Predatory

SASHA POV

Well, fuck.

The moment our lips touch, Drake’s body temperature spikes. All his hesitation and fear transforms to confidence and joy instantaneously. His arms wrap around my waist, and I have to admit, he’s one of the better kissers I’ve met in the field.

There’s no question what he thinks we are, what he thinks I am to him—and no question that I’ll have to break his heart.

Don’t think about that now. He can’t suspect that anything’s amiss. The mission’s not over yet.

Nearby, a man clears his throat, startling Drake and I apart. None other than Anselm himself is lurking in the shadows under the overpass, flanked by two fae assistants. Has he been here the whole time? Doubtful. I would have smelled him, sensed him. The fae must have brought him here directly, through one of their tricks.

“What do we have here, Sukoshku?” Anselm demands in gruff Russian. Thank Bast he opted not to speak English. Maybe I can play this off to Drake that he’s one of Talia’s mafia buddies and then salvage the mission. If it can be salvaged at this point.

“That’s the guy I was telling you about!” Drake whispers. “Do you know him or something?” I smile tightly and gesture for him to step back. I wish I had a way to send him somewhere else.

“Just doing my job, Commander,” I answer, also in Russian and unnaturally calm. Drake’s eyes dart between us wildly. I doubt this is how he wanted this evening to go, given what we’ve learned tonight. “You authorized use of any means necessary, as I recall. With all due respect, what brings you into the field? I have the situation under control.”

“I thought I’d look into this case myself, while you were occupied in Montana.”

“And? Have you found anything we missed, Commander?”

“No. But that doesn’t mean there’s nothing to find. Or that they’re innocent. Clearly you’ve gotten to know at least this one. Why haven’t you executed them yet?”

“Insufficient evidence, Commander. Nothing new came up through our surveillance while we were away.”

“Nikki, what the fuck is going on?!” Drake whispers. I wish there was a way for me to tell him to bail without Anselm knowing. He’s shifting from foot to foot, like he’s debating whether to get between me and Anselm or not. Don’t do that. It’s a horrible idea.

“Relax. I’ve got this,” I mutter in English without moving my lips.

Anselm chuckles menacingly. “How adorable. He has no idea, does he?” I don’t know why he’s doing this, but I’m glad he’s choosing to keep using Russian.

“Why would he? You yourself have said that I’m the best of the best at what I do. Why would you take a risk like this and jeopardize my cover, Commander?” Behind my back, I press a button on the side of my fake fitness tracker, sending Rika and Zoe an emergency alert. I don’t want to keep this up without them any longer than I have to.

“It felt like something was off in your reports, like there was something you weren’t telling me about this mission. And there was.” He gestures to Drake and me. “You’ve gone soft.”

“You are mistaken.”

“Then execute him. Now.”

“What is he saying? What’s his problem?” Drake demands. I just shake my head at him. Please, if you value your life, get the fuck out of here.

“I do not perform executions without sufficient evidence that the law has been violated, Commander. I’m afraid I must decline.”

“You would refuse a direct order from your commanding officer?”

“I am sworn to make sure that justice is served, Commander, not to kill the innocent. Perhaps I am mistaken, but don’t your oaths of office read the same way?”

“It is for me to determine who is innocent and who is guilty, who lives and who dies.”

Am I ready? It doesn’t matter. He’s forcing my hand. Ready or not, this is it. “Then perhaps it is time someone new filled your position, since you are no longer committed to enforcing the law and serving justice.”

“What are you saying, Sukoshku?” Anselm growls. He’s dangerous, but I don’t think he’s seeing completely clearly in the moment. Drake is edging closer to me. I dart a warning glance sideways at him, but he still looks like he wants to intervene between Anselm and me, and now more than ever, that can’t happen.

“I am challenging you to a duel to determine which of us is more fit to execute the duties of your office,” I declare, taking a step closer to Anselm. Drake freezes. That was probably a mistake for the mission. But not a mistake overall, if he’s truly innocent and I save him.

I wish I knew for sure. But Anselm’s ruined any chance of that.

“You’re out of your mind,” Anselm scoffs.

“Which form will you use, Commander? Or are you too much of a coward to accept my challenge?”

“This is no place for a duel. Such a thing would be in violation of the law.”

“Your assistants can make us a portal to a more suitable location, can they not, Commander?” After all, that’s how you got here.

“Not while he’s watching.”

“Might I ask why not, Commander? It’s not like he’s human. But I can make him go away, if you’d like.”

“And let him continue to run afoul of the law?”

I grit my teeth and do my best to maintain my professional facade. I don’t want him to have any idea what I’m planning for him. “We have no evidence that he is doing so, and my teammates are still in the area and still surveilling him and his friends, Commander. Assuming you are correct and he is deserving of death, they can certainly bring it to him.”

Anselm huffs irritably. “I suppose. It’s not like this will take long, anyway. You have five minutes to…handle your business and meet me back here.”

“You are most gracious, Commander.” I turn on my heel and start back up the bike path, grabbing Drake’s wrist as I go.

“Nikki, what the fuck—”

“Stay in front of me. I don’t trust him,” I hiss, using English again.

“I had no idea you were so fluent in Russian—”

“I told you I’m from Russia originally. And we’ve only known each other a week. There’s a lot we don’t know about each other.”

“Who is that big dude and what the hell does he want?”

“My family tried to set me up with him and he thinks I’m ‘the one’ or something. He’s not pleased to have found me with someone else.”

“What?! But—”

“He shows up like this, to try to get me to give him a chance, every so often. It’s not a huge deal. I can get rid of him if you’re not there, but I don’t know how long it’ll take. I’m sorry I didn’t mention him before, but I thought he’d finally given up. It seems I was wrong. Russian men can be very persistent.”

“He’s old enough to be your dad, though!”

“As far as my family is concerned, money talks louder than sense.” This is the worst alibi I’ve ever come up with on the fly and I hate to speak ill of the dead like this, especially when it’s straight bullshit, but I don’t have time to come up with anything better.

“Nikki—”

“I know we have a lot to discuss and that this is all very messy, and I wish I could magically fix it right now, but the best I can do is go back down there and make that beefy Russian problem go away. And if you come with me, I don’t think I can save you. Stay here. I’ve sent Effie and Angel an SOS. They should be here any second now. They might be able to tell you more.”

I try to leave, but his hand catches my wrist.

“Wait. Please. This doesn’t make any sense. And when we…. Did you feel….” A strangled noise of frustration escapes his throat.

“I know. This wasn’t how I wanted tonight to go, either. But I’ll come back.” I hope. “If I don’t deal with this now, it’s only going to get worse. And trust me when I say you don’t want to fight him.”

“How are you going to get rid of him? If I can’t fight him, there’s no way you can—”

“Not all problems need to be solved with violence.” But this one will be. “I’ll be back.” I kiss him quickly on the lips, hoping it will leave him stunned long enough that I can actually get away. I don’t want to give Anselm any extra time to plan his strategy, and I don’t want him coming after me.

“You want me to just…wait here for you?” he asks as I pull away.

“Probably better if you go home. But it’s up to you. Just don’t follow me. I’ll text you as soon as this is over. But I have to go. Now.” I start walking away before he can detain me again.

“Be safe,” he calls after me. I wave in acknowledgement, but my insides are shaking. I’m going to do this. I’m finally going to do this. I don’t know if I’m ready or not, but I’ve been plotting this revenge in every idle second and every dream and nightmare for more than a decade.

You’re the best you’ve ever been, I tell myself. And it’s true. If I’ve ever had the skills and fire to take Anselm down, this is the moment.

“Miss Sukoshku?” one of the fae addresses me from the shadows as I approach the overpass again.

“My business is complete. Is the Commander ready?” I reply, stone cold, betraying nothing.

“Come with me. I’ve been instructed to escort you to the dueling grounds.”

I take the hand offered to me, and then the world gives way to a swirl of light and energy. I hate fae portals. But I’d endure worse for this chance.

I’ll do whatever it takes to make Anselm pay for his transgressions in blood.