Page 89 of Then We Shatter

“And Oscar-Golf-Romeo-Eight-One is insisting you to update them before you…” Niko clears his throat. “Make up for lost time.”

“Someone’s calling themselves Oh Great One?” Katarina rolls her eyes. “No need to explain who.” Only Mace Griffin would take the opportunity to massage his ego in the middle of a fraught rescue mission.

“Do you need me to do anything else?” Niko asks. “I could make you some food.”

I use my towel to dry Katarina’s hair and she moans softly. There isn’t time to give her the attention she deserves, but to hell with it. We’ve held back long enough and the Griffins can wait.

“I just need you to leave,” I tell our helpful fisherman.

Niko has a dinghy ready to take him to his uncle’s boat, which is anchored close by. Once he’s in, I untie the rope.

“Thanks for all your help,” I say, waving him off. “And I’ll get the boat back to you in one piece, I promise.”

“Good luck, Rick. And…” Niko waits until he’s some distance away before he adds, “I understand now why you would die for her.”

“Rick?” Katarina asks. “Is that his pet name for you?”

“It’s my new identity. I needed a less Irish name, but it’s a nod to my roots,” I say as I run my fingers through my short hair.

Katarina’s eyes sparkle in the pink tinge of dawn. “Rick, as in Patrick?” she asks, emphasizing the second syllable. “You named yourself after your wig?”

“In memoriam,” I clarify, snaking my arms around her and following the ridges of her spine to the top of her zipper. “Sadly, Patrick was a casualty from your birthday party. Some idiot threw the wig away as part of the clean-up.” I pull on her zipper.

“What are you doing?”

“Making up for lost time. There’s a bunk down in the cabin and we’re used to enclosed spaces.”

Katarina presses a hand to my chest. “As much as it pains me to agree with Mace, you need to let everyone know we’re alive. Sasha needs to know.”

“Sasha already knows you made it out of the ocean,” I try. I’ve been avoiding this particular confession.

Katarina arches an eyebrow. “How? You haven’t contacted her. You said you couldn’t.”

“Yeah, but…” I shift from one foot to the other. “There was a tracker in your egg vibrator.”

“That’s why Sasha gave me back your gifts. She planted one in case we got separated again,” she says, pleased she’s found an answer to another question. Until she sees me wince. “What?”

“The tracker was already in it,” I say quickly.

Katarina’s eyes flare along with her temper. “You were going to track me down when I went into hiding.”

“I was keeping our options open, Kitty. That’s all.”

She growls under her breath. “I’ve only just got you back and I already want to kill you.”

I wink at her. “No, you don’t.”

“No, I don’t,” she admits reluctantly, “but I’m definitely not going to let you fuck me now. Not yet. We don’t have time.”

She’s right. She’s always right.

Inside the wheelhouse, there’s a VHS radio and Niko’s sonar equipment, but I’ve brought along my own kit, including a laptop to send encrypted messages. I contact the Griffins first, if only because the message is a brief one. We’re preparing for the next stage of the plan.

Katarina takes over when we make contact with Sasha. Her sestra’s spent the night on active duty for the Bratva, using drones and scanners to search for Vasili’s missing niece and the unidentified invader. She’s also attempting to trace the movements of all known enemies including the McConkeys and the Griffins. Or at least that’s what Vasili and Grigor think she’s been doing.

Grigor is leading the search at first light. Vasili plans to head back to Siberia, but he has a breakfast meeting with Eric first. They all want to kill each other.

“Not if I get to them first,” I say, reading Sasha’s message over Katarina’s shoulder as she types out her reply.