Page 320 of Eternal
Ican’t. So I nod. “Yeah. I’m helping her.”
And I mean it, no matter the consequences.
“We’re working the same case,” Niko says. “It’s big. The organization runs deep.”
I think of her, of how Azra traced the trail, name by name, thread by thread, all the way to The Veil.
She’s not far now, I watch her, and I wonder…
How did she know? How did she understand what no one else saw?
For how long has she been working on that case?
“I'm going to join my partner now,” I say eventually, stepping back. “Good seeing you both.”
I leave them behind, stand straight and grab another glass.
I walk toward Alexander, and he sees me coming, barely lifting his chin, that’s when he starts walking toward the outside court.
I follow him slowly until I stop beside him. “Beautiful dinner, isn’t it?” I say, voice low, eyes locked on him as I take a slow sip. “It’d be a hell of a lot better if you stopped circling around my partner.”
Alexander smirks, flicking ash from his cigarette like it’s all a joke. “We don’t get to choose who we’re drawn to,” he says, voice smooth but with that razor edge. “And trust me, I know her better than you ever will.”
A dry chuckle slips out. “You really think you do, don’t you? That’sadorable.”
He leans in just slightly, “You know how she likes her kills to look like? Dried tears on their cheeks, mouths open… if they still have their tongues, and tiny bullets scattered around their bodies. At first, I thought she’d lost it. But The Boss told Nikolai it’s her signature. Her...art.”
My lips curl, cold. “Knowing how she kills doesn’t mean you know her, Alexander. She’s not just a killer. She’s my partner. And I don’t tolerate idiots like you trying to paint her as insane.”
He flicks his cigarette aside, eyes glinting. “I did my homework, on you, onViper. Pretty interesting, huh? Found a protection contract, just in case we ran into you. In the bratva... or even in our own offices.” His smile sharpens, almost mocking. “You’re classified top secret. The government’s been covering your ass for years.”
“They told you to arrest her, didn’t they?”
He smirks, leaning back like he’s got the world figured out.
“A corrupt agent?” I say again.
He shrugs, eyes cold but calculating. “Yeah, the FBI’s been dangling a fat promotion for whoever nailsVoron. You know… that case that’s gone cold for years.” His grin turns sly. “I figured, why not play along? Keep the bratva happy, feed them just enough… while I line my pockets. That way, I’m covered on all sides.”
I let that sink in. A man who’s so deep in the game he’s fooling even his own people.
“And you think you’re smart enough to pull that off?”
He shrugs again, like it’s nothing. “Better to play the long game. The bratva trusts me. The bureau thinks I’m chasing the bad guy. Meanwhile, I get to watch the whole board from up here.”
He keeps walking around the courtyard, edging closer to the trees by the Lebanese compound. The light’s fading, and the air feels heavy.
He stops and looks me straight in the eye. “I got a deal for you,Viper. Or do you prefer Damir?”
My fists tighten. “What kind of deal?”
He steps into the shadows near the trees, half his face swallowed by dark. A dry, sarcastic laugh escapes. “A partnership. We work together. I help you take her down… or make sure she slips up and gets caught. Everyone would think it’s a mistake, a slip-up. Even the Zennites. And when she gets caught, they’ll arrest her. They’d probably kill her, and that’s the end of it. Isn’t that what you want?”
End her?Never.
No.
I want her alive. I want her laughing; really laughing with me. I want to teach her whathomefeels like, keep her close, keep hersafe.
