Yuri isn’t even hiding it. He knows everyone in our world will see those ads and know what they mean. He’s declaring war against his own niece.
I lean back in my chair, processing the implications. The Ghost doesn’t take contracts lightly. He’s expensive, efficient, and has a success rate that borders on mythical. If he’s accepted the job, Sofia’s life expectancy just dropped significantly.
“How much time do we have?” I ask.
“Hard to say. The Ghost works on his own timeline. Could be days, could be weeks. He’ll watch her, learn her patterns, wait for the perfect moment.”
“Which means we have a window.”
Kirill nods. “A small one.”
“What’s the price tag?”
“Two million. Yuri’s serious.”
Two million dollars to kill a twenty-one-year-old woman. The amount tells me two things: Yuri is desperate, and he has significant backing. That kind of money doesn’t come from personal savings. It comes from Moscow.
Or maybe her own father. I haven’t quite figured that out. I can’t tell if he’s actively trying to remove his daughter or if he’s simply testing her.
“How’s Anton?” I ask, shifting gears.
“Awake. Pissed. Already trying to check himself out against medical advice. His leg’s broken in two places, but he’s convinced he needs to get back to her.”
“He can’t protect her like that.”
“I know that. You know that. Try telling him that.” Kirill crosses his arms. “He’s a good soldier. Loyal. The kind of man you want in your corner.”
“Which is why he’s still breathing. Any other man who let her get that close to danger would already be in the river.”
“You’re going soft.”
I give him a look that makes him grin. Soft is what men call it when they notice you’ve started making exceptions.
“The proposal is still on the table. She’ll make me drag her to the right conclusion, but she’ll get there. She’s too smart not to.”
“You’re going to tell her about your talk with her dad?”
I shrug. “Only if it benefits me.”
Kirill studies me. Trying to read me. He wants to understand my angle. He’s too smart not to see the truth, but he’s also loyal enough not to say it out loud.
“You know there’s an argument for letting this play out without any interference,” he says.
“Is there.”
“Yuri eliminates Sofia. He takes over the Baranov operation. We let him consolidate power for six months, maybe a year. Then we move in when he’s vulnerable—and he will be. There is bound to be a war. Always is. We angle the war away from us and then absorb the entire operation. Then we don’t have to negotiate with anyone. Clean sweep.”
I don’t respond immediately. If I let things just continue, that ends up with Sofia being killed. Not because she’s not smart, but because Yuri has years of experience and ruthlessness on her. It’s an unfair fight. I can think through almost anything. Not that. Not Sofia dead.
“Not yet,” I say finally.
He can have a war, if that’s what he’s angling for. He doesn’t get her. And he doesn’t get to use his experience and cunning against her alone.
“Not yet what?”
“I’m meeting with Yuri today. I want to see what I’m dealing with. What he’s planning. How confident he is.”
“You think he’ll tell you anything that lets you figure that out?”