Page 87 of Mission Shift

He laid his phone on the desk and regarded me intently. “The engagement party.”

“What about it?”

“My men can get inside, blend with the staff, and extract Daria before anyone knows what’s happening.”

His men. Not us?

I pushed off the table, stepping closer. “Hold on.Yourmen? What the hell do you mean byyourmen?”

Nik gave me a patient look, like he’d already been bracing himself for my reaction. “I mean exactly what it sounds like. My people go in. You and I stay out of it.”

“The fuck we do!” I shot back. “I’m not sitting on the goddamn sidelines while strangers pull Daria out.”

Nik sighed, rubbing his temple. “I’m too recognizable. And let’s not pretend you have the language skills or the background to blend in at an event like this. These aren’t street thugs—this is a high-society gala full of diplomats, arms dealers, intelligenceofficers, and men who can spot an outsider in seconds. You’d get made before you got past the first glass of champagne.”

I gritted my teeth. He wasn’t wrong. But that didn’t mean I was about to let someone else take the lead on this.

“What if I had a cover?”

Nik arched a brow. “What kind of cover?”

I racked my brain. An idea hit me like a bullet. “Some billionaire crypto king from America. The kind of arrogant asshole who throws money around like confetti and doesn’t ask questions. I get invited as a guest of some Russian socialite, blend in, and no one looks twice at me.”

Nik stared at me, then rubbed his jaw. I could practically hear the gears turning in his head.

“It’s risky,” he muttered. “You’d need to prepare. Hard. No improvising, no cowboy heroics. You’d have to do exactly what I say. No shooting from the hip. I’ll fit you with an earpiece, and if I get even the slightest whiff of this going sideways, I’ll pull you out.”

I held his gaze. “It will be fine.”

His unease was clear. He didn’t like this. Not one damn bit.

“I pay people to risk their lives for me, Thorin. Neither one of us needs to be on-site. Besides, I promised Anastasia I’d keep you safe.”

I huffed a short laugh. “Yeah? You broke that promise a long time ago.”

Nik smirked, shaking his head. “Fair point. But if you fuck this up, Iwillbe the one to kill you.”

I grunted, the fire of possibilities already burning in my gut. “Then I guess I’d better not fuck it up.”

I straightened, and my breathing slowed, my rage shifting into something more controlled.

“We have ten days to figure out how to burn that fucking island to the ground,” I growled.

Nik studied me for a long moment. Since I’d lost Daria, he had tested my resolve, questioned my motives, and made it clear he didn’t understand why she meant so much to me, didn’t understand why I was willing to risk everything to save her. But now?

Now he understood.

I’d die for her.

I didn’t know what had pushed him to go all in. Maybe it was the leverage I had over him—my knowledge of his parents’ whereabouts. It might have been his promise to Anastasia to keep me safe. Or perhaps he’d come to see Daria for who she really was. Maybe it was all of it. Maybe none of it. But whatever the reason, I was damn grateful for his help.

The man was working tirelessly, dropping loads of cash and burning through favors like they were nothing. And the irony wasn’t lost on me that Daria’s unlikely guardian angel was a sworn enemy of her family. She would never see that coming.

Hopefully, once we got her out, she’d give me the chance to explain. And maybe she’d give Nik the chance to prove that he was nothing like the men who had shaped his life. Because, despite what the world saw—despite the dark legacy of his last name—Nik Volkov was his own man. And I respected the hell out of him.

Nik stood and rolled his neck. “I need a fucking break. Don’t go anywhere.” With that, he headed out the front door.

For the first time in days, I was alone. I needed a shower and a good night’s sleep. I finally had direction—no more having to second-guess every step. We knew where Daria was. Now, it was just a matter of ironing out the details of our rescue.

---