Page 61 of Broken Embers

OLEKSI

I’ve never bolted out of bed so fast in my fucking life.

One second I’m dead asleep, curled around Sabrina’s warm body, and the next—cold sheets. Empty space. And that creeping sense of dread crawling up my spine.

She’s gone.

Panic ignites in my chest, sharp and immediate. I throw off the covers and lunge for the door, heart thudding. For a few seconds, I’m convinced she’s been taken. Again. That they slipped past all our security, past my team, past me.

But then I hear it—low voices, murmuring down the hall. I follow the sound like a bloodhound. At the end of the corridor, where the staircase branches off in two directions, there’s a soft glow coming from the upstairs landing sitting area.

I stop just shy of the corner, lean in silently.

They’re huddled around the gas fireplace. Sabrina. Carla. Timofey. And from the angle of their postures, from the urgency in their voices, I know exactly what they’re doing.

They’re making a plan.

A plan without me.

Something hot and irrational burns in my chest.

Fear. Relief. And yeah, I’ll fucking admit it—pettiness.

When the hell did I become so fucking petty?

I draw a sharp breath, shove the emotion back where it belongs. It’s not about being left out. It’s the way I woke up to an empty bed. It’s the fire that lit in my chest thinking she’d been taken from me. Again.

I push away from the wall and step into the room.

“So what’s this plan we’re all not going to like?” I ask, my voice flat but loud enough to make all their heads snap toward me.

Sabrina straightens immediately. She looks surprised—guilty, even. Good.

I shoot a glance at Sabrina. She doesn’t flinch. She fucking knows.

Timofey looks at me. “We need Ergorov to admit what he’s done. To his wife. To Mariya. And…” His eyes flicker to Sabrina. “To my granddaughter.”

“You mean use them as bait,” I say, jaw clenching. “Not a fucking chance.”

“Yes,” he says. “Our trap. We make the hunters become the hunted.”

“And how the hell do you plan to do that?” Sabrina asks, before I can.

“By offering Yelena a bargaining chip,” Timofey says. “My oldest daughter is obsessed with finishing the perfect version of the formula. The one for gene enhancement. She wants it more than anything.”

“She wants to make the perfect human,” Carla adds darkly.

“Crazy bitch,” Sabrina mutters.

“And you’re thinking of telling her about Sabrina? Because in Yelena’s twisted mind, Sabrina is everything she’s dreamed of being.” My voice drops to a dangerous pitch. “You’re out of your fucking minds.”

“It’s the only way to ensure Yelena takes the bait,” Timofey says. “She’ll do anything to have Carla, Sabrina, and a child of yours and Sabrina’s—a prodigy. That is what will make her bite.”

Sabrina sucks in a sharp breath. “How did you know I’m pregnant?”

Timofey looks stunned. “Wait… You are really pregnant?”

Silence falls.

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