Chapter Sixty-Seven

Chapter Sixty-Seven
The estate woke uneasy.

Not chaotic.

Not dangerous.

Just… wrong.

Anika felt it the second she stepped outside before dawn.

The air hung too still between the trees. Fog clung low across the gravel paths. Even the dogs moved differently—alert without command, restless without reason.

Nyx paced the kennel run once before stopping directly beside Anika.

Watching the tree line.

Ares refused to leave her side entirely.

By the time the handlers filtered onto the training field, three separate dogs had broken focus to track movement beyond the fences that wasn’t there.

Nobody said the word nervous.

But everyone felt it.

“Storm pressure again?” Lizzy asked quietly as she joined Anika near the gates with a travel mug in hand.

“Maybe.”

The answer sounded weak even to her.

Ares pressed against her leg hard enough to nearly move her sideways.

Lizzy looked down. “Okay, that’s getting weird.”

“He’s protective.”

“He’s obsessive.”

Anika scratched behind the dog’s ears automatically. “You’re dramatic,” she murmured.

Ares’ attention never left the woods.

Across the yard, Maksim emerged from the operations building already speaking into a radio. His posture had gone sharper overnight—less relaxed around the shoulders, more visibly tactical.

He noticed the dogs immediately.

Of course he did.

His gaze moved from Ghost pacing the perimeter fence to Nyx standing rigid near Anika.

Then to Ares.

“Anything?” Anika asked as he approached.

“Motion sensors triggered twice overnight,” he replied calmly. “Nothing visual.”

Lizzy folded her arms. “That’s comforting.”

“Raccoons are common,” Maksim said.

“Your face says otherwise.”

His eyes flicked toward her briefly.

“My face says the dogs are reacting before the system is.”

Silence settled.

Because that mattered.

Protection dogs missed very little.

Nikolai appeared moments later, black jacket hanging open, coffee untouched in one hand.

The second Anika saw him, something inside her loosened automatically.

Safe.

Which was ridiculous considering the man literally ran a criminal empire.

But still.

Safe.

His eyes went first to her.

Then immediately to the dogs surrounding her.

“Ares again,” he observed.

“Apparently I’m popular.”

Nikolai stepped closer.

Ares rumbled instantly.

Low.

Warning.

Every person in the yard froze.

The sound wasn’t aggressive.

But it was possessive.

Nikolai stopped moving.

His gaze lowered to the dog slowly.
Interesting.

Very interesting.

Anika crouched immediately beside Ares, fingers gripping his collar gently.

“Enough,” she said quietly in Italian.

The dog obeyed.

Reluctantly.

Nikolai remained still another second before finally reaching for her carefully.

This time Ares stayed quiet.

But his eyes tracked every movement.

“Okay,” Lizzy muttered. “Now I officially hate this.”

“Dogs mirror stress,” Anika said.

But even she sounded unconvinced now.

Maksim’s attention lingered on the interaction too long.

Thinking.

Calculating.

Dangerous.

Anika stood before the silence could sharpen further. “We still have the Atlanta consultation this afternoon.”

Nikolai’s expression hardened instantly.

“Reschedule it.”

“No.”

“That was not a suggestion.”

“It’s a two-hour meeting,” she countered. “Not a military operation.”

“Everything outside the estate is a risk.”

“And locking me inside the gates isn’t a solution.”

The tension between them tightened immediately.

Not explosive.

Worse.

Controlled.

Lizzy looked between them carefully before stepping in.

“We can adjust the route,” she said. “Daylight only. In and out.”

Nikolai ignored her entirely.

His eyes stayed on Anika.

“You said the dogs feel wrong today.”

“They’re dogs.”

“You do not believe that.”

Anika’s jaw tightened.

Because no.

She didn’t.

That was the problem.

“I am not stopping my life every time something feels off,” she said quietly.

“You may have to.”

The words landed heavier than either of them intended.

Silence stretched.

Then Maksim spoke calmly from beside them.

“I will accompany the route.”

Anika blinked. “That’s unnecessary.”

“It is prudent.”

Lizzy looked deeply conflicted about how much she liked hearing that.

Nikolai’s attention shifted briefly toward Maksim.

Agreement.

Immediate.

Of course.

Anika exhaled sharply. “You two are exhausting.”

“Yes,” Maksim said.

Nikolai didn’t even deny it.

That almost made her smile.

Almost.

The argument dissolved after that into logistics and route adjustments, but tension lingered beneath all of it like a live wire.

By afternoon, the sky had darkened again.

Not storming.

Threatening to.

The drive into Atlanta felt tighter than previous trips.

Less relaxed.

Maksim drove the secondary SUV behind them exactly three car lengths back the entire route.

Lizzy noticed every time she checked the mirror.

“You know,” she muttered, “normal people don’t travel with tactical shadows.”

Anika snorted softly. “You still trying to apply normal to this place?”

“Unfortunately.”

Nyx occupied the backseat beside the medical bags.

Ares rode in the cargo space behind the divider.

Neither dog had settled once.

At a red light near downtown, Nyx suddenly stood.

Hackles lifting.

A low growl vibrated through the vehicle.

Anika’s pulse jumped instantly.

“What?” Lizzy asked sharply.

Nyx stared through the passenger window toward a black SUV half a lane over.

The light turned green.

The vehicle continued straight.

Nyx remained rigid another ten seconds before settling again.

Lizzy slowly exhaled. “I really hate when they do that.”

“Me too.”

Anika checked the mirror automatically.

Maksim’s SUV remained behind them.

Steady.

Close.

Watching.

The consultation itself went smoothly.

Too smoothly.

Paperwork signed. Facility toured. Security protocols discussed.

No incidents.

No threats.

No reason for the pressure sitting between

Anika’s shoulders the entire time.

By the time they exited the building near dusk, the city lights had begun reflecting off wet pavement.

Maksim stood near the vehicles already scanning the street.

His attention snapped toward Lizzy immediately when she emerged.

Not dramatic.

Instinctive.

That somehow felt more intimate.

“You’re staring again,” she said quietly as she approached him.

“Yes.”

Her heartbeat betrayed her immediately.

God.

This man.

“You know,” she muttered, “most people flirt less like they’re assessing sniper angles.”

“I am capable of multitasking.”

That startled a laugh out of her.

Small victory.

His gaze softened briefly at the sound.

Then sharpened again instantly.

“Tired?” he asked.

The question caught her off guard.

“A little.”

“You should sleep more.”

“You should mind your business.”

“You are my business while under my protection.”

The words hit harder than they should have.

Before she could answer, Nyx appeared between them.

Silent.

Deliberate.

The Cane Corso pressed directly against Anika’s side while staring down the street behind them.

Still.

Focused.

Maksim’s posture changed immediately.

Radio in hand.

Scanning.

“What is it?” Anika asked quietly.

“I do not know yet.”

That was somehow worse.

The city noise suddenly felt too loud.

Too close.

Maksim touched the radio once. “Move.”

No panic.

No hesitation.

Just command.

Everyone obeyed instantly.

The ride back to the estate happened in near silence.

No vehicles followed.

No attacks came.

No proof ever appeared that anything had been wrong at all.

But when the estate gates finally opened ahead of them, relief moved through the SUVs like a physical thing.

Home.

Safe.

Protected.

For now.

As Anika stepped from the vehicle, Ares immediately pressed against her again.

Guarding.

Watching the dark tree line beyond the fence.

And somewhere far away, hidden behind patience and planning, Dmitri smiled.

Because fear worked best when it arrived slowly first.