Page 138 of The Enforcer’s Pawn

For one second, everything inside me goes cold. At the man behind the message. At the fact that he is there, watching, and still finding ways to reach into my life.

Then I sit straighter.

No. Not this time.

Maksim moves closer to Yuri’s chair. “He’ll need proof that Cara is personally involved.”

Every eye turns toward me.

Dmitri stands across the table. His hands rest flat against the wood, and his head drops for one brief count while every screen keeps moving around him. When he lifts his face, no one in the annex looks straight at him.

Elena crosses the annex and takes my hand. Her fingers close around mine, and when I look at her, she doesn’t give me pity. She gives me steadiness. She knows what it costs to stand near danger while a child waits for adults to keep their promises.

“Patrick will test the message,” I say before Dmitri can stop me. “He’ll try to confirm I’m behind it. Then he’ll try to control what happens next.”

Yuri turns in his chair. “I can send another line.”

“No,” I say, shaking my head. “Not yet. You built the channel. Kathryn supplied the right words. Now we wait for Patrick to ask for something only I would know.”

Abramov folds his arms. “What kind of thing?”

“A phrase, a call, a time, a place,” I say, looking at the screen. “Something that proves I’m really the one making the mistake.”

Dima looks at Dmitri. “That sounds like he pulls her out.”

Dmitri’s voice cuts through the annex. “Enough.”

Maksim lifts one hand, palm out, and stops him before he can move. “No one is moving her until Patrick shows us what he wants.”

Yuri studies the fake contact path. “If he arranges a meeting, he’ll use a place or channel he controls.” He says it before I can.

I touch the table edge because my hands need something to do. “Yes. He’ll ask for control.”

Dmitri turns his head toward me.

“He’ll want proof that I’m really behind the message,” I say. “Then he’ll try to move me somewhere safer for him.”

Maksim crosses half the room, then stops in front of me. “Somewhere with people, phones, and records he can manage.”

Abramov looks over. “A controlled site.”

“Maybe,” Maksim says, his eyes on me.

Yuri types fast and pulls up a list of places. “If he wants a controlled place, Vostok Meridian fits. Empty admin rooms, service doors, and paperwork that makes deliveries look normal.”

Abramov points at the screen. “Oak and Tron have men near that site. If Patrick chooses anything close to Vostok, Morozov will know.”

Dima looks from Abramov to Dmitri. “Then Patrick can show Morozov he still has control without showing himself.”

Abramov rubs his stubble. “So Patrick gets cameras, guards, and exits he doesn’t have to bring himself.”

“He’s inviting trouble,” Kirill says, chin propped on his knuckles.

To everyone in this room, Patrick’s stupidity has become tedious. He’s arrogant, desperate, and dangerous when he thinks he can win, and I hope this time, he doesn’t turn the gun on himself before we reach him.

Dmitri steps toward me. His coat pulls tight across his shoulders, and he stops before he gets too close.

“You’re not going anywhere because Patrick sends a message,” he says.