Page 182 of Sexting the Boss

“But Lev never let go,” she continues. “Not really. And Roman?—”

She pauses, looking suddenly weary.

“Roman’s working with him. I can’t prove it yet. But I’ve seen enough to know. The meetings. The encrypted traffic. The missing personnel reports from your security teams. He’s been feeding Lev intel for months.”

My blood turns to ice.

Roman.

Roman, who’s been by my side for over a decade. Roman, who stood beside me when my father died. Roman, who knew every inch of my operation.

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Roman would never?—”

“He would,” Nina says gently. “Because Lev promised him something you never could. Power. Control. Maybe even a seat at the top.”

I feel the floor shifting beneath me.

“And Sasha?” I ask.

Ryan looks sick. “If she’s in Lev’s hands, she doesn’t have much time.”

Everything in me goes cold.

And then hot.

Because if Roman has betrayed me?—

Then I’ve walked Sasha right into the fire.

31

SASHA

I stumbleover a root as they push me deeper into the woods. My breath puffs out in quick bursts. Roman walks behind me with the gun, silent. Lev leads, a step ahead, like we’re on a fucking nature walk and not…this.

Kidnapped. Taken.

I’m too stunned to scream. Too scared for it to help.

I wrap my arms around myself, half to protect the bump I know isn’t showing yet and half because I’m shaking too hard to do anything else.

We stop near an old utility shed, almost swallowed by moss and trees. It looks like no one’s touched it in years.

“Get inside,” Lev says casually, like he’s inviting me into a summer rental. “We’ll talk somewhere private.”

I hesitate. Roman nudges me forward with the barrel of the gun.

Inside, it’s dark, musty, but not falling apart. There’s a cot in the corner. A lantern. Bottled water. A chair.

Which one of those is for me? I don’t want to find out.

Lev closes the door behind him, and Roman posts up just outside like some kind of loyal bouncer. Funny. Loyalty seems to be a flexible concept out here.

I turn toward Lev. “Why are you doing this?”

He lifts a brow. “You already know why.”

“Humor me.”

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