“I’m heading out to a war. I need a good luck charm. My charm is your underwear, so hand them over, Vedma. I’m on a clock here.”
“My panties are not a good luck charm.”
“They are starting today. It’s a new Romanov tradition. Hand them over right now.”
“You have loaded guns strapped to your body. You’re wearing thick Kevlar plates. Why do you need my underwear to survive?”
“The vest stops the bullets. Your panties stop the bad luck.” He snaps his fingers impatiently. “This is not up for negotiation.”
“That makes zero sense.”
“It makes perfect sense. Now stop stalling.” I reach under the hem of his t-shirt, hook my thumbs in the waistband of my panties, then slide them down my legs. I step out of the fabric, dangle them from one finger for a moment just to make him wait, then drop them into his waiting palm. He takes them from me with a satisfied smirk.
He brings the silk to his face and inhales deeply, his eyes rolling back like he’s getting high off my scent. When they open again, something feral and unhinged burns there. “If my men weren’t watching, I’d tie these over my face like a fucking mask and go kill people while breathing in your pussy.”
“Jesus Christ, Alexei, we need to book you for a psychiatric evaluation when you get back, it’s not normal to talk like that.”
“I’m dead serious. I’d suffocate myself in this before I let a bullet take me down.” He tucks the fabric deep into his vest pocket right over his heart, then pats the heavy material twice. “Right here, exactly where they belong.”
Grabbing the back of my neck, Alexei pulls me into a hard kiss. His armored chest crushes against me while the cold metal of his weapons presses into my skin, but I kiss him back with everything I have left.
He pulls back to rest his forehead against mine, his breathing jagged. “I love you, Vedma.”
My throat tightens with emotion as I grab his tactical vest with both fists. “I love you too. Now go kill them and come home.”
He offers a rare smile before turning to walk out. The heavy steel door seals shut with a loud thud that vibrates deep in my bones.
Chapter 46
Alexei
"East perimeter clear."
Bohdan’s voice crackles through my earpiece - sharp and distorted by static. Crouching twenty meters from the main house, I move through the deep shadows with Marko flanking my left and Pavel covering our rear. Harsh floodlights wash the compound in blinding white. Every single window glows against the dark sky, illuminating the armed guards posted at all three entry points. Forty men wait inside those walls.
"Snipers in position," another voice reports over the comms. "We have two targets standing on the north balcony. One pacing by the kitchen door."
"Take them," I order.
Three suppressed shots echo as soft pops in the distance, and the bodies drop heavy to the grass.
"Clear."
Reaching the south wall, I press my back flat against the cold stone. The primary war room sits on the main floor of the west wing, accessed directly through the library. Dato is in there right now with his inner circle. They're spreading maps across the table - distributing fresh magazines to plan their own assault for tonight.
They should've moved faster.
"Breaching in thirty seconds," I whisper into the mic. "Four teams. Simultaneous entry - north, south, east, and kitchen. The war room is mine. Do you hear me? Nobody touches Dato. He belongs to me."
Low confirmations crackle back.
Drawing my gun, I check the chamber to ensure a round is loaded. Two extra magazines rest inside my tactical vest. A sharp knife stays strapped to my thigh, while Zoya’s panties remain tucked securely over my heart. That's all I need.
"Twenty seconds."
Bohdan steps forward to plant the shaped breaching charge on the heavy library door. Marko readies his rifle as Pavel circles tight to the nearest window.
"Ten seconds."