“Because I pay my debts,” Danylo said. “And because you’re going to be working for me.”
“Doing what?”
Instead of answering, he touched the surface of the table. A holographic display rose from the center, projecting the floor plan of the restaurant.
“Nikita and my security team insist the shot came from the roof of the bank building across the street,” Danylo said, enlarging the image. “That would be the standard sniper position.”
“But you saw a red dot on my chest.”
“Yes,” Alena said. “A laser.”
“Professional shooters don’t use visible laser sights,” Danylo said. “Not for a job like that. It gives away position. It’s amateur nonsense. Unless…” He stopped and watched her think.
“Unless they wanted someone to see it,” Alena said quietly.
His eyes sharpened. “Exactly. If they wanted me dead, they would have used optics and I’d be gone. But they used a visible laser.”
“So they wanted you to move,” Alena said, following the logic. “They wanted you to panic. If I’d knocked you forward or if you’d lunged left toward the open floor, you might have moved right into a second shooter’s line of fire.”
Danylo nodded once. “Nikita insists there was only one shooter. My instincts say otherwise. And my instincts have kept me alive for ten years.”
He leaned forward and touched her fingers where they rested on the table. The contact sent a jolt through her.
“You notice what others miss. Right now, I need those eyes.”
“You have an army of armed men,” Alena said, pulling her hand back.
“I have an army of men trained to see targets, not patterns. And right now I don’t know which of them I can trust.” His voice dropped. “Take the glass in that restaurant. It shattered too easily. On paper it was ballistic-rated. It should have spiderwebbed, not blown inward. Someone swapped it out ahead of time.”
A chill ran down her spine. The betrayal had come from close in.
“Tonight I’m attending a meeting,” Danylo said, standing. “The heads of five major families are gathering on neutral ground to discuss the attempt on my life. You’re coming with me.”
“Are you out of your mind? I’m a waitress. I can’t walk into a meeting of crime bosses.”
“You can if you’re my fiancée.”
Alena nearly choked. “I’m sorry—what?”
“It’s the cleanest cover,” he said. “It explains why I keep you close, why a civilian is in the room, and why I’m distracted. You’ll play my latest weakness.” He circled behind her chair and bent close enough that his lips brushed her ear. “If they think you’re just a pretty distraction, they won’t hide their tells from you. You’ll watch them. You’ll tell me who gets nervous. Who looks at Nikita.”
“And if I say no?” she asked.
“Then I can’t guarantee your mother’s safety,” Danylo said calmly. “That isn’t a threat. It’s reality. My enemies will use you to get to me. The safest place for you right now is beside me.”
Alena closed her eyes. It was a gilded trap, but a trap all the same.
“Fine,” she said. “I’ll do it. But if I die at this little meeting, I’m coming back to haunt you.”
Danylo gave a low, amused laugh.
The meeting was held in an upscale underground art gallery in Podil called “Void.” It was neutral territory, technically owned by foreign investors and considered off-limits for open warfare. That evening, Alena was no longer in a bloodstained waitress uniform. She wore an emerald silk dress that fit her like it had been made for her, with a high slit up one leg. Diamond earrings glittered at her ears, worth more than her old car. Her hair was pinned up, exposing the elegant line of her neck.
But under all that polish, she still felt like bait.
