Page 158 of Mission Shift

I blinked in surprise. I hadn’t expected him to speak about Anastasia with genuine affection. It caught me off guard—and now, more than ever, I wanted to meet her.

Nikolai stood, brushing invisible dust from his jacket. “It’s been good to stop by and introduce you to Mrs. Thorin, but if we’re done here, I need to get these two on their way to Tacoma. They’ve got a wedding to attend.”

Luca didn’t move. He steepled his fingers and leveled a look at Nikolai. “Sit.”

The shift in the room was instant.

Nikolai froze, then slowly lowered himself back into his chair. I didn’t move, not even to breathe. Luca’s eyes hadn’t even flicked toward me or Braxton. This was bad.

“I’ve got an issue,” Luca finally said in a low rumble, “butyouhave a very big problem.”

Braxton’s muscles went rigid. I turned my head toward Nikolai. His brows had drawn together, and his jaw was tight. Whatever came next was going to change the game.

Luca tapped his fingers against each other, drawing the moment out like he enjoyed the tension.

“Two days ago,” he said, “Viktor and Valentina escaped from my home.”

Braxton sucked in a sharp breath. My pulse kicked up. My eyes flicked to Nikolai, then back to Luca.

“They managed to manipulate one of my household staff,” Luca continued. “Your father’s a devious bastard. Talked her into giving him a Glock.”

“What the fuck?” Nikolai hissed.

“He shot her in the head,” Luca said, his tone not wavering. “If he hadn’t, I would’ve. Traitors are like cancer. You cut ’em out fast.”

He let the silence hang in the air.

“When my men caught up to them, there was a shoot-out.”

Luca’s words landed like a punch to the ribs.

“Viktor’s dead.”

My vision tunneled. All this time, I’d believed Nikolai had killed them both at that bloodbath in June. That had been the story.

The look on Nikolai’s face told me everything I needed to know. He didn’t deny it. He didn’t even flinch. Which meant he’d known. And if Nikolai knew, then Braxton had to have known too.

My stomach dropped. Another secret. Another lie. They hadn’t trusted me enough to tell me the truth. They’d decided—again—that I didn’t need to know. That I couldn’t be trusted with it. My hands curled into fists in my lap as fury rose, hot and twisting behind my ribs. I’d risked everything to get Braxton out of Russia, put my life in Nikolai’s hands—and still, they’d chosensilence. What else were they keeping from me? Where did that leave Nikolai with the Volkovi Notchi?

I wanted answers, wanted to scream—but I held it all in. Luca was still playing his hand.

Nikolai leaned forward and said in a voice low and lethal, “Where the fuck is my mother?”

Luca let out a humorless chuckle. “Well, now, that is the question, isn’t it?”

He swiveled in his chair slightly, his eyes glinting with amusement.

“She’s slippery,” he said. “We have footage of her boarding a cargo freighter hours later. Destination: Russia. Registered to none other than one of Alexey Melnichenko’s shipping fronts.”

My jaw unhinged slightly.

Braxton shot to his feet, bracing his fists on the edge of Luca’s desk. “How the hell is your home security that weak? You let her walk out? What the fuck are you doing about it?”

Luca’s eyes narrowed. “You think I’ve got an F-35 parked up my ass to shoot down ships in international waters?” His voice took on a razor’s edge. “Watch your tone, boy, or Dasha here will be a widow before she even leaves this room.”

Braxton stiffened. I shot him a look, and so did Nikolai.

“Sit,” Nikolai ordered Braxton.

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