out of there.”

“Petrik,” I called softly, motioning for him to follow me.

He hesitated, his eyes still locked on the men in front of him. But after a moment, he nodded, stepping back toward me.

As we slipped down the stairs, the sound of shouts and pounding footsteps echoed behind us. We barely made it out the back entrance before the police stormed the building.

In the safety of the car, I let out a shaky breath, my hands still trembling. Petrik stared straight ahead, his jaw tight.

“We can’t keep doing this,” I said quietly. “It’s too dangerous.”

He glanced at me, his eyes burning with determination. “We don’t have a choice, Lia. If we don’t stop her, no one will.”

And for the first time, I realized just how far he was willing to go—and how much we stood to lose if we failed.