Page 87 of Stolen Empire

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This is wrong.

This is all wrong.

But if I refuse, he'll kill me.

Or worse, he'll know I'm working for Dimitri.

And then he kills me and probably Dimitri too.

I press the bill to my nostril and lean down.

The powder burns as I inhale sharply, making my nose water right away.

My eyes well up and I pull back, gasping, my head spinning.

"Again," Daniil says.

I do the second line.

Then the third.

By the time I finish, my face is numb, my heart racing faster than it was seconds ago.

I set the mirror down, my hands shaking uncontrollably now.

Daniil claps slowly, a mocking sound that cuts through the ringing in my ears.

"Well done. You passed."

I wipe my nose with the back of my hand, trying to steady my breathing.

The world is tilting.

The lights are too bright.

Everything feels sharp and wrong.

"Now we talk business," Daniil says, pocketing the gun.

"You're going to deliver a message for me. To Dimitri Vetrov."

I blink, trying to focus.

"What? Why him?"

My brain isn't functioning well. I'm hyper aware of everything—the colors in the room, how bright the light is, the touch of my clothing on my skin.

"Yes, Vetrov… Is that a problem?" he asks, and he collects his mirror and his baggie now.

"N–No… What’s the message?"

"You're going to tell him his time is up. That we're coming for revenge. That he can run, but it will not save him."

Daniil leans forward, his eyes cold.

"You deliver that message, and we pay you forty million rubles. You do it right, and we have more work for you. Better work. Work that pays even more."

My head 's spinning.

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