“For evidence,” Konstantin says quietly.
He looks at me like I’ve just cracked the world open. Like the ground shifted under all of us.
“This is it,” he says. “This is what we’ve been missing.”
He’s on his feet in an instant. “We move tonight. If we wait, Markov gets there first and wipes it clean.”
The brothers are already moving—Roman grabbing his phone, Lev issuing low orders, Dimitri checking weapons. Konstantin is already moving when I speak.
“I’m coming.”
The room stills—just for a beat. Then Konstantin turns, sharp and immediate. “No.”
I step closer. “I know that district better than anyone here. I grew up memorizing my father’s routes. His habits. The places he trusted when he didn’t trust people.”
“No,” he says again, harder this time. Final.
I feel it spark in my chest. “You’re not listening.”
“I am listening,” he snaps. “And I’m telling you you’re not stepping into an active kill zone.”
Roman pretends to be very interested in his phone. Lev stares at the map like it might save him from this argument. Dimitri doesn’t look away from either of us.
“This isn’t just a kill zone,” I say. “It’s a memory. It’s a map. I can see what you can’t.”
Konstantin’s jaw locks. “You are not bait. You are not leverage. You are not—”
“I’m not fragile,” I cut in.
He steps into my space, voice low, lethal. “You are everything they want.”
The words land. Heavy. True.
I don’t raise my voice. I don’t argue again.
I just lean in and whisper, so only he can hear me.
“He killed my father. I won’t hide while you finish what he started.”
Something breaks in his eyes.
Not loudly. Not dramatically. Just a fracture—clean and deep.
For a moment, I think he’s going to say no again. That he’ll choose fear over trust. Control over me.
Then he exhales.
One sharp breath. One surrender.
“Fine,” he says. “But you never leave my sight. Not one step. Not one second.”
I nod immediately. “I swear.”
His hand comes to my neck, thumb pressing into my pulse like he needs proof I’m real. Alive. Here.
“This isn’t bravery,” he murmurs. “This is war.”
I meet his gaze, steady. “Then stop fighting it without me.”