Page 29 of The Enemy Protector
I meet his gaze and say nothing.
Maybe he deserves an answer. He’s been loyal to me for over a decade. He’s earned the right to question some of my decisions. He knows the consequence if he pushes too far. But I’m not ready to give him this truth. Not yet. Maybe not ever.
“For now, just keep our security on her,” I say instead. “I still want eyes on her twenty-four hours. I want to know if a fucking pigeon lands too close to her. Understand?”
“That’s a lot of resources for someone who’s technically our competition.”
She taught herself to fight after everyone who was supposed to protect her failed her. The least I can do is make sure she doesn't have to fight alone. So no, I don't care what it costs. I land a look on Kirill.
Kirill gets the message. He raises his hands in surrender. “Just making sure you’ve thought this through.”
I have. I’ve thought about nothing else. I’ve run every scenario, every outcome, every possible move and countermove. And they all lead to the same conclusion.
Sofia spent years making herself harder to kill. She deserves to survive long enough to find out it worked. I'm going to make sure of that.
The obvious solutions aren’t enough. More guards. More eyes. More men in the shadows. Today proved that. One second slower and she would be dead on the pavement.
There are only a handful of ways to make someone untouchable in this city. None of them are clean.
My jaw tightens. I don’t let my mind go further than that.
“Set up a meeting with Yuri,” I say. “He wanted to talk. Let’s talk.”
“You’re going to accept his offer?”
“I’m going to make him think I’m considering it. I need data. His timeline. His resources. Who else he’s recruiting. He’s working all of us. I’m not foolish enough to believe he only came to me.”
“You think they’ll bite?”
I give him a dry look. “Depends on what he’s offering. Money. Control. We’re all hard-wired to want those things. We’ll all do whatever it takes to get more of both. Even if that means getting friendly with a snake.”
“What if that snake bites her where we can’t stop it? We’re not in that house. Today is a reminder we’re not really her protection detail. We’re observers.”
“If that snake gets close enough to mark her, I’ll teach him what it costs to touch what’s mine.”
The words hang in the air between us. Kirill’s expression doesn’t change, but I see the understanding dawn in his eyes.
“She doesn’t even know you,” he says softly.
“I know.”
“She has no idea you’ve been watching her.”
“I know that too.”
“So what’s the endgame here? Because sooner or later, watching stops being enough, and then you’re going to have to?—”
“I know,” I snap. “I know all of it. I don’t need you to tell me what I already know.”
Kirill falls silent. He’s pushed as far as he dares, and he’s smart enough to know when to stop.
She has no idea I’m out here. No idea I’ve been watching over her for years. No idea that I made a promise to her mother eight years ago and kept it every day since.
She doesn’t know me. Not the real me. She knows the ruthless pakhan. Her rival. Her enemy.
But I know her. I know she takes her coffee with cream, chocolate if the cafe has it, and no sugar. I know she runs the same route every Tuesday and Thursday. I know she only pretends to be listening to music because it’s an invisible shield to keep strangers from talking to her. I know she keeps that lethal lipstick between her cleavage in that tight little sports bra because she’s afraid to be without it. She wants to look and feel normal, but she’ll never be the casual woman she pretends to be.
My girl is brave and stubborn and completely unprepared for what’s coming.
